I love metaphor ... its penetrates our defenses and conveys so many layers of meaning. Yet metaphor also distills the essence of a truth and allows us to easily grab hold of it. No wonder Jesus used metaphors, analogies, similarities, parables, and stories of all kinds. Our society doesn't like to expend much effort of the brain; we're a society of the obvious, the blatant, and crass. And so our metaphors (at least in the popular public spheres) are usually quite shallow; only the minority seem enticed to engage in seeking deeper layers of meaning. I love metaphor, perhaps that's why my blog doesn't get massive hits (or perhaps I just write badly, or maybe I'm just too twisted). But that doesn't matter, because I write for my own hubris (see sidebar). Here are two visual "metaphors" I've recently encountered. The first is quirky, and perhaps that's why I like it. But I see in it a number of things, all of course conditioned by who I am and what I'm thinking. I see first a message to learn to love language, because it's so powerful, and we should not be afraid of big words. Its words that enable us to think. Then I see that the image of an African person ... that's quite rare. I've been in deepest Africa and seen billboards with white European models. So the second message is to use our words without racial preconceptions. Third, I think of the phrase "Embrace the Word", which on the face of it means don't be scared of big words. But of course, to the Christian, the "Word" has a special meaning, and our lives are purposed to embrace the Word. And one more ... I look at the picture and I start to think, what are the individual words in the text; are they edifying or destructive? Am I embracing the wrong words? Where do I look for my information, is it trustworthy, and how do I know? Here's a second metaphor. You can click on the image to read the full story, but in essence its about the inbreeding of tigers to get white tigers ... they're special, rare, valuable to zoos, and beautiful. They're also a product of a recessive gene that makes them cross-eyed with skeletal disorders and other deformities. Yet zoos breed them for the popularity factor. That makes me think of the modern Christian. We are so focused on appearing to be beautiful - physically, socially, and intellectually. But its a superficial beauty, and inside we're deformed and damaged, hurting and hidden. Yet society encourages our incestuous inbreeding of these "beauty" traits, saying we need to be like this or that in order to be beautiful. We're being bred like a white tiger, and end up cross-eyed. So there's some metaphors ... go out yourself and hunt for them, it's a great game! And perhaps you'll metamorphose yourself into something truly beautiful.
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Why?
Probably the best therapy is to express yourself. Why do you think psychiatrists make you lie on the couch and talk, while all they do is murmur "hmmm", "uhuh", or "go on"? Archives
May 2017
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