--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is what metaphor is. It is not…" description: "\"This is what metaphor is. It is not saying that an ant is an elephant. Perhaps; both are alive. No. Metaphor is saying the ant is an elephant. Now, log..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/natalie-goldberg-1741_alive_this-is-what-metaphor-is-it-is-not-sayin_1587160.png" --- # This is what metaphor is. It is not saying that an ant is… ![“This is what metaphor is. It is not saying that an ant is an elephant. Perhaps; both are alive. No. Metaphor is saying the ant is an elephant. Now, logically speaking, I know there is a difference. If you put elephants and ants before me, I believe that every time I will correctly identify the…” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/natalie-goldberg-1741_alive_this-is-what-metaphor-is-it-is-not-sayin_1587160.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/natalie-goldberg-1741_alive_this-is-what-metaphor-is-it-is-not-sayin_1587160.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/natalie-goldberg-1741_alive_this-is-what-metaphor-is-it-is-not-sayin_1587160.png) > “This is what metaphor is. It is not saying that an ant is an elephant. Perhaps; both are alive. No. Metaphor is saying the ant is an elephant. Now, logically speaking, I know there is a difference. If you put elephants and ants before me, I believe that every time I will correctly identify the elephant and the ant. So metaphor must come from a very different place than that of the logical, intelligent mind. It comes from a place that is very courageous, willing to step out of our preconceived ways of seeing things and open so large that it can see the oneness in an ant and in an elephant.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Metaphor transcends literal logic, allowing us to see connections between disparate things by daring to imagine unity beyond surface differences. **In simple terms:** Metaphor lets us see unity in differences. Key Takeaway Embrace imaginative thinking. Themes creativity perception language Mood inspired reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - teaching - art criticism - problem solving Key Concepts metaphor cognitive flexibility Questions to Reflect On - How can you use metaphor without losing nuance? - When does metaphor become misleading? A Different Perspective Metaphor can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Ants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ants/) [Courageous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courageous/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Oneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneness/) ## Related quotes > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [The world looks a totally different place after two wins. I can even enjoy watching Blind Date or laugh at Noel's House Party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-strachan/the-world-looks-a-totally-different-place-after-two-wins-i-can-even/) [Gordon Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-strachan/) > [That's the government. Having been a politician and a musician, I can tell you which one is a higher calling. If musicians ran the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/that-s-the-government-having-been-a-politician-and-a-musician-i-can/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [If only there is a sufficient number of people whose experience of life goes beyond body and mind, this world will be a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/if-only-there-is-a-sufficient-number-of-people-whose-experience-of/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [I think you have to sort of accept that nobody really knows where it's going so there has to be a lot of impulsive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/i-think-you-have-to-sort-of-accept-that-nobody-really-knows-where-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [I'm thankful for the ability to share my faith in a lot of different places. 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I'll be reading two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/as-i-work-day-after-day-inspirations-from-different-places-go-into/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [“If you wake up at a different time in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/if-you-wake-up-at-a-different-time-in-a-different-place-could-you/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) > [What I enjoy most is travelling to different places and meeting new people. 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It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/know-that-you-will-eventually-have-to-leave-everything-behind-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. 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Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. 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We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is what metaphor is. It is not saying that an ant is an elephant. Perhaps; both are alive. No. Metaphor is saying the ant is an elephant. Now, logically speaking, I know there is a difference. If you put elephants and ants before me, I believe that every time I will correctly identify the elephant and the ant. So metaphor must come from a very different place than that of the logical, intelligent mind. 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