A clean conscience is difficult to appreciate until you have lived without one.

A settled conscience is nearly invisible while you have it. There is no feeling attached, just the absence of a background weight, and most people only understand what it was worth after a period of carrying something. That contrast is an expensive way to learn the value of not having anything to hide.

If you are carrying something now, consider what it would take to set it down: an admission, a repair, an amends. It is usually harder to contemplate than to do. And if you are not carrying anything, that is worth protecting the next time a small compromise offers itself.