Life is about building bridges and crossing them

Life makes no sense in a vacuum, even if there are times when we want or need to shrink back.  There are times to retreat, just as there are times to concede, but the greater purpose of life is to build bridges and cross them—to enter the arena of LIFE.

We know that there are so many people who do the opposite—they burn bridges and refuse to cross bridges that are built toward them.  They live unaccountable lives and who suffers?

Not just those others of us who are impacted by their selfishness, but they themselves suffer wilfully, never caring to make the impact they could to change, when they themselves hold the key.  But they refuse to accept any sense of responsibility and constantly put bridge building and crossing back on everyone else.

Never was there a sadder relationship than one where neither builds nor crosses.

But the person who understands the power of one’s mind to set up one’s life holds the key to both their own contentedness and that of others who depend on them.

Here are practical ways we exhibit bridge building and bridge crossing behaviour in life:

1.         Focus on what can be done, on what can be controlled from what can’t be, and accept it.  No good kicking against the goads.  The goads of life are not impacted by us, yet as we accept that they’re there, we work around, under, over, and through them.  People who can’t or won’t build bridges and cross them keep nonsensically hitting their heads against the brick walls of life.

2.         Devoted to being a ‘cycle breaker’ in our family or life, we do what we can to build bridges of healing and cross them in restoring life to dead and toxic parts of our family line, through our children, and our children’s children.  As we get older, we also recognise that we can only do our best in this area of life, for like in point 1, there are still so many uncontrollable factors and realities in life.

3.         Holding short account, we say our apologies sincerely, knowing that in that alone, when we’re wrong, is freedom.  We observe the freer people in life manage their resentments and deal with the heart of the problem—which is always the problem of the heart.  Maintaining a forgiving and merciful heart, warding against cynicism, is the greatest investment we can make for our emotional and spiritual health.

4.         In not being afraid of calling true things truth, in being committed bridge designers, builders, and crossers, we say what needs to be said—in love.  Those who refuse to engage in bridge building would prefer to gossip about differences than actually sow into truth-telling.

5.         Engaging in designing, creating, building, and crossing bridges takes faith and the passion to bounce back after rejection and abandonment, because engaging in building and crossing bridges is risky business, and there are sure to be many times we’ll be scorched for the goodwill we extend.