Last fall, I took on a messy, muddy project to improve the water management on my property. It was incredibly dirty, back-breaking work, but it gave me a lot of time to think about the metaphor it presented for my life. I wasn’t just cleaning out a spring box. I was returning to neglected and abandoned parts of myself—filtering, digging out, and clarifying what I found deep in my own inner recesses. Alchemizing and being alchemized through the metaphors of daily living.
This is another story from a life spent engaging with metaphor.
One morning earlier this year, I was driving my daughter into town for an appointment and we got half a mile down the road before encountering a huge fallen tree, blocking our way.
There was a neighbor standing in the road on the other side of the tree, on the phone with the county office. She said the tree had just fallen about five minutes before, and that it would be awhile before the road maintenance crew would be able to clear it. I got back into the truck. We weren't going to be able to make our appointment. But strangely, neither of us felt it was an inconvenience. We turned around and went back home.
Shortly thereafter, a shooting occurred in the area we would have been driving through to get to the appointment. I don't know for a fact that the fallen tree prevented us from dealing with a much worse situation, but it's quite possible.
Now, whenever I encounter an inconvenience—whether major or minor—or even what seems like a disaster, I ask myself, "Is this just a tree in the road?"
Practically every day, in all kinds of experiences from momentous to mundane, I am asking: what does this represent? What is it like? What is the symbol here, and what are the different ways to interpret it? How does it mirror my past? Does it provide an analogy for the future I want to create?
Maybe it’s just the fiction writer in me, weaving themes and motifs for the story of my life, but I think it’s more than that. I wasn't always this way. I used to see most of life as isolated events, situations to be reacted to, or as inescapable patterns, mostly devoid of meaning. And I was slow to change, slow to grow.
These days, I see pretty much all experience as instructional. As a result, my growth is exponential. The changes I make aren't just reactionary, but intentional, meaning-making endeavors, leading to greater fulfillment.
Life is enriched with layers upon layers of meaning when you engage with metaphor. Five stars, highly recommend.
Nice. I'm noting right now that the theme of synchronicity is trending in my life. I've read a few other similar articles about events, meaning and paying attention for the sake of growth and gaining wisdom... There is a quote I think you'll like:
'when you take an interest in synchronicities, synchronicities take an interest in you'.
(I couldn't remember what, initially the quote referred to, but I think it could apply to anything - because that's apparently the nature of synchronicities)