Bridging the Depths

/ Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature

The WordPress Photo Challenge this week is “Bridge.”

When you perceive a transition in your life, how do you approach the bridge between where you are now, and what lies ahead? How are you with yourself when stepping on to this bridge? What do you take with you? What do you leave behind?

We may be drawn to cross a bridge, or to accept a challenge as Life’s opportunity for Heart to discover greater truth. What will be on the other side? What is the greater truth you are looking for? What do you think you will find there? How does this Truth connect you, or bridge you to Spirit?

As you start over the bridge, it may be a little scary. Are you afraid of heights? Transitions take a fair amount of courage. We may protect ourselves and cross a strong, sturdy bridge.

Or, throw caution to the wind and cross a rickety one. Either way, Trust is paramount.

When you start over the bridge, is your goal to quickly get to the other side, or do you enjoy the moment, and the scenery within? Take your time. You can stay on the bridge for as long as you like. Perhaps some reflection can teach you something. The new is patiently waiting for you to be ready, and will guide you to proceed in perfect timing.

When crossing the bridge into the unknown, we may walk into our shadow. Embrace it. Heal it. The Light is being held for you.

A way to get to a destination when it seems you can’t get there from here. There may be obstacles, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.

Maybe you need distance from something in your life. I used to call it a geographical cure. Running from something? Or running toward something that serves you better?

What bridges the gap for you between suffering and living in joy? Joy is a choice. Choice is the bridge.

Dissolving the distance with a loved one who is physically far away over the Rainbow Bridge. Feel the connection in your heart. They are with you. Love is the bridge.

There is our physical world and the Spiritual realm. How do you bridge the two? For me, it is imagining, and holding the vision of Light, Love, Gratitude and Peace; and listening to the silence, to the still small voice within, to a Higher calling. It is witnessing my ego, healing it and experiencing Oneness. Feeling the Divine connection between Soul and personality.

How do we bridge the gap through our differences in this world?

Peace stands on the bridge, the green Earth Spirit guardian is but a breath away, a thought away,  a choice ~ a way.

May we live in Peace, Love and Joy together on this earth, until we cross the bridge to whatever is next.

75 thoughts on “Bridging the Depths”

      • Your words and images are just so beautiful! Good to see you back to blogging, or maybe I’ve been missing your posts in the craziness of our own “bridge,” in this case a relocation. Love and blessings! ❤

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      • Thank you, Laura. Yes, I have been away from blogging since November. I posted one a couple of weeks ago for the first time since then.
        Oh, I don’t envy your moving. Maybe the new place is great, but the process is so hard. At least for me it is, as I never throw anything away!
        I hope your relocation is as smooth and easy as possible, and I hope the new place is really really good. You make wherever you are beautiful with your beautiful gardening and sense of sacred space. Love and blessings to you! ❤

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      • Thanks so much, Mary. We absolutely LOVE our new place, which makes all the enormous work of moving so worthwhile. But yes, it is a lot of work. We actually bought this place are hoping to stay here for decades. Love and blessings to you, too, and thanks for the good moving wishes! ❤

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  3. Beautiful photos and reflections on building bridges Mary. These days I’m focused day to day on how I can I be more compassionate toward myself and others. Thankfully, I’ve passed the painful part and am starting to rebuild a foundation of compassion and shaky trust, knowing that I can only do my best, and will often stumble. And that’s is OK too. And I aspire to a world of peace and kindness. Blessings, Brad

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    • Thank you Brad! Compassion is something I try to focus on too. Compassionate forgiveness for self and others takes us to good places. I guess that is a bridge too.
      Here’s to doing our best and using our stumblings as learning tools.
      Always such a pleasure to see you, Brad.
      Blessings to you,
      Mary

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  4. Pingback: Bridging the Depths | Thomas Reed

  5. so loving having you back and this post on bridges is so timely mary and important for all of the life transitions being experienced by the collective everywhere in very dramatic and challenging ways for many whether in loss of those dear in the physical, worldwide shifts, or life transitions….thank you for shining your sweet light of insight. ❤ love you

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    • Hi Tania!! So good to see you and feel your love! I have missed you. I will be over to your site soon. You have crossed many bridges since last we were in touch I imagine, as have I. Big hug and love to you, dear friend.

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    • Thanks for coming by!! Always nice to see you. So nice to know you are right down the road, over one small bridge. 🙂

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  7. ‘Choice’ is the Bridge. I love that. Love , as you pointed out , being the primary motivation, and result. Can there be foolish choices? Sometimes, all choices have a consequence. Learning the lessons and growing in our souls toward the Love that gave us the Freedom to choose , our bridge. Is it eve good to go back over the bridge? Can we? I don’t believe we can ever go back , in the true sense, …since, we can’t unbreak an egg. Ha haa.
    Your pictures are as always exquisite, my Friend, but the grass bridge with the Mary Drops are breathtaking. I choose Joy , When heartache comes through a choice I’ve made, the lesson learned and wisdom gained ; the Love received creates my bridge of joy.
    Thank you Mary for creating such a thought provoking blog with the depth of wisdom and skill learned from a life built couragously crossing bridges motivated by and resulting in Love.

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    • Thank you Jenny!! You know, it’s funny. I was going to use a picture of a cattle guard as a bridge for them not to cross,as there was the highway on the other side that could hurt them. So, you mentioned foolish choices and consequences which was synchronistic. Thank you for your wise words, and for commenting. ❤

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    • Thank you so much Allan! Yes, reminders are nice. There are so many good ones from people here in Blog world. Nice to see you here.
      Blessings,
      Mary

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  10. What a rich blessing this post is Mary. 💕Filled with love and wisdom. May all our bridges in life connect us to healing, joy and wisdom and with each step may we connect to the infinite love that surrounds us always.

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  11. Love your special blending of gorgeous pictures and meaningful thoughts. Such a powerful mix and message….As always Mary, great job. Great to see you back again. Thanks for sharing your journey. I hope all is well and happiness abounds….All the best and much love…VK ❤

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    • Thank you, VK, for your all the nice things you said. I wish you happiness as well, and much love ❤
      Mary

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  15. I love your deep thoughtful contemplation. The answers, if there are any, always seem to be in the silent listening.
    Blessings dear. Libby

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    • Thanks Libby!
      Yes, if we can quiet ourselves for a minute, haha, there is always something to be learned, or love to be felt. Thanks for coming by. ❤

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  16. Very thought-provoking post, Mary. Your questioning format allows the reader to reflect on their own experience with “bridging the depths”. Wonderful to see you back! ❤

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  17. Mary this was a beautiful post and love the photos especially the rainbow. Where did you take the first photo of the rock formation? That was amazing. I’m on the count down now. Six weeks until the NM trip!

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    • Hi Sandy!
      Thank you! That first bridge is in Kentucky, in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Bill had worked on the Daniel Boone for several years and did a lot of projects, so a couple of years ago, when he turned 80, we went there and saw all of his projects 45 years later. The ponds he created in the middle of the woods were full of fish, salamanders and tadpoles and the trees he planted were about 80 feet tall. It was neat.

      Looking forward to our time in SpiritWalk!
      Love and Light

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  18. I tend to forget and want to remember to embrace and heal my shadow and heal my ego. Thank you for this reminder and for the beautiful pictures! I especially love the water drops and rock bridge. They would make beautiful cards.

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    • Thank you JoAnna. Our shadows and ego are so important to embrace. It is such an opportunity when we are aware of them, to love them and let them talk to us, validate them, forgive any judgements and heal. I’m glad you like the pictures. So nice to see you, JoAnna. Thanks for coming over.

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    • You did such an amazing job helping me with that. It turned out so beautifully. Thank you! I miss it. Part of the bridge there, since it was my therapy office, was to give clients something to cross – a threshold of sorts. Nice to see you, Dennis.
      I hear you have crossed a new bridge!
      Love,
      Mary

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  21. Thank you David.
    You seem to choose joy.
    Choice is a bridge.
    I always love your comments
    On all sites where I see you.

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  22. Hi Mary!
    I’m going to stay on this lovely bridge for a little while and soak up these 🌈 rainbows; I’m going to gaze into the ripples of this magnificent image of serenity in movement you offered here, and I’m going to breathe deeply with appreciation for this bridge, and make peace with my past and future simultaneously while surrounded by the wide column light of the sun. I am happy for depths, Mary. I am happy for time and distance and returning. Thank you, Mary – aloha nui loa
    Ka

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    • What a beautiful comment, Ka! I like being on this bridge with you, and feeling the depths. It’s nice to share bridges with friends. Maybe we could throw a little stick over the side and watch it come through to the other side. We can call it love. 🙂

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    • Yes, they seem hard most of the time, but then looking back, we see how they have shaped us.
      I find that change is hard, and I am learning to trust the signs, synchronicities, and still small voice to help me over those bridges.
      How are you doing, Calen?

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      • I have good days and bad days. Finding out this stuff really makes my muscles feel like mush in the heat. Only half way through the treatment, so the jury’s still out. 🙂

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      • I will be praying and sending healing energy. I really hope you feel better and better! ❤

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  25. Such lovely photos Mary, and such a pertinent musing for me. I’m feeling like I’m bridging to something new and I want this transition to be mindful and conscious. I’ve been thinking about it as pausing before I step over the threshold, but your bridge analogy is so much more apt. I’ll be spending more time here, reflecting on your beautiful bridges and soaking in your wisdom.

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    • Hi Deborah! Whatever your transition, may it be filled with love, ease and grace.

      I keep getting bumped from your site. It won’t let me comment or even sign in again.

      I hope this is a happy transition for you, Deborah.

      Much love 💕
      Mary

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  26. This was very profound and very beautiful Mary.. I had not seen your update.. So much wisdom in your words.. How indeed to we handle our bridges.. for they do come in all shapes and forms.. As do your wonderful photo’s Amazing photography Mary.. Just Amazing..
    Many thanks for sharing your wonderful words.. They always settle into the depths of my heart..
    Love and Blessings, as you continue your journeying as you step out upon your bridges in life.. ❤ xxx Sue

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    • Hi Sue!! Thank you so much! It is nice we find wisdom in each other’s words.
      Yes, the bridges come in all shapes and forms. I think how we are with ourselves approaching any sort of bridge is noteworthy. Just even noticing that, and then loving ourselves over the bridge to something wonderful to which we have been led. Thank you for enjoying the photos.
      Love and Blessings from my heart to yours, Sue. Always a pleasure to commune with you! ❤

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  27. When a transition occurs in ones life, I feel so many of those questions come into play when Crossing the bridge. It can be scary, it could be but it can be hopefull in knowing something better is waiting for you on the other side. If your running away from something it may not be greener on the other sis abd may run rather than take in the scenery. It is within ourselves that we ought to fund peace and content.

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    • Very true TC! Crossing the bridge with authentic intention, and loving ourselves over it makes a big difference for the outcome. Thanks so much for coming by!
      Peace
      Mary

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  28. Hi Mary,

    I love this topic. There is a risk in crossing the bridge, too, isn’t there? And some bridges that arise only as we step out into space. There’s the question of here, and there, and how to connect them. How do we foster a meaningful relationship, and unite the two? This post reminded me of this quote from A Course of Love (well, I had to look it up, but I remember that the idea of bridges fit in there prominently! Ha!):

    “It is easy to imagine how the Christ in you differs from your ego but not as easy to recognize how the Christ in you differs from spirit. The Christ in you is that which is capable of learning in human form what it means to be a child of God. The Christ in you is that which is capable of bridging the two worlds. This is what is meant by the second coming of Christ.”

    In a sense, we are bridges ourselves. That is the amazing thing to me, I think. As we heal we become that which connects the here to the there, the now to forever, the heart to the mind, the absence with fulfillment.

    Peace and Love, Mary. Loved your explorations here!
    Michael

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    • Michael, I love this comment! You have taken it to an even deeper level. I love this quote from ACOL.
      The idea that bridges may not arise until we step out into space is one I know I have experienced often. The trust it takes to do that can be enormous, which gives us even more faith as we don’t go plummeting down.
      That we are bridges ourselves between now and forever, the heart and mind, between dimensions, physicality and the Light, separation and Oneness. And we can be bridges, perhaps for other people to find the a sense of unity. And ultimately, Christ Consciousness in everyone and everything everywhere.
      Thank you for this beautiful comment, Michael.
      Much love and peace to you, dear friend.
      Mary

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  29. Hi Mary,
    So nice to see a post from you…one with such beauty and depth of compassion.
    This made me cry…not a bad cry. It made me come face to face with so many things that have happened in the past few months. I just kept moving and didn’t really take the time to think about the bridges I’ve crossed…the ones I still need to cross…and I mustn’t forget…the ones I burned!!
    I had a very exceptional thing happen to me today. I was visited by my Dad who passed away in July. I wanted so badly to have a conversation with him before he passed…and it just didn’t happen and it made me sad. What happened today, was like a two hour conversation that happened in mere seconds…and yet I know everything he said! And I never felt more loved and supported than I did in those seconds. And he had a very clear message for me…and I am so grateful…so blessed and full of gratitude…Blessitude!!! I didn’t plan on writing about this to you…I’m certain I will write a poem and maybe…or maybe not…share on my blog. But something told me that I should share this with you after reading your post and the way it made me feel.
    Anyway…I send you so much light and love and I hope that you continue to walk in nature and listen to the beautiful thoughts from your soul. Much love, Mary ❤

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    • Wow, Lorrie, what a beautiful response. Thank you. I’m so glad it touched you, and that you gave me the gift of your heartfelt comment. That is so wonderful about the conversation with your dad! So special, and so beautiful how it made you feel.Thank you for sharing that experience. And Lorrie, I’m sorry that he died. It’s hard losing our dads. There is something so deep about it and how it brings up so much, no matter what the relationship.

      I do think it is important to notice the bridges and transitions. Rites of passages in a way. They deepen our faith and understanding.

      It’s so good to see you right now, Lorrie. Love love love to you.
      Mary

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