FROM LANGUAGE TO LIFE
Throughout this book, I have looked at selfhood and
vocation through metaphorical lenses, from the "seed" of
true self that is planted in the world at our birth to the
"journey" we take through darkness toward the light. I end
with yet another metaphor, looking at selfhood and vocation
through the turning of the seasons.
The seasonal metaphor deepens our understanding of the
others. Seeds move through their life stages in an endless
cycle of seasons-and the cycle of seasons reminds us that
the journey never ends. Our lives participate in the myth of
eternal return: we circle around and spiral down, never
finally answering the questions "Who am l?" and "Whose
am l?" but, in the words of Rilke, "living the questions"
throughout our lives.'
The seasonal metaphor also gives our inquiry new scope.
It takes the quest for selfhood and vocation out beyond its
origins in the depths of the inner life, out beyond the human