Life’s metaphors

I was working with a client the other day and she was very stuck. Stuck like many of us get at different points in our life. When in this place, we are most often very tied to “our story” (in our heads) and looking at the world through grey coloured glasses. From here there is little possibility of seeing the lighter side of things even when it’s right there in front of us! At these times, it can be helpful to have some tools to quickly refocus ourselves and get out of your heads. One thing that can be helpful is working with metaphors. My client kept saying that she felt like she was in this tunnel and couldn’t see anything but her problem. We talked about what part of herself could see herself in that tunnel – that’s the observing self. The observing self does not have to get pulled into the story but can take the “helicopter view”. It can pause and choose to do something differently because it sees things as they really are in the present moment (not what the thoughts are telling us). In this case, my client started to “dig holes in her tunnel” and through them she could see the small things that made her life so worthwhile and full. She began digging through to the other side and discovered effective but forgotten tools & skills, supportive relationships and, most importantly, a little compassion for herself and her struggles. I invited her to understand that she can become more skilled at recognizing her tunnel (a part of life) and digging her holes (skills we work at over time). What metaphor could help you move to the lighter side when you are feeling stuck?