Simply clear

“Don’t be clever, be clear.” -Howard Ogden

I like to cook, and I like to try out new recipes. With a few exceptions, recipes are clear; you need this amount of these ingredients, and then you follow these steps to create the dish. Recently, I was trying a new dish which had, as one of its ingredients, “2 slices of fresh lemon juice”. Whilst I chuckled about how to slice a liquid, it was clear what the writer meant, and I put it down to poor proofreading.

A recipe is a prime example of something that needs to be clear, even though the results may be extremely clever creations.

This is not the case when we come to other areas of life. I am thinking of a website I sometimes visit, which has remarkable offers on items for sale. I go there because I like their offers, but the site itself is really a turn-off. Rather than a simple description of the goods for sale, there is a discussion between two cartoon characters, which bears no relevance to the product. To get details on the product, you need to navigate to other pages where this information is displayed. It is, I am sure, very clever. I can imagine the web designer saying that the old way of doing things was stale, and they needed new bright ideas to show how modern and different they were.

And yet, to me, it comes across as trying to be clever, rather than trying to be clear. If I wanted “amusing” repartee, I’d go and look for some, but I came to this site to find out about a special offer, and it annoys me that they don’t simply tell me.

I still sometimes buy things from the site, because I know from experience that their offers can be good value, but in other areas of life being clever at the expense of clarity can definitely stop one’s point coming across.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of trying to impress, and use words that are clever, rather than clear.

Instead of saying that someone wanted to cross the street, one could say that they intented to perambulate in a perpendicular fashion towards the opposite side of the thoroughfare. Both are technically correct, but the latter is an example of using words just for the sake of them, rather than to make the meaning clearer.

I always find that when I first learn about something, it is a muddle in my head, and I can’t always articulate what it is that I know. Only with real understanding can I explain it in clear terms, and for me, it is a sign that I understand something if I can make it seem simple.

There is a place for being clever, but the cleverest person is the one who can take something that is complicated and make it clear.

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Six phrases to live by

“What If.”

Never accept the status quo as being the only way that there is to live. There are always alternatives to every situation. They may not be good alternatives, but they will exist, and sometimes you need to take a chance on a “what if” in order to strike out in a new direction.

“Today has been a good day.”

Many things can go wrong in our day, and often do. If we dwell on the negatives, then we will see the negatives, but if we seek out the positives, as if by magic the positives are the things that we see. This is a habit that many of us need to develop, but after a while it becomes second nature to think that today has been a good day, even if the best thing about it is that it is over!

“I’m sorry.”

We need to mean it as well as say it, but “I’m Sorry” is a really powerful thing to say. It shows that we know we were wrong and that admission is a sign of emotional maturity. All of us make mistakes, it is part of being human that we are not perfect. But being able to say sorry shows that we know that we made a mistake, not that we are a mistake. When we refuse to even admit that we are capable of error, we condemn ourselves to being stuck in the same place, and without any hope of growth.

“I have forgiven….”

To bear a grudge against someone for an injury, real or imagined, has been described as taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. The harm done to us might have been for a moment, but when we live that moment over and over, it is now us, not the other person that is doing the harm. It is us that is responsible for the continuing hurt, and us that can release the hurt by forgiving the action.

“…not forgotten.”

There is a place of balance between forgiveness and forgetfulness. We forgive to bring us peace, but if we also forget, we may be leaving ourselves open to more injury. If someone has hurt us in the past, to let go of that pain is completely freeing. But to allow them to hurt us again, when we could have avoided it reflects as much on our judgment as on theirs.

“I need help.”

We are raised in a culture that expects us to manage by ourselves. For many of us, to admit that we are not able to complete the task we have been given is one of the worse things we can imagine. We would rather struggle through than admit that we are beaten. And yet if others ask our help, we are pleased to assist them. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help when we need it, rather, it is a sign of wisdom. It shows that we understand that we are human and have limitations.