I have found that clients who are paddling (or even drowning) in the swamps of others readily grasp this metaphor and have commented that they have found it to be helpful. Personally, I have found it useful to regularly remind myself that "it is not my swamp" when being enticed into other people's swamps.
Using the metaphor
The swamp represents the problems of others, and it is often easy for us to be invited into the swamp with them, either by their helplessness or our own feelings of compassion. However if we jump into the swamp to rescue them it is most likely that we will be sucked down as well (think quick-sand).
A better option is to stay on solid ground and to use our strengths and resources to offer the struggling person a plank. Then it is up to the struggling person to choose whether or not to grab hold of the plank (we can't make them do this). The choice of the right resources, to best fit the struggling person's situation and needs, will enhance the likelihood of them grabbing the plank.
If they refuse to grab hold of the plank, then it is still unhelpful to everyone for us to be tempted to jump into the swamp with them. This is the most difficult challenge. We could try offering other planks or to change the existing plank to make it more enticingly appropriate, or maybe the struggling person needs to be allowed space to manage their own struggle for a while.
The diagram
In our travels we have discovered that swamps often occur in really beautiful areas. Why is this, I wonder?
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