Clarity

With the start of a new year, it is common to make resolutions and mantras to change our lives for the better. Last year’s mantra was “Get it clean in 2019.” Your life, your home, your finances, your relationships, if it needed attention, organizing, cleaning up, attended to, the mantra was a message of inspiration to bring about positive change.

This year’s mantra is a simply a word: “clarity.” Some might think of this mantra with another word: “vision.” The mantra hearkens back to the most routine of all things in life, an eye exam. What is the equation of perfect vision? 20/20.

The mantra of clarity, or vision, is dependent on the individual. How you see yourself, the world around you, the world at large, will help you envision how to bring about change.

Being a student of life, I am a visual learner. If I’m learning something new, if someone tells me what to do, I won’t have a clear vision of the process, or the end result. However, if you show me what to do, what I need to know, I instantly understand.

Clarity and vision are helpful, for everyone, no matter how they learn. For years people have created vision boards for their lives. Planning careers, their educational goals, planning a wedding, starting a business, vacations, and more. If we envision the change we want to see in the world, we can make it happen.

Let me give you an example of a positive change I made in my life. I have a pay as you go cell phone, and I pay over $25 monthly for text, call, and data minutes. Which, as anyone can tell you, is a good rate to pay for service to a smartphone. However, that added up to close to $300 a year. I wondered if I might be able to find cheaper service with another company. 

Instead of letting the issue lie, I acted on it. I did my research, and was able to find a comparable service plan for less than half of the money I had been paying. I bought a SIM card for the new service for $1, and transferred my service to the new company. I had been a customer of theirs years ago, and knew I would have no issues in going back to their company. In addition to the benefits of paying less than half of the money I had previously been paying, I was able to keep my phone as well as my phone number. It was a smart decision all around; I’m glad I had the idea and followed through on it. Making this change saved me money, while giving me peace of mind.

This process of enacting clarity can be an empowering and rewarding experience. Radical change can happen, in an instant. Think about things from an introspective point of view, looking inward to find clarity. Think about your life. What would you like to change? What would you like to see happen in your life? Is there anything in your life that you would change? How could you go about creating that change?

Of course, clarity and vision can be external as well. Look at your neighborhood, your town, your city, your state, your country. What would help your community? Your workplace? How can you bring about positive change? Are there problems in a relationship in your life with a friend or family member? Have you tried to see things from their perspective? Is there an clarity to be had from looking at the problem from another point of view? How could things be better with the person? What would you need from that person to give you peace of mind? Can you create that peace for yourself, if you are unable to get it from that person?

Great things are happening all around you. Great things will continue to happen. We in turn must be in touch with ourselves, as well as the world around us. All of this cannot happen without vision and clarity.