Schmutz

I felt like Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr. Spoiler alert: At the end of the movie, he fights against a cyclone. The storm is his literal and hilarious adversary.

I was forced to lean into the wind to walk. Dart-like bits of dirt and debris needled my face. My glasses become layered with filth. As soon as I got indoors, I cleaned my lenses.

I used my shirt tail to wipe the junk off my glasses. As I restored the clarity, I noticed they were not dirtier than usual. I clean them every few days, and they accumulate the same amount of gunk.

The only difference in this case was time. Since they dirtied quickly, I noticed it immediately. When my glasses accumulate the mess over time, I don’t notice. It builds slowly. My vision still becomes poorer when looking through dirty glasses. I have just grown accustomed to it. Through the absence of attention, I have lowered my standards.

Sometimes, I don’t pay enough attention to recognize that what I am willing to accept has diminished. I unintentionally lower my bar. I might even continue to accept something after I notice because “it’s been that way for a while.”

Have my lenses accumulated debris? Where would a thorough cleaning improve life? Where should I revisit my standards of acceptability?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.