How meditation creates clarity

The following blog is an excerpt from An Ordinary Dude's Guide to Meditation

As mentioned in the last chapter, when you meditate you gain more space in your mind. And when there’s more space in your mind, you naturally gain more clarity. Here’s an example to demonstrate how it works.

Imagine there is a pond outside your house...

​On a rainy day, you watch the pond from the window of your bedroom on the second floor. It’s impossible to see anything under the surface of the water. When the rain turns into a drizzle, you go outside, and now you can start to see some of the fish swimming under the surface of the water.
 
The next day, it’s sunny and clear outside. You go back to the pond and, this time with no rain obstructing the view from the surface, you can see all the way to the bottom of the pond - the fish, seaweed, everything.
 
Each drop of rain on the pond’s surface is like a thought in your mind. When there are lots of thoughts, like on a rainy day, it’s impossible to think clearly. Everything is coming so fast and so hard, one thing after another, that you can’t notice anything but the thoughts. You get caught up in them, and can’t see the clarity that exists just below the surface.
 
When you meditate, the heavy rains will begin to subside. With enough practice, they’ll eventually become a drizzle.

Will it ever be a sunny day?

The goal of meditation is not to get rid of thoughts. Thoughts are a part of being human, and even meditation masters (who may not be very ordinary dudes) don’t have a completely clear mind. But in their minds, it’s never pouring. And it’s likely even less than a drizzle.

What benefit of meditation do you want most? Clarity, Calm, Perspective? Let me know in the comments below.