Sanity: Extended metaphor

Sanity is such a tricky thing. It slips between the fingers like water, and only those whose cup is empty can capture it. It's so easy to let it slip away. A break in the cup and the water trickles through the cracks. One cannot have too much sanity...there simply isn't room for it. I feel as though I am trying to catch it with a sieve. Dipping into a river of sanity with the fish of madness swimming through it. The fish would never fit into a cup. It dives from a full cup, seeking greater waters. Likewise, it couldn't survive in an empty cup. It would die. So all my life I have sought to be the empty cup. When sanity is necessary, I can dip the cup in the stream of sanity and muster enough to last through whatever the challenge is. The rest of the time...tilt the cup over, let the liquid flow out. With an empty cup, there is room for wine instead of water.


Inspiration: Thesaurus!
Story Potential: Of itself? None, but it could provide an interesting place for a character to be born.
Finished Length: Long short story or novel or essay.
Notes: Again, this itself is nothing, but then again, it might provide an interesting point for a character to start.