Bridges. We've all driven over them or under them. Possibly, we've built an occasional bridge or unfortunately, burned a bridge or two. The purpose of a bridge is to close the gap between two places to ensure safe passage. Or, it's a connection between two places in time. It could be a part of your body, like the bridge of your nose, or some sort of dentistry that I've heard of. Bridges can also be found in musical passages. It's that place that spans the gap between stanzas, perhaps that amazing guitar solo.
When an engineer is designing a bridge, I imagine (as I am not an engineer) a lot has to be taken into consideration, measured, added,
subtracted, divided, multiplied, surveyed,
angled, drawn out, dug up, filled in.
A bridge has to be built with precision, an exacting task. For what would happen if you were driving over one, and it collapsed? Or what if you were under one, as I was today. I took a moment (safely, mind you, I was at a red light) and thought about this as I examined the structure above me.
Is this similar to building a relationship? Going from one level of trust to the next? Possibly. And possibly, perhaps, this is why so many relationships fail. It takes careful consideration, measurement, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, surveying, angling, drawing out, digging up, and filling in. It takes time. Communication. Openness. Humility. Selflessness.
Orange barrels and cones.
If I am going to build bridges with the people in my life,
I want to be explicit, purposeful,
in my time and words.
I want sturdy bridges that hold up under pressure, that can hold the weight of what this world sometimes throws at us.
Unfortunately, I've burned a number of bridges in my lifetime. That comes with regrets. But, I hope to use the wisdom from my experiences to build upon the future, and hopefully, won't make the same mistakes.
I better get my hard hat.
