I was passing over the walking bridge early this morning. I usually like to read a book the entire way, but today was a special occassion. I slipped Little House on the Prairie under my armpit and took in the amazing scent of the planks of which the bridge was constructed.
A hymn came into my head which I began to hum.
"I love thee for wearing the thorn on thy brow.
"If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now."
Now, how did walking accross the bridge trigger in my subconcious a hymn often sung at Easter?
Easy! It was the metaphor of the crown of thorns. The scent wafting up from the wood was so stringent, my subconscious took me to an intense image.
Only the power of metaphor could bring two such opposing things--a wonderful, savory smell and a violent image--together. Metaphors have a capability to express a truth in a nonlinear way. They're pregnant with representation, but the relationship between the object and what it represents is not always as direct as an alleghory.
Metaphors can be intimidating. Although an English major, I had issues with John Steinbeck's metaphor of the Chrysanthemum in his short story featuring a family of farmers and the flower. After reading the story, I realized there was something about the titular flower that was significant, but I couldn't put my finger on it. So a traveling tinker buys a chrysanthemum from a farmer, then tosses the flower out of the pot on his way down the road. Big deal?
I felt silly after reading the story because there seemed to be much I was missing. Yet when a particular metaphor "clicks" is grasped by a reader, it is a marvelous experience. The meaning of the metaphor expands as the story develops, ricocheting on and on into the vastness of the reader's understanding. Even after the book is put down and the reader must leave the realm of fantasy for reality, the wonder of the metaphor is carried with them. The metapohor is a power of literature which translates into our everyday life.
In special instances, a metaphor does not need to be explained. To circle back to the hymn I mentioned above, when a Christian says the phrase, "Jesus is Lord," other Christians will know what is meant. Even though we don't use the term "Lord" in modern verbage, the phrase is such a powerful metaphor that members of the same religion can connect over it.
What's more, metaphors such as the one I just mentioned can be taken many different ways. But as long as there is a loose connection of intent, the differences don't matter. This is why most religions are steeped in symbolism and metaphor. While the tenets of any religion can be explained in stark, scientific words, the true belief loses its magic. There's little that can retain sexiness like a metaphor.
I am going to challenge myself to become lost in metaphor on a more regular basis. Unfortunately, I often find myself thinking, "why would so-and-so believe such-and-such?
That's crazy--it just doesn't make sense." But I'm not allowing the metapohor that so-and-so subscribes to to do it's work. Some answers are self explanatory. Such as the answer to the questions, "why believe?" To which the answer can be as simple as, "Because he wore a crown of thorns."
