The other day I realized my personal metaphors were getting a seasonal overhaul.
I had put away my “sun and fun” Hawaiian shirt and replaced it with my “geese-flying-into-the-sunset” tee. And while journaling, I likened my shifting thoughts to turning leaves rather then blooming flowers.
Do you have metaphors you’d like to put back into circulation too?
Metaphors can keep our thinking fresh—yes, even familiar metaphors like geese migrating south or turning leaves—especially when they invite meaningful reflection.
Metaphors can keep our writing lively on the level of the sentence, and on the level of structure too—from plot to the arc of epiphany.
They can even help us reflect on the quality and efficacy of our writing practice. Liken our habits to those of dancers. Borrow from the wisdom of grandma’s improvisational cooking.
Like geese flying south, the wisdom of metaphor can guide us as we orient to where we’ve been and where we’re going, draft after draft, and help us write our way to done.