Imagine driving down the highway about 60 miles per hour when a large dump truck crosses the dividing line into your lane no more than 200 feet in front of you. Time slows to a crawl as your head-on collision becomes imminent. What’s going through your mind? What’s important?

Are you thinking about that project at work, the argument you didn’t win, the raise in pay you desperately need, your physical fitness or attire, the new car you want? What you will have is a clarity of mind rarely experienced in the ordinary course of a life. You will, at that moment, know precisely what is most important in your life.

Prior to this you may have been depressed or utterly bored. You might have even concluded that your life was without meaning or value. But at this particular moment you will know something more. You will want to live.

This type of situation is not necessary for you to find clarity and purpose. The simple consideration of this possibility may well be enough. Perhaps you might decide to stop wasting your time on negative emotions, recognizing that it’s much more important to be happy than right.

I suppose if you were to decide upon one goal for your life, one mission that would fuel your forward movement, it might be something as simple as being a great person, the best person you can be in each moment. I imagine that would be a comforting final thought just before the end, to look back and know you’ve been the best person you knew how to be.

Is there something you’d like to accomplish, or an ideal you’d like to realize? Life is too short to waste on petty matters. Your life is happening now. Don’t postpone it. Don’t wait for the right time.

So much of our vitality is lost to concerns about tomorrow, regrets about yesterday, and complaints about today. This serves no purpose other than to waste your energy and confuse your mind.

Look at your closet, your garage, basement, or attic. Is everything neat and orderly, or cluttered? The mind is another storage place. And, just like your closet, it can be organized, containing only those items you actually use, or it can be a mess, filled with all sorts of stuff that you don’t really care about. Get rid of the junk. And don’t put anything into your mind that doesn’t serve your real desires.

The world is full of distractions. Actually, the world is pretty much nothing more than a distraction. The crazy thing is most people give the world the majority of their time and attention. The world does not appreciate what you give to it. It just keeps asking for more. The world is scrooge, and it’s going to take a lot more than three astute ghosts to wake it up to a greater way of being.

So give it what you must, and nothing more. Rather, give to yourself, feed your mind and your heart. Yes, be totally selfish in that regard. Could this form of self-satisfaction be detrimental to your greater good? Not as long as your mind remains clear.

You see, the world is like a vast swampland. It’s full of people, most of whom are lost, but those people are not the swamp. They’re just stuck there, unable to see any other way of being or living. But you can help them. You do this by getting yourself out of the swamp first.

Every question will be answered through a clear mind. Every doubt will be eliminated. Let go of the memories of past hurts and wrongs. Relinquish the worries and give up the struggle. Ignore the ceaseless and senseless chatter that seeks to overwhelm your quiet. Open your eyes and ears to the truth of your Self. Be the person you are meant to be.

You are the answer to every question you’ve ever asked. Nothing of true worth will be found in the world outside. Look within. There you will find what is important. Look within.