Powerful as a lion, humble as a tortoise

A blog with hidden messages about Systems Integration

I have to admit, I was never a fan of metaphors, they seemed a little artificial to me. The dictionary describes a metaphor as: “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. Perhaps I prefer things to be literal.

But during my coaching training there was no getting away from it, at least 3 times a day we were asked to describe the atmosphere in the group and often this would result in someone using a metaphor. I had to admit that they did describe the situation very well. Another benefit of metaphors is that you use very few words, and as I am a big fan of ‘less not more’ this has slowly changed my opinion.

So, now that I am considering the metaphor to be useful, I feel hampered by how to choose one that befits the situation best. If I must use one, then let it be poetic, powerful and memorable. By setting the bar this high, it’s hard to choose. So instead of coming up with words that have the impact of a thunderous river, I am left milling over words like a picky child over its vegetables.  

The homework I have set myself, is to think of metaphors over the next few days and see how I feel about it then. You could say I am dipping my toe into an unknown well, with the possibility to be shown a whole new way to use language, like a musician discovering a new composer.  It’s early days, so my creative language juices are not quite there yet.  

How do you feel about metaphors and when do you like to use them?