“Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what he loves.”  -Blaise Pascal

The only way to gain clarity about your direction is to follow the path as it is presented to you. I am not sure you can decide anything  through mere thoughtful reflection. It is the life experience of the questions that teach most. When you are full in 3D in your world,  the questions seem to unwrap themselves, and even when you might not want to face the answer as it shows itself  there is no looking away, there is just what it is.

Aldous Huxley identified this aspect of seeing in childhood.  He wrote: “Children are remarkable for their intelligence and ardor, for their curiosity, their intolerance of shams, the clarity and ruthlessness of their vision.” Being fully present with no excuses is the greatest wisdom of youth and one that will take you far into adulthood.  When I was away this weekend working, I thought how much I enjoy being surrounded by my own children and all of their friends. They always tell it like it is- with a cool teen rap spin.

The other and most remarkable attribute of clarity is how it magnifies what is essential and important to life. The recent brushes with mortality I have been witnessing and the tragic unpredictability at the core of the earth itself has cut away all of the details that can swallow you up and are in the end mostly meaningless… The great success is to know that just as it is right now is full on success. It is crystal clear when striving becomes its lighter reflection of trusting your process to expand to its highest good and greatest potential.

My favorite painter, Vincent Van Gogh, who used whole tubes of paint in rendering a cloud or a tree once said:  “I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful.  I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as if in a dream.”  Life is like this when you allow yourself to experience the whole of it. Gratitude feels like water running over your hands and for brief moments you heart is pieced by how deeply we can love.