There’s a small bridge that lies across a narrow section of the creek nearby. This ‘bridge’ is a series of planks that is underpinned with a long piece of wood running the length of it and two additional pieces intersecting at each end to help provide stability where it rests. Because there is no attachment into the bank, the bridge washes down stream a bit whenever there’s a heavy rain and it’s left lying crooked. The land on either side is higher a few feet down where she slides and the bridge is rendered useless until someone moves it back into place. Until last week, I’ve either waded through the water in rubber boots knowing what I would find or I would take a different path when the bridge was out. I viewed the displacement as reason to enjoy another way.
An elderly gentlemen was at the bend before the creek when I was passing some days ago. He had wild white hair atop his head and a thick beard at his jaw. He called out to me, “Wanna help me put the bridge back in place?”. I said I would be happy to lend a hand. We went down to the creek together and my dog wagged his tail but barked his uneasiness to the stranger. The man was gentle and set about making the pup comfortable with a low stance and friendly greeting. In a moment, there was another man at the other side of the creek and I shared that we were aiming to set the bridge right. He agreed to help. All of the activity calmed my dog and we were soon in the water helping to move the bridge back. Not long into the motions of lifting and adjusting, I realized that we each had a different idea of where the bridge should be placed. This, however, did not cause much conversation. We worked together, naturally following the direction of the man with white hair, until the bridge was passable again.
At this time, we mused about our different views with the understanding that we’ve each seen that bridge situated in different ways at different times which would contribute to our perception of how it should be. Each person appreciated the perspective of the other and we all called out kind words of departure before we took up our individual directions again.
Presence and Positivity 