Kevin Bemel ·
The Indispensable Ingredient for Life: Clarity
Life in the fast lane, surely makes you lose your mind. – Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, and Don Henley
Of all the things that can help you live intentionally, clarity is the most important. Without it, you cannot know where you are in your life or where you want to be. Nothing can take its place.
Back in the 1980s, a friend of mine was involved in the punk movement. While if you saw him at work you probably would not have known it, by the time he dressed for a night out on the town there was no mistaking his affiliation. Years later he told me about one night when he was late for meeting some friends at the Cathay and did not have time to change into his regalia. So he showed up in his work clothes. His punk friends would not speak to him. It was a moment if clarity for him.
Being sophisticated or erudite might seem to fulfill the need for direction in life. But these are merely adult versions of peer pressure. The trendsetter feels elevated by his followers. The follower fancies himself better than those who cannot or will not live his way. But eschewing genuine friendship to maintain a veneer of the materialistic and dissipating life so poignantly portrayed by the Eagles is a trap. After a time a person loses any sense of true identity.
But what if you are not living at the extreme? Everyone creates barriers to clarity. It is easy to see the blockages described above. But the ones that mask your self-awareness are subtler. They come through unfiltered influences that permeate your day. Friends, colleagues, and media, among others sources influence you without your being aware of it. That is if you do not have clarity about your values and direction in life.
A tree spends decades, even centuries, setting down it roots with an unshakable clarity of purpose. Often even a roaring forest fire only provides the opportunity for it to spread its canopy and grow to greater heights. A leaf is constantly buffeted by a light breeze. A mere spark will quickly consume it, leaving ash that forever disperses its essence.
At the end of my day, usually around sunset, when I plan for the next day that begins when I sit down to dinner with my family, I journal these things:
- A summary of what I accomplished the day just ended
- Something I learned during that day
- What characteristic I need to work on the following day
- One thing for which I am grateful
- A positive thought about my wife
- A brief assessment of my emotional and spiritual state
- What I would do if I could live the day over again
- What I will enjoy during the day about to begin
Each one takes a minute or two. My days end and begin with this exercise in clarity. I invite you to do the same.
Please take just a minute to share what do you do to attain clarity.
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