Being The Bridge…

I’ve always had a fascination with Bridges…

Not only do I find them quite stunning to look at, but I’m in awe of their structure, the heights/lengths they reach and the strength they have to withstand the enormous volumes of traffic that continuously flow across them.

Everyone I know has their favorite…the Golden Gate, the Brooklyn, the Charles (in Prague), the Sydney Harbour Bridge etc.  The one at the top of my own personal bucket list (for a live viewing), is the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome.

Every Bridge is exquisite in it’s own way.

It’s mind boggling to think of the millions upon millions of different people who have seen their way across the various Bridges of the world…all crossing over on their way to somewhere.

And while that part is indeed interesting, what I love most is what a Bridge represents.

It’s a connector, a platform that takes us from one side to another. It’s open ended and offers a way of joining us to a place we may not have been able to reach had the Bridge not been in place.

I took this photograph while driving across the lovely Lions Gate Bridge, in my own home town of Vancouver, BC.

When I looked at it afterwards, my mind started to see much more than just a spectacular structure. I suddenly realized there have likely been countless moments in all our lives where we have held the position of “Being the Bridge”

Think about it…how many times have you been there for someone in need? Perhaps you were a sounding board, the voice of reason for a friend or family member, who may have required that little bit of help to cross over to another level of understanding, clarity, or simply just see a different point of view.

You’ve likely been a Bridge more often than you may even realize.  We all have…be it personally, professionally and sometimes even spiritually.

As parents, we are the Bridge that help our children to grow, to pass over or through the various stages in their life. As a partner, a friend, sibling, co-worker etc., we do the same. We are there for each other in joyful (and also painful) moments of connection.

Connection is such powerful and meaningful force for us all, it’s a strength that we are able to use in the very best of ways.

Years ago, my husband talked down 2 men outside a nightclub who were in the midst of a pretty intense fight. Lets just say it could have been fatal had he not intervened.  Many years later he ran into one of those men, who shared that that night actually changed his life.  Something my husband had said to him just clicked, and it changed the entire course of the path he was on.  Imagine how good that felt to know he had been the Bridge that helped a man in this remarkable way.

Some days we may be a Bridge…yet on others, we might only be a viaduct or even a simple overpass.

I can’t help but feel that any type of small connection we can offer, that may assist to help someone out…will also serve to help ourselves and perhaps strengthen our own level of understanding.

That kind of open ended structure… is one that’s good for us all.

For today friends…this is #theworldaseyeseeit