Metaphor and the Organization of Social Life

Abstract

Life is organized. When you are rushing from place to place or chaotically trying to accomplish an imposing list of tasks, it may not seem like it is. But even in the midst of frenzy, there is an order to things, which is to say, there is structure to our lives. Some really wonderful things help provide that order, like happiness: the “pursuit of happiness,” or, better yet, the actual experience of happiness. One of the ways that happiness may be said to organize life is through rituals constructed to celebrate it: weddings, graduation ceremonies, coming-of-age rites, and retirement parties, for example. These events provide us with something to look forward to, something wonderful to experience, or something that ushers in the happiness accompanying the next phase of life. Of course not every person who gets married, graduates, comes of age, or retires is happy, either while the event is happening or after the celebration of it ends. And many people are not allowed to marry, do not have access to education, are not noticed to have come of age, or are not ever able to retire, but they may be extremely happy. My point is not that life is about absolutes. Rather, life is generally organized.