A metaphor people use a lot is that when trying to accomplish goals is that they “can’t see the forest for the trees”. It usually means that they are focused on the details and lose sight of the big picture.
Another metaphor people use is that they can “see the light at the end of the tunnel”. This usage often means that they can finally get a glimpse of the goal from where they are in the process.
The problem with the tree metaphor for me has always been that seeing the “forest” is often not the goal–getting out of the “forest” often is what we want to do.
The problem with the tunnel metaphor is twofold–for one, it assumes that reaching a goal is a straight-line process of following the tracks someone else has laid. The other is the corollary we often hear to this metaphor from the pessimists among us–that the “light could be the signal of an oncoming train”. In other words, we think we’re reaching our goal, but that may not be the case.
I’m not in either of those places right now.
The title of this post combines the two ideas–I feel like I can see the light filtering through the trees. The trees are getting thinner, and the sun is shining so brightly that even the heaviest forest cover can’t block it all.
I am right at halfway to finishing the checklist I drew up at the first of May for my new manuscript, Our Little Secret. That will be quite the milestone, especially considering that in mid-March, I was thinking about tossing the story altogether.
But I also know that’s only one step to bringing the manuscript out into the world. But it will mean that I’m one step closer to that goal. The trees are thinning out, but they aren’t gone quite yet. But the light of hope–that I’m not quite done for as of yet–is shining brighter than it was at the first of this year.
And I think that’s a good place to be.
Happy writing!
Julie Liddell Whitehead 