Word Of The Year: Clarity

Kelly Anderson • February 4, 2020

Maybe the message in ‘clarity’ is not just about trust, 
but also about patience and stillness...

Lan Su Chinese Gardens: Photo by Kelly Anderson


“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”


~Lao-Tzu


In 2019, I attended a retreat at the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho. The experience was unique and special and it inspired my March 2019 Profound Living essay, Grace Calling. That essay started with a quote from Thomas Merton, "Every moment and every event of every person’s life on earth plants something in their soul,” which at the time seemed especially relevant to my message. Now, one year later, I’ve found that it was even more relevant than I suspected. One of those moments at the monastery planted a seed in my soul which required a year to take root and flourish. But, root and flourish it did.


The retreat’s guiding words were “Clarity, Courage, Growth, Openness”, and I was all about courage, growth, and openness. Those were qualities I wanted to explore and embrace. But I just skipped right over the idea of clarity. I didn’t understand what that might be about and where it might lead, so I simply ignored it. That is, I ignored it until it refused to be ignored any longer.

Almost a full year passed, and then, as 2020 approached, I started thinking about my word of the year. As I searched, I found that this troublesome word “clarity” had been quietly lingering. And, unlike our first encounter, this time it would not tolerate being banished. I didn’t know what the lesson from this word could be, but I decided it must be time to welcome it, so I claimed “clarity” as my 2020 word.


Over the first month of this new year, I puzzled over the elusive idea of clarity. Why did it nestle in with such stealth? What could be the reason for its re-emergence? I thought the deeper message must be about trust - trusting yourself when the way is unclear. Because, for me, the way is never very clear. Clarity seems elusive and impossible. I believed that, surely, the message in this word must be about the acceptance of “unclarity”, and the faith required to move forward along a foggy path. Trust.

And then one of those random and beautiful and unexpected things happened. I attended a presentation by Jad Abumrad of RadioLab, and while he was talking about the podcast’s signature ‘silent pause’ he briefly showed a slide with a quote associated with Lao-Tzu:


Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?


Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?


Jad didn’t talk about the quote, the words just briefly showed on the screen while he described the importance of moments of silence in the telling of a story. But, my heart fluttered, my breath caught, and I sat upright in my seat. Maybe the message in ‘clarity’ is not just about trust, but also about patience and stillness!


Maybe ‘clarity’ isn’t about seeing the entire path, but patiently awaiting the next step. And then trusting that step, no matter how seemingly small, and patiently awaiting with unmoving stillness until the next right action arises. Thankfully, I have eleven months remaining to explore this profoundly unclear word, clarity.


Recommended Resources


Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (shared through thetaoteching.com)


Cover Photo Credit


Photo of Lan Su Chinese Gardens by Kelly Anderson


Maybe ‘clarity’ isn’t about seeing the entire path, but patiently awaiting the next step.


By Michael Kroth April 20, 2026
Earth Day is this week. As we consider the state of our world - and the ecology of both our material and spiritual environment - it makes sense to ask what our role is, has been, and is supposed to be in relationship to "our common home" (Pope Francis).
By Michael Kroth April 10, 2026
Here are some initial thoughts about elegance, nature, and depth; a poem about happiness; and even a haiku.
By Michael Kroth April 4, 2026
Moving toward a more profound, rich-in-all-the-ways-that-are-important, life.
By Michael Kroth March 28, 2026
It takes just a second to break something.  Restoring what was broken takes time.
By Michael Kroth March 20, 2026
A Messy Elegance Reflection
By Michael Kroth March 15, 2026
Outcomes are not certain, though some are much more highly predictable than others.
By Michael Kroth March 11, 2026
Life is messy. We know that. But some people move through that mess with a surprising kind of grace.
By Michael Kroth February 10, 2026
Emerging from the depths, he taught us about depth
By Michael Kroth February 1, 2026
“The poor in spirit are by no means poor-spirited. They are persons who see so much to be, so much to do, such limitless reaches to life and goodness that they are profoundly conscious of their insufficiency and incompleteness.” ~Rufus Jones, The Inner Life , p. 19
By Michael Kroth January 22, 2026
January, 2026 Haiku Narratives