Read andreflect, consider, revisit, returnreflectconsiderrevisitreturn

A clearing is the background against which things show up for us. If the standing story is “I’m no good,” ordinary events can begin to look like evidence for it.

That story does not magically produce the events. It shapes what we notice and how we interpret what happens. Distinguishing the clearing gives us room to ask whether the facts support the story or whether another reading is available.