The Pain Metaphor: Using a Commonplace Book to Find the Currency of Pain

word to know

metaphor—a figure of speech that compares two things by saying that one is the other

related commonplace topics

• adversity

• communication

• resilience

Figurative language is helpful when I cannot say what I want to say. In a few words or images, I can communicate a vast idea. Pain has a way of using figurative language, too. It asks me—the listener—to assign meaning to what it says. Instead of just hearing a literal message, I must use prior experience to relate or compare.

Pain asks me to do something. I wanted to learn how these figurative demands affect my Everyday Living. So, I created a new topic in my commonplace book: my pain metaphor.

What is the currency of pain?

So, what is pain asking of me? My commonplace topic showed me that the pain demand is more of a currency than just an expense. As a medium of exchange, pain stories reveal trends and themes in my life resources (relationships, tools, services, mindsets). As I continue to reshape my pain metaphor, I incorporate elements (images, colors, fabrics) that call on my language, culture, traditions, and beliefs. This creative process brings me comfort and nourishment. Examples of life imagery I continue with include—

• candle

• celebration

• chrysalis

• footpath

• frontier

• garden

• rainstorm

• romance

• symphony

• valley

Best wishes on this inquiry path. May your pain metaphor renew the Creative Self.