# Metaphor: Complex Challenges

![](/files/-LuaJWHmrSSfXA-ha4QD)

When we get close to a challenge it’s easy to obscure the other, interrelated ones. We need to step back to get perspective, but also to see the context (the system) in which we’re working.

When we step back, we notice there was a whole forest we couldn't see before, because we were too busy focusing on the trees.

This myopic view of the reality of a complex challenge is what my practice has evolved to avoid.

This exegesis is an exploration of [developing system sight](/mdes-exegesis/thesis-part-2-the-story-of-system.md) (seeing the forest), how to [design strategy to channel insight into action](/mdes-exegesis/thesis-part-3-the-story-of-the-portfolio-of-concepts.md) (nurturing seeds), and [developing concepts to give the action enough form to gain feedback about it’s chance of survival](/mdes-exegesis/thesis-part-1-the-story-of-the-concepts.md) (planting trees).


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