Clarity

Clarity comes with practice. As long as practice is the priority in life over pleasure or satisfying need, the clear path in any moment is easy to perceive. Of course, this sounds simple, but it requires great effort in every moment of every day.

The natural animal path of the human mind and body is the way to gratification. Gratification of hunger or need. Sex, food, euphoria, wealth...these can all become the driving needs which push the unpracticed mind along the instinctive animal path. Emotions which are unexplored or misunderstood provide great momentum to this path of desire. Many modern preachers of materialism encourage surrender to this form of narcissistic life.

Practice is the assertion of human values over animal drives by the informed and reflective mind in the moment. At first, practice feels like austerity and deprivation. The body tantrums against the influence of the meditative and committed mind. Gradually, mind and body learn to live in harmony within the self. With daily practice, the freed mind, supported by a healthy and satisfied body, perceives the way of living mindfully and compassionately... clearly moment by moment. It then becomes an instantaneous choice whether to walk the path of humanist values or to revert to narcissistic instincts, tempered perhaps by some religious or superstitious guilt.

The practicing humanist is not motivated to do good by guilt or masochism, because the practicing humanist understands clearly that each action is a matter of self-sustaining choice and personal responsibility.