Inspiration: Building Bridges…

“Knowledge of other people’s beliefs and ways of thinking must be used to build bridges, not to create conflicts.” Kjell Magne Bondevik

Inspiration: Building Bridges... Westminster Bridge

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent , bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did the sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Do you have a favorite bridge you enjoy crossing? What do bridges mean to you? Bridges are magnificent, sturdy structures that help us cross a body of water; separating where we want to go from where we are. They are also used as a metaphor for connecting people, ideas, beliefs, goals, our dreams and everything that matters in our lives. I love bridges and have crossed some stunning bridges in my lifetime. But, what stands out again and again is the image of a thousand hands joined together, stretched across an expansive ocean, embracing all people, and building bridges that ensure all cross safely and peacefully to the other side. What bridges do each of us need to build?

“We have a long way to go before we are able to hear the voices of everyone on earth, but I believe that providing voices and building bridges is essential for the World Peace we all wish for.” Joichi Ito

Inspiration: Building Bridges… Brooklyn Bridge

Inspiration: Building Bridges... Brooklyn Bridge

To Brooklyn Bridge by Hart Crane
How many dawns, chill from his rippling rest
The seagull’s wings shall dip and pivot him,
Shedding white rings of tumult, building high
Over the chained bay waters Liberty–

Then, with inviolate curve, forsake our eyes
As apparitional as sails that cross
Some page of figures to be filed away;
–Till elevators drop us from our day . . .

I think of cinemas, panoramic sleights
With multitudes bent toward some flashing scene
Never disclosed, but hastened to again,
Foretold to other eyes on the same screen;

And Thee, across the harbor, silver-paced
As though the sun took step of thee, yet left
Some motion ever unspent in thy stride,–
Implicitly thy freedom staying thee!

Out of some subway scuttle, cell or loft
A bedlamite speeds to thy parapets,
Tilting there momently, shrill shirt ballooning,
A jest falls from the speechless caravan.

Down Wall, from girder into street noon leaks,
A rip-tooth of the sky’s acetylene;
All afternoon the cloud-flown derricks turn . . .
Thy cables breathe the North Atlantic still. Contd below

What wisdom have we learned from bridges? The bridge metaphor is used in all forms of communication; in times of war, in martial arts, in peace time diplomacy and even in dream therapy. It communicates a stance, a way to reach out and close a gap that weakens our position… Even though it has a number of different meanings, we immediately turn to the first idea – building bridges to each other and even to ourselves. More below!

“Sometimes you have to, as I say, build bridges where you can – but draw lines where you must.” Fred Thompson

Inspiration: Building Bridges... Golden Gate Bridge

To Brooklyn Bridge by Hart Crane
And obscure as that heaven of the Jews,
Thy guerdon . . . Accolade thou dost bestow
Of anonymity time cannot raise:
Vibrant reprieve and pardon thou dost show.

O harp and altar, of the fury fused,
(How could mere toil align thy choiring strings!)
Terrific threshold of the prophet’s pledge,
Prayer of pariah, and the lover’s cry,–

Again the traffic lights that skim thy swift
Unfractioned idiom, immaculate sigh of stars,
Beading thy path–condense eternity:
And we have seen night lifted in thine arms.

Under thy shadow by the piers I waited;
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City’s fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year . . .

O Sleepless as the river under thee,
Vaulting the sea, the prairies’ dreaming sod,
Unto us lowliest sometime sweep, descend
And of the curveship lend a myth to God.

The first time I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, it took my breath away… Of course, I imagined it to be gold in color which it is not but nevertheless, the sheer size of it, and the way the sun reflected off it made for amazing views and memories. I was crossing that bridge to embark on a new life as a married person; love and hope escorted me across that bridge.  The bridge represented our decision, as two people from different cultures, to build bridges to new pathways. Much has changed since that first visit. We’ve all had our ups and downs, as they say, it’s all water under the bridge now… I still love bridges and we all ought to work harder at building a few symbolic bridges of our own; locally, nationally, and globally…  Stay Inspired! What about you?  What are your thoughts? Do you have a favorite bridge you enjoy crossing? What do bridges mean to you? What wisdom have you learned from bridges? Do you find inspiration from your favorite bridges? Do share! Thank you. 🙂

Positive Motivation Tip: May the bridge you cross lead you to a place of peace, love and resolution.

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Westminster Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, via Wikipedia. And/Or via Flickr

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet

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