Clarity

Happy Rosh Hashanah! With every new year we set goals and seek clarity in our lives. We’re all looking for clarity. We want to know what we’re meant to do, in both big and small ways. This level of knowledge is attainable, provided we meet one important prerequisite. And that is a willingness to do that which is uncomfortable, a concept I touched upon in my last post.

Many times we say “I want to have clarity.” But we don’t get it because, in truth, we want our process to be relatively easy. In our mind, we want something, but in our heart we’re only willing to do so much to attain it. For example, I am really craving a chocolate chip cookie. I really want it, but I don’t feel like driving to the store or baking them myself. So there’s a disconnect from what we desire and what we are willing to do to manifest it.

We won’t have clarity about what we need to do if we aren’t willing to do anything it takes, no matter what it is. And this is why we’re frequently unclear, because we need to be willing to do anything.

There’s a story in the Bible about the Israelites. They were in a desert, and there was a cloud that they were instructed to follow. God would make a cloud appear, and they would follow it. One day it would go this way, the next it would go that way. Sometimes it would stop in one place for an entire month, sometimes it would stop for a week, sometimes for a day, but they had total clarity.

Now, in an ideal world that sounds great. Wouldn’t we all like that we get up in the morning, we’re not sure what we’re going to do, but the cloud appears, we go there, and we know that that’s exactly what we need to do. That’s our purpose. That’s where we’re supposed to be. Sounds great, right?

But now think about it this way. The cloud appears. It stops. They pitch their tent. They unpack. They start cooking dinner. Oops, the cloud moves again, pack again, so on, and so on, and so on. Or as a modern example, we’re making tea. We’re making breakfast. We’re starving. We’re just about to sit down and eat it. Oops, the cloud moves. Time to go. Would we really like that? Who’s willing to do that? I’m not willing to do that, not before my cup of tea, at least!

If we want to have that clarity, we have to do, and have the willingness to do, anything. We need to ask ourselves, if achieving my purpose requires going outside of my comfort zone, am I still willing to do it? How far will I go? There’s a distinct link between willingness to do what’s uncomfortable and the ability to receive clarity.

Journal:
Is your mindset comfort first, or purpose first?

Purpose, when it’s greater than comfort, equals clarity.