Metaphorically Speaking

Have you ever felt like a tightly wound clock spring, ready to snap, with gears grinding out of sync and no clear way to reset?

That’s the way I feel at times lately. Just about the time I “suck it up, butter cup,” and try to put my best foot forward, I get pulled back into what I can only best describe as an ambiguous and confusing situation.

I am currently reading a book about metaphors.

You probably recall from your grade school days that a metaphor is a figure of speech describing one thing is as being another, like “time is a thief,” suggesting a similarity or symbolic meaning, without using “like” or “as.” Metaphors imply a comparison by equating two different things in hopes of offering deeper insight or a new way of understanding.

During one of our sessions, my counselor introduced me to a new book titled Metaphors We Live By written by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. I chuckle when I say “new” because after I purchased it I discovered it was first published in 1980. Yep—that 1980. Imagine discovering a life-changing book more than two-thirds of your life later?

Thankfully, I don’t know that it’s life-changing for certain. At least not yet.

People, often without realizing it, use metaphors during counseling sessions. Metaphors help us express emotions, thoughts, or experiences that are otherwise difficult to articulate. For example, you might say, “I feel like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders” to describe your stress or level of burden.

Metaphors make great therapeutic tools. Counselors employ them to help their patients reframe their challenges, explore their feelings, or unveil new insights. Symbolic language helps counselors assist their clients in unpacking their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. For example, a patient may describe themselves as “stuck in a storm,” prompting the counselor to ask what the storm represents or what it might take to weather it.

Through utilizing metaphors, we can foster deeper understanding and creativity, bridging the gap between abstract feelings and concrete understanding.

Happy is up, so I’m told.

What are you happy about today? Would you share it with me? I could use some encouragement.

Do you have a favorite metaphor you frequently employ? If you aren’t knee deep in alligators, please share some of your favorite metaphors either in the comments or in your own blogpost.

Until the next blogpost…

Grace and peace,

Rainer Bantau—The Devotional Guy™