Images for Clarity

life with a filter

How do I define clarity? What does it look like when I wish someone clarity?


K. and I put this question on the table a couple of weeks ago. To be honest I have enjoyed watching and discussing the word with many folks, but I have not turned this word onto myself to define. It has been a bit of struggle for me to define it. For the past few months I have often felt like I sailing through this sea with a compass that simply spins around and around. No true North. So naturally I was leaning towards a cardinal direction to define clarity. But that is how I always filter my world. What direction I want to go, that is clarity. Then it came to me...

It is the opportunity to view the world (the world within myself and the physical world I move in) without filters coloring what I see. These filters can be emotions like love, pride, drive, jealously, passion,... To remove these filters can allow me to see the raw truth. At this junction, I struggle to keep these some of these filters clear of my vision.

So when I wish someone clarity, I wish for him / her the opportunity to view the world without filters. Even if it is only for a moment or two.

Clarity

T and I alternate on who decides which word to use each month. Clarity was my choice for this month, and while it stemmed out of two different people wishing me "clarity" in my decision-making and thoughts, it is not a completely new theme... I asked to explore "focus" at another point in time.

All of this leads me to wonder, "hmm, what is this?" Why do I keep cycling back to want to explore themes like clarity and focus? It might be obvious-- I'm in a major time of transition in which anything could happen; I live on the other side of the country from most of my old friends and significant other... I don't know where I'll live or what I'll do after graduation... everything is topsy-turvy. For that reason, I like both the idea that clarity involves "AHA!" and that it is linked with a broader purpose (and that the details of plans can be filled in).

Sometimes I feel completely clear even when I'm all alone or caught in bad weather or totally busy. During a recent bike trip, I was completely clear about my mission and focus, even when the conditions became foggy and potentially dangerous. Arriving at our destination was a breath of "ah" just as that physical activity and surroundings provided me with the clear mind that I often seek.

I see why I need an intense yoga practice to really relax in savasana, the corpse pose; however, U also know that it is the best time for reflection for me. After bike rides, I often urge A to just lie down on the hardwood floor with me before rushing off to the next task. It is really the time that I feel most clear. Interestingly, at that point, I'm not really "clear" about my plans or directions or anything that worries me... I'm just present.

A mentor suggested that I listen to my "gut" and even "climb into bed to just BE" to find clarity. I guess more than seeking clarity, what I need is to know my purpose and then move towards decisions.

I scribbled these notes into my journal about clarity:
Looking into eyes
Smell of galax
Clipping into an anchor or a pedal
Smooth cruising at the top of Craggy
In a groove of writing
Exhaustion

Final note:
Jeremy Sherman came to speak to our class about strategy and philosophy. His father was the founder of Midas Mufflers, by the way.

One of the concepts that he brought up was something he called "Synantonyms," which basically means how can you flip words to change the immediate connotation that you'd think. For instance, while "commitment" is usually praised in society, you could also think about it as not being open to changing an opinion. He asked for examples of words to play with. I, of course, gave "clarity" we explored it for a few minutes in class and came up with some negative connotations for clarity including "self-rightousness" or "single-mindedness." While these meanings seem more to be about how thinking you are so clear shuts you out from other thoughts or opinions, I think it's an interesting way to expand themes and perceptions.

He also talked about the difference between deciding (in which you need to be curious, open) and decided (in which you need to be clear and unwavering... at least until evaluating). I think that my search for clarity is a desire to be "decided" but not committing to the mind-frame I need to be in in order to REALLY be decided. I think that I need to be patient and simply acknowledge that it's okay to still be in the deciding phase... as long as I clarify my overall goals.

New Perspectives

From Doc:

Clarity for me, is getting clear on our purpose and then aligning our talents and gifts with our purpose. From there, all else falls in place.

Clarity in this sense is a compass point that guides are way, unlike the clarity of the "best pathway", which sometimes becomes fuzzy in our complex non-black and white world. So I wish you clarity today and everyday as your life purpose unfolds.


A twitter response:
When climbing everything is perfectly clear. In sustainability, nothing is.

AHA!

Clarity is the space between the AHA! moment and finding the courage to act. T. Huntington

visit with j-pza

just spent the evening with j-pza. such a good friend and great conversation. we spent most of the evening talking about the passing of our fathers. j-pza's father passed away this spring in april & my father march 2008. we spent a lot of time talking about our process and how we have navigated through this major change in our life direction. near the end of the conversation, j-pza mentioned his understanding of attachment and how that relates to clarity. through the passing of his father, j-pza gained an understanding to his relationship to attachment. letting go of his own attachment to his father dying from cancer and then allowing himself to total present for his own father's process of dying. this release of attachment allowed him to sit on the foot of his father's bed and listen to his father and not fight or be clouded his own attachment to the outcome. that has become his own clarity. his relationship to attachment and how it effects his life.

even in their passing, our father's are still helping us gain clarity in our lives.

this is a picture of my dad (on the left)

with his little brother jimmy.

dictionary

clarity |ˈklaritē|
noun
the quality of being clear, in particular
• the quality of coherence and intelligibility : for the sake of clarity, each of these strategies is dealt with separately.
• the quality of being easy to see or hear; sharpness of image or sound : the clarity of the picture.
• the quality of being certain or definite : it was clarity of purpose that he needed.
• the quality of transparency or purity : the crystal clarity of water.

This is the beginning

So, this is the continuation of the beginning. I am excited about the opportunity for you & I to share this space. This will be a great space for us to hold ourselves accountable. So, here we go:

CLARITY....