April 23, 2007
Your Life Metaphor
Matters; Just Ask 107-Year-Old Clara Font
On
the eve of her 107th birthday, I interviewed Clara Font at
the adult day care center she visits every day. She was engaging, lucid
and funny. I sat down to talk with her after she had just finished her
aerobic exercises with her physical therapist. She had been swinging her
legs and kicking an inflated ball. I was impressed.
Sitting face to face with Clara I asked, “Tomorrow you turn 107, what do
you think?” Clara did not hesitate with her answer. She looked right at
me, and said with a smile, “Life is a gift.”
In
his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Positive Psychology researcher
Jonathan Haidt wrote, “Human thinking depends on metaphor. We understand
new or complex things in relation to the things we already know . . .
once you pick a metaphor it will guide your thinking.”
Consider the power of Clara’s “life is a gift” metaphor. When we see
life as a gift, we see that it is to be appreciated, unwrapped, shared,
opened, cared for and celebrated. A gift brings delight, opportunity,
privilege and a responsibility to use it thoughtfully.
Our metaphors help us make sense of the world. Metaphors allow us to
understand something as complex as “life” by thinking of it in terms of
something we already know, like “a gift.” Clara’s “life is a gift”
metaphor is all the more impressive to me, considering that her first 40
years were marked with tragedy.
During the Russian pogroms, two of Clara’s brothers were ripped from
their home and were never seen again. Clara spoke of her family and how
they had to separate to survive. As a newlywed, she was forced to leave
Russia with her husband. Their perilous journey to Romania began on foot
and included swimming across a river. From Romania they traveled to
Argentina, where their two children were born. In 1939, Clara and her
family relocated to the United States to be with her mother and younger
sister who had made it safely to New York years earlier. Then one year
after arriving in America, her husband died. And through it all, Clara
believed that life was a gift.
Professors George Lakoff and Mark Johnson wrote in their book Metaphors
We Live By, “In all aspects of life . . . we define our reality in terms
of metaphors and then proceed to act on the basis of the metaphors. We
draw inferences, set goals, make commitments and execute plans, all on
the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and
unconsciously, by means of metaphor.”
Years ago you were “cool” if your metaphor for life was “Life’s a bitch
and then you die.” People wore t-shirts, hats and put bumper stickers on
their cars emblazoned with these words. I always wondered how this
metaphor or any of its many variations helped anyone live a better life.
It’s hard to imagine a centenarian like Clara blowing out her candles,
and then shouting, “Life sucks!”
Before the end of my interview with Clara I asked, “Clara, what’s it
like to be almost 107 years old?” She smiled broadly, and charmingly
told me, “Everyone asks me that question.” She then leaned forward in
her chair and said, “Every day is another opportunity.”
Think about your metaphors. Do they lead you to happiness? Do they
inspire you to be a better friend, spouse, parent or leader? Do they
open up career possibilities for you? If your metaphors are not helping
you achieve your best possible life, change them.
And if you’re not sure where to start, consider the metaphors and wisdom
of someone who recently turned 107 years old. Listen to Clara: Life is
a gift and each day is an opportunity.
Clara, your life is our gift. Happy Birthday!
© 2007 David J. Pollay.
Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
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