Posts Tagged ‘relationship’

I notice that I tend to think in analogies. And by that, I mean that I like to draw similarities between two very different things. Somehow, when I’m able to draw a connection that seems to fit perfectly, it’s much more satisfying than being able to clearly define it through descriptive words. I know I probably lost a lot of people in my train of thought here, so I’ll give an example.

This example really isn’t from me, actually…it’s from my cousin. Quite woeful from the breakup of my first serious boyfriend, she told me that relationships were like boats. Sometimes people tend to hold onto a boat because they don’t like jumping into the vast ocean and tread water. They’re afraid that they’ll drown, or they’re afraid that they won’t find another boat. Heck, treading water is just TOUGH.

Trust me, I know. I remember girl scout training where I had to tread water for five minutes with all of my clothes on, including socks and shoes. I think it’s suppose to prove that in a real life-or-death situation, I’d be able to stay afloat because clothing tends to weigh you down. And, of course, if you were to capsize in a boat you’d most likely not be thinking “Oh, the next wise move would be to strip down so I will weigh less.” Anyway, five minutes - I did it, but I was very tired and my shoes would never be the same after the thorough chlorine bath.

Anyway, some people tend to jump from boat to boat. These were the relationship hoppers. Overall, this analogy was pretty good, and really illustrated the point: don’t worry about the hypothetical ocean, treading water may suck but you can do it. Though, I took this a step further and suddenly my friends and I were referring to people as “canoes” (the outdoorsy type) “yachts” (you can guess that one) or “rafts” (sub-par specimens of the opposite or of-interest gender). We even took it a step further, where people who were bruised and battered in prior relationships were “used-boats” or those still inexperienced were “newly-minted.” Sometimes it wasn’t a good thing to have to break in a boat - the steering might be off, or the rudder looks okay but doesn’t respond the way it should.

The analogy soon became very detailed, the equivalent nuances of real relationships and potential people emerging from the depths of our imagination. Why discuss how relationships are in the real world by talking about relationships when you can discuss it in basic nautical ideas? I say it makes the whole discussion much more vivid.

My point? Although it is a little strange to go into such depth about boats and relationships, I find it fascinating how certain analogies seem to uncover truths about something you don’t really think about. You know, those “ohhh, yeah” moments where something suddenly clicks.

Looking back now, I’m not quite sure why thinking in analogies was such an important topic to discuss in a post. But maybe I’ll rationalize “why” with an analogy later on. Isn’t convoluted thinking such a fun thing sometimes?