Where I am.

The man was right up against it—a wire fence with jagged barbs densely interwoven. No chance of getting through those barbs. The path ahead looked attractive. But the barbed-wire fence… Even if he could somehow get through the first one, he could see there was another beyond it. And another, and another. Yet he had to try. Maybe if he could find someone who could give him a wire cutter.

If he could just “cut through” it as he put it—then he knew he could have a really nice future. It turned out that the barbed wire fence went completely across the path in front of him from left to right—but then it stopped. Beyond the edge of the fence was just flat ground. The same thing on the left. The entire fence was only about 6 feet in length.

By really recognizing “where I am” in this way it becomes possible to discover the options. I may be trying to move forward, but it might work out better if I consider moving around. Perhaps I do need to get something off my chest. Perhaps if I move closer—or farther—other things will change.

Blips from: How Our Metaphors Reveal Creative Solutions