Life is a (metaphor)

Rick Warren finally came through with something genuinely interesting. He explicitly addresses the metaphors people use to describe life. "If you think life is a party, then having fun is going to be the most important thing to you. If you think life is a race, then speed is going to most important to you, and you're going to be hurrying a lot. If you think life is a battle or a game, then winning is going to be very important." And he challenges the reader to identify the metaphors that currently guide their life.

This is good, solid self-knowledge. I could use this for an SKS meeting. There are a lot of popular metaphors these days: life is a journey, a quest, a game, a school, a dream. I find it remarkable that Warren recognizes the psychological power of these metaphors and how they shape attitudes.

The first thing that popped into my mind was, sadly, "Life is a job." I process all of my life through the filter of Work. According to my ruling metaphor, life is full of customers and coworkers who must be appeased, tasks to be accomplished, deadlines to be met, and the primary reward (other than the occasional pleasure in the work itself) is that I get to get up and do it again the next day.