Sometimes we need a metaphor to see clearly

I love a good metaphor.

In coaching, in therapy, and honestly in life… metaphors can help us create just enough space from situations that feel overwhelming, heavy, or all-consuming.

Because sometimes when we’re stuck inside the problem, it’s hard to see another perspective.

But when we begin to “play” with the situation through metaphor and imagination…

something shifts.

We can explore possibilities.
Notice patterns.
Experiment with solutions.
See ourselves differently.

And often, insights emerge that we may never have accessed by simply thinking harder about the problem.

I keep using the word “play” intentionally.

Because play matters.

There’s fascinating research showing that play and imagination can help create stronger neural pathways with less repetition than traditional learning alone. It’s one of the reasons play is so important for children…

And honestly?

I think it’s important for adults too.

Beautiful sunset

Recently, I found myself reflecting on a couple of powerful metaphors shared by clients over the years — beautiful souls whose words have stayed with me long after our sessions ended.

With details changed for privacy, I wanted to share them here because maybe someone reading this needs them too.

One metaphor came from a conversation about suffering in the world.

The constant heaviness we witness.
The overwhelm.
The helplessness.

This client imagined herself standing on a paved ledge beside a deep mud pit, watching people struggling inside it.

She cared deeply about them and felt such pain witnessing their suffering that part of her believed she needed to climb into the mud with them.

But then something shifted.

She realized that if she became stuck in the mud too…

She wouldn’t actually be able to help anyone.

From solid ground, however, she could still care deeply and help:
✨ extend a hand
✨ offer support
✨ find resources
✨ bring boots
✨ create a bridge

The metaphor helped her recognize that drowning in suffering alongside others doesn’t necessarily create healing.

Sometimes support looks like staying grounded enough to help.

Another client described her experience with hypervigilance and anxiety through a completely different image.

She imagined herself living in a very high skyscraper apartment in New York City.

The window was open.

And every few moments, she felt compelled to walk over and look down.

To check how high up she was.
How far she could fall.
What could go wrong?

“The worst-case scenario.”

Again and again, she returned to the window.

And because she was so focused on the possibility of falling…

She couldn’t actually be present with the family, sitting safely beside her inside the apartment.

Eventually, she realized:
What she longed for wasn’t certainty.

It was trust.

Trust that she could close the window as best she could…
step away…
and allow herself to be present in the life happening around her.

Pretending to be spider man swinging between skyscrapers, the view from an apt in Brookline, NY

Metaphors can be so powerful.

They bypass logic sometimes and speak directly to something deeper within us.

They help us disconnect from the suffering in a way words cannot, and..

They help bring in play and a degree of separation that allows us to look at a situation from a different perspective, rather than being “in it.”

So this week, I leave you with a reflection:

✨ If your current struggle had a metaphor…
What would it look like?

What image comes to mind?

What might that image be trying to show you?

And what would support, safety, healing, or freedom look like within that metaphor?

I’d genuinely love to hear if anything comes up for you.
Feel free to reply and share your metaphors with me — I truly love hearing them 💖

Warmly,

Priyanka
Wayfinding Moms

P.S. One of the things I’ve been reflecting on is how healing doesn’t always happen through words alone.

Sometimes it happens through sensation.

Through stillness.

Through sound.

Through allowing the nervous system to feel safe enough to soften.

This month inside The Village, we’ll be exploring exactly that with trauma-informed sound healing practitioner Kiana Siino, who will guide us through a conversation on sound as a tool for nervous system regulation, followed by a live sound bath experience.

A chance to pause…

settle…

and experience it for yourself.