Charlie Hynes

My Life is a Metaphor

            We all go through life comparing our situation, whether it is our socioeconomic status, or health related, even in terms of our relationships with others.  Are we single, have a girlfriend/boyfriend, or are we married?  I am a married man who struggles to keep his small business afloat, works a second job, and goes to school with the hope of improving my economic situation.  While watching the Democratic National Convention for instance I related to President Obamas’ acceptance speech because I could relate statistically to those people who he was trying to reach.  My life is a metaphor for many of those causes the President spoke of.  I need medical insurance, and sometimes I cannot afford it.  The economy has hit trade contractors such as myself very hard as we survive off of the well being of those around us. 

            When I see a dog running off his leash near the road I go to help him, but when I am lost and struggling to find my way in this world it is my family that helps me to find my way.  Often they can only be encouraging and maybe advise me in the proper direction.  I have found a couple dogs in the past year that all I could afford to do was to get them to a shelter, it is the lucky ones who have held on to their tags and have an owner on the other end of a phone number, anxious to find and help their dog. 

            Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing a stop sign when I am in a hurry to be somewhere.  The sign is a reminder to “stop” and take in what is going on around me as much as it is a traffic signal to stop and literally look around before proceeding.  It is these symbols that bring metaphor to my world.  Metaphor comes when we identify an analogy, something that is not total likeness, like with “simile”.  Metaphor can have a total different construct like the lost dog and my being lost in my career.  What is applicable is the noting of help from another source outside of myself, just as the dog finds help from me.

            Today the weather was crisp and cool and sunny when I woke up, as was I after I had my coffee.  I noticed my cat was in the yard on an early morning hunt as I looked through the window of our living room.  At that same moment I was scouring the cupboards and the refrigerator in search of a snack.  Life is full of metaphor when we consider the trials and tribulations of others paving their own ways through the same complex world.  My life is a metaphor to whatever I take notice of that I can relate to on a personal level.