Stories about life as a metaphor

This summer I married Ingrid Rudefors. Restaurang Stockholm at the Central Station was the scene for our engagement. We married at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and then flew to New York and Seattle for honeymoon. It was not until recently I realized how much this connected to our thoughts on metaphors.

The journey as metaphor for a lasting relationship....

During the weekend I have spent some time in Facebook, the newest IT-phenomena. I have been into collaborative, social technology for more than 15 years now. How do I approach new services and tools? I realize that I ask myself and others the question "What is this like?" In order to understand it I need to create a metaphor.

The next question for me is "What can it be used for?" Now I start to create possible stories about how it could be used. I thought, maybe it could be used to expand a network a have co-created with some friends - "Gotlandska Stockholmare" - "Gotlandic Stockholmers". Then we could connect through Facebook as we connect when we meet and mingle in reality.

So I sit there on Sunday night deeply into Facebook, besides my wife Ingrid. Someone calls and asks what we are doing, and Ingrid says "We are playing with Facebook"

I get angry. I am not playing. I am working. And then I realize again how much I am connected to the metaphors of play and work. Maybe it's a generation thing (after all, I am born in the 50's). Are we playing? And if we are playing, is that to the contrary of working.

As I was thinking about this I tried to look for what pictures that first would come into my mind I to illustrate "work" and "play"

"Factory workers" and "Playing dolphins" was the two words, and I came up with these two pictures.

How does this connect to the Metafari?

One of the basic values of "Appreciative Inquiry" is "Appreciation". You are appreciating life, what is good, what is lifegiving, and what is working.

To me it is based on an idea that leads in new directions. Life as play and collaboration, rather than life as struggle and competition. Exploring what gives energy, accepting that there can be many ways leading to success, and that there are no simple right or wrong. We can explore our values, what motivates us, and what we want to achieve. And we can join the Metafari.

Stay tuned!