Good thoughts. How you write depends on what you're trying to communicate and to whom.

I encourage my Intro to Creative Writing students to opt for concrete details and avoid abstractions and generalizations, especially in poetry and fiction. It is not necessary to be specific about everything, however. I prefer not to give overly detailed descriptions of characters in my novels and short stories, unless their features are important to the plot, because I'd rather let my readers picture them in whatever way best facilitates identification.

And I think you're definitely onto something with vague metaphors that readers will interpret in their own ways, when writing to inspire and motivate.