We often use metaphors to define ourselves, others, our relationships, and even life itself. Then, we go about our lives acting as if these metaphors are the only truth leaving no room for other views and perspectives.
Shakespeare's line: "All the world's a stage . . ." is a good example of metaphor where he compared the whole world to a theater stage. There are any number of metaphors, for example:
- "Everything in life is about competition -- there are winners or losers."
- You have to work hard all your life just to make ends meet.
- Money: You get what you pay for. (and) Equal pay for equal work.
- Life is a school where we have lessons and tests.
- Forrest Gump: Life is like a box of chocolates . . .
What are some of your personal metaphors? How do your personal metaphors restrict you? How do they liberate you?
Sometimes we have personal metaphors that we think are liberating but end up being restrictive. Here's a personal story to show how:
When I was young and on a relatively low rung on my career ladder, I was completing a questionnaire where one of the questions had to do with what my long-term potential goals were. I was working in a civil service job at an Air Force Base. I knew what the top grade for civilians was at that base. So being young and feeling like I should "reach for the stars," I answered the question by answering that my goal was to reach the grade GS-14. Feeling very proud of myself for being so bold, I handed my supervisor the questionnaire with my answers and waited for him to read what I'd written. I was dumbfounded when he asked me why I had restricted myself to only a GS-14. When I recovered to where I could speak, I told him that I'd put down the highest grade there was. He smiled and told me that there were much higher grades and that a Gs-14 just happened to be the highest grade at that base.You see, my personal metaphor at that time, "to reach for the stars," looked like it was very expansive and liberating EXCEPT that my perspective was very limited.
Kabbalistic descriptions of creation, reality, and life often use metaphor. It's interesting and helpful to look at teachings from the Kabbalah to see how the metaphors relate to us and our own metaphors.
Tzimtzum
In the Kabbalistic creation story, there was nothing except Ayn Sof -- Nothing(ness) until Ayn Sof pulled back and created a vacant space within Itself for Other -- for creation to take place.
How do we pull back and make room within ourselves for others? Making room for others doesn't have to be only other people. Maybe we need to make room within ourselves for parts of ourselves that we've denied, parts that we don't like, or even parts that we never knew existed because of our limited view of ourselves. Making room is about making space within ourselves for "what is." How good are we at making space for others to be who they are -- to be where they are?
(to be continued)
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