Courage and Clarity

"So is the danger a danger still; so is the fear worse." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Listen to today's broadcast of The Frontier Beyond Fear program here, now available in the archive:  Courage and Clarity

How do we work with our fears so we can find greater clarity?  We reflect on why this is so very important for our unfolding paths.  When we allow our fears to dominate our thoughts and decisions, not only is life unpleasant - we are unable to make clear, productive and authentic choices.  Why is Spirituality at the Center of finding our way?  It has everything to do with Clarity.  But it will ask something from us:  Courage - even as Spirituality is our greatest Resource in finding it.  What greater Resource could we have than our awareness of and conscious relationship with the omnipresent Divine?  Once we discover expansive, open, honest and authentic routes to Clarity, we will also find within us the Courage to freely explore our paths forward. 

A brief passage on fear and exploration written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1837 is shared during the program.

 

 

 

Unveiling Clarity

"I can see clearly now . . ." ~ Johnny Nash

I dwell in the 1970's quite a bit, and there's a reason for that.  Though every era has its complications, technology has changed us.  Not all technology is bad, obviously - I'm using it right now - but let's leave that aside for the moment - because, you see, we didn't know back then what we would view as lacking now.

I have been reading poetry and fragments of essays lately.  In an actual hardcover book that I obtained from the second hand store.  Not to say that really should be all that unusual, but lately, yes.  I used to read A LOT in the 70's, pretty much all the time when I could (and in most of my spare moments in the 80's as well).  When the television only has a handful of channels (at most), there are no computers, there are no video tapes, DVDs, DVRs or "video on demand", you either occupy yourself outside in some way or you read books.  Or maybe you bring a book outside and read it in a hammock hanging from a tree (which was one of my favorite things to do in the summer in the 70's). 

We've lost something.

And it is vitally important.  

We need to be "entertained".  Some of that entertainment may require us to think, but most of us are just not reading like we used to.  I aim to take it up a notch, truthfully, as not everything I read independently (i.e., apart from school) in the 70's and 80's was particularly demanding.

We have forgotten simplicity, and what it feels like.  We are over-stimulated much of the time.  Perhaps the Covid era has provided glimpses of simplicity - but probably not enough.

We need more clarity.  And it isn't going to arrive by continually being distracted from it. I am thankful to be unveiling it, ever more deeply.

 

 

Blue Skies photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Simplification

 "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." ~ Leonardo da Vinci

 

Unfolding understanding may appear intricate at times, but it's a rather astonishing thing when clarity arrives.  Things are what they are.  And you see it.  You may not see everything, but you don't actually need to.

There's a lot of talk about truth these days, how to find it, how to know it, how to tell it.  It is not entangled.  It simply is.  Deeper truths are spiritual.  Deeper truths, you feel.  

Even so, this is our human journey.  Shallow "truths" demand our attention.  They can even be captivating.  They may indeed be true, or they may actually be false.  Or often they are some combination of the two.  

The simple path is liberating.  Suddenly things deepen.

 

 

Forest Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Leaving the Shallows

"They muddy the water, to make it seem deep." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Far too often, we find ourselves being led to the shallows these days.  And there is a difference between taking a break from the heavier lifting and dwelling in the shallows.  

Once you leave the shallows, it's actually quite difficult to return and ignore what more exists.  You've seen the deep and clear water.  It can't be unseen.  Clarity is like that.  It persists when you discover it.

 

 

 

 Reflections photo by Susan Larison Danz.

There is No Separation

 Love is the common thread which weaves the world together. ~ Susan Larison Danz

I know there is a compelling tendency right now to see separation everywhere.  So it is with the human condition.

If we choose to look at the world through a spiritual lens, a simple lens, a lens that is clarity, something deeper comes into focus.  There is no actual separation.  Separation is an illusion.   

We resist these reminders.  We're experiencing being human right now, and so we resist them. I get it.  Completely.  It happens to all of us.  I'm not immune.

I talk a lot about this notion of "being spiritual".  I know I repeat myself.  Spirituality is a gentle way of being.  We often fail at this gentleness, but that's what it is.  And yet, I can't think of anything more powerful.  

How can something be both gentle and powerful?  Love is exactly that.

Sparkling Waters photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Honesty and the Heart

"Keep your heart clear

And transparent, 

And you will never be bound." 

~ Ryokan Taigu

Honesty seems to be very "topical" these days.  Several days ago, I wrote here at length about The Elusive Art of Discernment.  

But here's the deal.

Truth has a way of feeling right with your heart.  It may be a process of discovery and thought, but once you settle on whatever it is, you feel a peace in your Spirit.  Truth may often be in some way uncomfortable or "inconvenient" within the seemingly finite space of this world, but you will still have that sense of inner peace.  The search eases.  You feel it.  And the peace expands, the deeper you go.  

In the course of our lives, we undoubtedly all have experienced at times that feeling of being entangled, that feeling that something we're thinking or attempting to believe is "amiss" - but the truth really does set us free.  Once we feel this, the gratitude from "knowing" and realizing we're finally finding clarity is a gift in itself.  When we feel free in our hearts, we are free.  Nothing can take that away, once it happens.

 

Heart on the Trail Photo by Susan Larison Danz