The clarity river

The word “clarity” invites a binary view on the matter: Either you have clarity or not.

But that’s hardly how it works in real life.

Actually it’s more like a river that grows and grows as it progresses down the valleys and accumulates more and more smaller streams.

Think of something you’ve mastered over the years. I bet there was this early moment of insight when suddenly you understood some core concept. But then, maybe even years after, you look at that same concept and feel like that early feeling of clarity was really just scratching the surface. Today, with all of your experience you have a much deeper understanding of how all the dots connect. You have a much deeper feeling of clarity. Also, you can speak with much greater clarity about these things.

And yet, a few years down the road, you might look back at today with the same feeling. You’ve barely scratched the surface and it will feel like only now are you really starting to see clearly.

Clarity is not a binary state. Clarity accumulates through rigorous thinking and rigorous efforts of expressing what you see.

Clarity is a process.