Clarity: When the Fog Lifts…
“There’s a time and place for everything,” as the cliché goes. If true, then what’s in between? Are we wandering from thing to thing, place to place, confused and not sure what lies ahead? Or what does it mean when we finally reach that “time and place,” where everything feels right? It’s as if the fog has lifted and at last the rays of clarity shine upon us.
Clarity, the ability to see clearly what before may have been unclear, blurry or a figment of our imagination, is that moment when all suddenly falls into place. It’s that moment that brings meaning to all that which has happened, and to all that seemed meaningless at the time of its passing. Where once we questioned and wondered, now we’re alert and aware to what lie before us. It’s the harbinger of things to come; it’s seeing the seeds of opportunity strewn across our path.
German philosopher and writer Gottfried Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) wrote that “For me the greatest beauty always lies in the greatest clarity.” And it’s true that if there’s one single mark that clarity bestows upon us, it’s the mark of beauty with which it does it. For achieving clarity leaves nothing to doubt, nothing to qualm, and nothing to disbelief. It’s pure and untainted, and its invigoration unsurpassed. The essence of true beauty is imbued with the simplicity that clarity draws forth.
How do we accomplish this, or is it something over which we have no control? Do we have a choice in the matter, or is it a random episode sprung upon us?
Clarity does not yield from a disorganized, cluttered existence. It’s not a love child of chaos and discord. It can’t yield from that which is unclear and vague. Rather, clarity is a derivative of thought with purpose, of reflection with meaning. It’s intention with passion that’s the jockey of clarity. Like taming wild horses, thoughts and reasoning must be harnessed and guided.
Distraction is the enemy of clarity (see Traction: Is It Happening for You?), and more so than ever. With the advent of television, computers and now smart phones, modern humans have never had to contend with as much distraction as they do now. A simple walk has turned into a zombie-like perambulation with wires jangling and eyes casting a glazed-over look fixated on mini-screens. Distraction has become the new addiction and so-called multi-tasking the new modus operandi (where everything gets done (well almost), but nothing gets done quite right).
To seek clarity means to take action that leads to clarity. It means to take action to focus (see Gain Focus, Gain Success…), and it means to take action to concentrate on the task at hand. Only then will clarity be within our grasp, and only then will the fog finally lift…
For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here. Now revised and expanded, and a Nominee for the Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of the 2015 Global Ebook Awards.
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A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.
2015 Global Ebook Awards Nominee for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook
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