The View From The Cliff

My mind was becoming constricted. I noticed that the weight of the world, and all my clients’ issues, were pressing down on me. I worried that my thinking was falling into a rut and my creativity and ability to advise my clients well were going to suffer.

So off I went on a Clarity Break to clear my mind and refresh my thinking. As I mentioned in my last missive, “Aloha…Or Not”, it didn’t start off well. The weight on my shoulders became heavier and I felt my mind closing in on me.

But then… as I wandered around Kaua’i, with the open horizon spread out before me, the weight lifted. A change of location, a few days without anything scheduled or planned, time without seeing anyone I knew. My mind cleared and clarity returned.

As I wandered randomly over the entire island, I stopped wherever something grabbed my attention. A wonderful lunch at the beautiful St Regis while sitting outside watching the waves break. Walking on the beach noticing the different textures of the sand, the diverse vegetation, and the way the mostly rocky coast meandered in and out fighting off the pressure of the ocean.

Kaua’i is a wonderful place for cleaning out the mental clutter and engaging in contemplation. An unending variety of landscapes from high and steep mountains with meandering trails and dense vegetation to desert-like vistas that remind me of Arizona. Cliffs rimming the ocean interspersed with small beaches. Huge areas devoid of people and the rare built-up areas composed of very small towns with some random houses and stores and a few hotels here and there.

In the midst of all this is the largest coffee estate in the United States, Kauai Coffee Company. 3,100 acres covered with over 4 million coffee trees where they do everything from growing their seedlings for new trees to final roasting and packaging.

As my visit drew to a close my mind felt cleansed and freed by the power of perspective.

I’ve advised this before in these missives but many of you need regular reminders. Whether you go to Kaua’I, your local park, or some other favorite place where you can clear your mind, it’s important to take your clarity break regularly. Take off your usual blinders and widen your view. Notice how your outlook changes and new ideas take shape when you let your mind run free and observe things you’ve ignored before. You’ll find that this new view carries over to things you’ve been thinking about before you left to clear your mind. Solutions to seemingly intractable problems appear and issues that you worried about disappear.

And those of you trying to hold up the sky find the weight lifted and your mind roaming free, ready to face whatever the future will bring.