Bridges

Not too long ago, a motley group of youngsters brought out the first issue of their magazine. It was an appreciable effort and a couple of issues did see the light of day but what began with a bang ended with a whimper and the enthusiasm died a natural death. Enthusiastic efforts such as these require long standing patience in order to make it big in the literary world. The magazine may no longer exist, but something that stayed with me was the title of the magazine –BRIDGES.

I don’t know what the inspiration was for these youngsters to choose a name such as this – what gap were they trying to ‘bridge’? Was it just a name only to attract attention? Or may be to be considered ‘different’? Or did they noticed a large gaping hole widening the relationship between the Self and the Soul, the Self and another and more importantly the Self and Jesus. Whatever the reason, knowingly or unknowingly the magazine’s name has a profound meaning, at least to me.

Essentially a bridge is meant to connect two places, usually over a gap. Whereas cement, steel and bricks make a physical bridge, a bridge between people is made of compassion, love and kindness. Bridges fill gaps, bridges connect people, bridges remove negativity and stretch a helping hand. But who needs a bridge anyway?

The Life and Times of ‘ME’: My world is essentially a race, I race against time, I race against opportunity, and I race against myself, not knowing what I truly want from my own life. I wake up in the morning, with the nagging thought of what it is that I must do next; life is largely a time table, a mechanical existence; the urge to stay ahead of myself. I belong to the generation that is just a cog in the wheel. We rarely stand for anything and we allow everything to be okay with us, even when it may not be so. We believe and strongly advocate, comparative morality – what may be okay for me may not be for the significant other. But that’s okay; we all have a right to our own choices. We are flooded with choices from fast food to phone options, brands and labels of clothing to even our sexuality - there’s a range of options. But there is an inherent danger that lies ahead; to me that would be lack of clarity of what is WRONG ; the nagging question I ask myself, if everything is okay then what is wrong with anything, isn’t it just the degree. The picture is dull and hazy and darkens with each passing day. It is a dark, fearful emptiness that threatens to engulf me and suck me into a deep abyss if I don’t take heed now. What are my values? What do I think is worth to lay my life for? Is it my career? Is it my clothes? Is it my status? I can see the deep gaping hole widen…confusion sets in…’ME’ needeeth a bridge!.

‘ME’ and YOU: - my world also has the Significant other. But who is the other? It could be a parent, a friend, a teacher, a neighbor, the Church. At school we learnt Man is a social being. Simply said I need companionship. But the world’s rule book tells me – ‘To each his own’. I laugh at it and deep down, agree. Blame it on the Generation gaps, a bad education system, incomprehensible religious traditions, the ‘I, ME, Myself Syndrome’ and whatever else…there is still a widening gap….’YOU and ME’ need a bridge!!!

‘ME’ and YOU and GOD: God is (meant to be) faraway, once a week for about 2 hours is fine, can’t think of having Him around 24x7. His work began and ended with Creation. Now it is up to ‘us’ to deal with everything, be it our lives, our relationships, the environment, everything. So I guess that explains the steep rise in the number of divorces and suicides and Mother Earth going berserk, unable to decide if it should rain in March or should it be warm in December! From the hole in the Ozone Layer, to Climate change conventions, Man has ‘manhandled’ God’s creation. If the Earth had a voice and we were to ask her if she trusted us, the answer would be a resounding NO!! The gap is definitely wide and a cause for concern. So shall we just give up? Let the gap widen till all we are left with is nothing but a gaping hole???

So where is the Bridge over these troubled waters? Who can lay himself down that we might cross over to the other side where wisdom abounds, where love is the only language spoken, where sacrifice and not selfishness are applauded, where being a friend is more important than being successful, where ‘I’ grow with ‘You’, till ‘We’ are ready to get back to the Garden of Eden and live in harmony with the rest of Creation. I know One, who laid himself across troubled waters, not the ‘one’ Simon and Garfunkel sang of in their famous song; but One who gave up His very life that I might find sanity in this confused world, who has loved me before I began loving Him, who is so powerful that He can even still the storms that threaten to rock my Boat of Life, who healed my broken heart, kissed my tears away, who loves conversing with me, who created everything, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope, who made me, ME. He is the Rock of Ages, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the light at the end of the tunnel, the very essence of my existence, the One who completes me. He is the bridge called Jesus….The Cross, I know, is the ONLY way of getting across. Are you ready to Bridge the Gap?

Note: My article published in Y-Space.