janet ledger, swingsRecently, I read the word clarity defined as an "outward swing of a prayer." When you consider that prayer often holds a request to understand parts of our lives and our journey more fully, the definition seemed to fit. I could actually envision the process as being a cloistered contemplation which then unfolded and lifted open to an enlightened sense of awareness. A true aha moment.
Aha..........I get it.
Aha.......perhaps I figured it out.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that with clarity comes patience, because when something becomes more transparent, you are given a signpost to guide your decisions. Or at the very least, to help you take another step along the way. If you know where you're going, or why you have had to travel a particular road (because most of the time clarity is a friend of hindsight), you will also feel a bit of calm settling in.
I've written before that patience is not an ingredient I naturally possess, or so it feels. I prefer to grab hold of the reigns, to make a decision and go for it........especially if surrounded by incoherence and indecision. Nothing irks me more than being held back by an environment full of wafflers, especially if the waffling impacts or blocks the journey.......mine or someone elses. It just seems like a lot of hot air and wasted time.
Looking at it with new eyes, I can see how clarity brings purpose to an activity. You know what you want. You can envision it. Feel it. Touch it. Swing out to it with momentum propelling you. It is wrapped up in hopeful knowledge. My writing process is an example. I know that one day, I would like to have some of it published. This is clear to me............so much so that I honestly feel that it will happen. Knowing this has brought a patient calm inside me that I rarely feel, because I see the goal happening.
No need to rush. Let it unfold as it should.......this is what my inner talk tells me. Reassurance and patience through the outward swing of a prayer.
And yet.................
I don't know about you, but I've never been on a swing that continued moving forward and up. At some point, it stops in mid air for a millesecond and then propels backwards, past the starting point and up and out the other way.
This opposite movement of thought makes me wonder if perhaps I have completely screwed up the definition. Maybe clarity drives a nail into patience. Maybe when we step out of the safe confines of a headspace called blurriness into an eye opening aha moment that we are pricked with a sensation of wanting to flee, to move, to rush forward............to scamper forward in an impatient desperate manner because the revelation we have just experienced has felt so shocking that we want to move out of it's path as fast as we can.
I guess it depends on the angle you are looking at it.
I guess it depends on the direction you are swinging.
I guess we have to be careful what we pray for.
Clarity? I guess it's still about as clear as mud.
10 comments:
I think clarity is a tough one. I spent a year focused on the word. I bought clarity shampoo, lit clarity candles, meditated on the word, and still couldn't give you a correct or (hee) clear definition.
But I do see myself more clearly.
I think clarity is extremely important in our journey to see were we go and keep focussed on it and the road will become more clear, we understand more and can put it in practise. I don't see it as a swing. Although we can have a bad day and mood we can never go backwards. What we've learned stays with us. But that's just me.
claudia...love it! Just last week, I went to the eye doctor only to find out that my world is much blurrier than it used to be. Alas, I am awaiting a prescription for reading glasses. Perhaps that will bring me some much needed clarity.
Marja....I guess the point I was trying to make is that sometimes clarity can be the awareness of something about ourselves that is negative as opposed to positive, hence the swing back to the other side. It would be then that we tend to try to return to denial or ignore it.......to run away from it. Despite that, I think you're right. We are always moving forward arent we. Any learning propels us forward and changes us in some capacity. thank you for pointing that out.
clarity is something without words. It can't be thought into anymore than intuitive sense of North or West can be explained. Who called it an outward swing of prayer? Wonderful phrasing, that. :)
Of course, the other thing we did on swings was let go at the zenith of the forward swing. And then land and tumble, roll and get up, dust off and head home as the sun went down and the streetlights came on. Clarity and belonging.
To swing involves two actions simultaneously; One to lean back and the other to kick forward.
Perhaps that helps...
Pearl. Clarity may be outward, but it is an inhaling of breath rather than words isn't it? An, oh I get it moment.....similar to what intuition brings perhaps. Interesting. No words, just breath. I wish I could remember where I read it. I will have to search again to find it.
Robin. I LOVE your description. How could I forget......? And the way you have written it, I see it as an analogy for our daily risk taking.....or perhaps simply how we feel when our workday is over? :) Clarity and belonging is a wonderful thought....as is the freedom swinging on a swing can bring. Now, I want to head over to the park and go for a swing before the snow flies. It's been too long.......I wonder how it would feel to jump off in the air again?
thank you Robin. Your comment has fed my imagination to expand on this analogy more.
Brother David.....and so has yours. It does help..... I now want to broaden this piece to include more description of the action because it is a combination of reaching/leaning back into what we know, or into our memory bank.....and kicking forward into new frontier.....
TGIF everyone!!
Awareness - Agreed, the rest of the world doesn't seem to see the plot the same as most people do. Patience is a billboard on the side of the road when you get a flat tire.
Peace,
- Neo
I read this post out loud to myself - because I liked the analogy of the swing. The older I get, the more I see the things in my life that require more patience.. not one of my stronger qualities... and your last sentence made me smile.
The journey continues, doesn't it?
To quote Indigo Girls: "Seems easier to push than to let go and trust."
I get what you're saying. Nice post.
Michele says hello!
~S
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