Hard Lessons

Posted on Tuesday, 15th January 2008 by eroux

It’s been said that the second hardest thing in life is knowing which bridges to cross, and which to burn. The hardest is the regret of crossing those that you should have burnt, and having burnt those that you should have crossed…

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JADG - Just Another Damn Geek

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4 Responses to Hard Lessons

Dean says:

Wednesday, 16th January 2008 at 09:48

The great things about bridges is they can be rebuilt. I suppose building bridges is tough work but it can be done. At least with the bridge down we are forced to look at things from a distance, decide if we need a bridge and if so what type of bridge we need to build.
eroux says:

Wednesday, 16th January 2008 at 12:55

They certainly can be rebuilt… Where there’s a will, and all that.

And that is the key really; there must be a will, otherwise no bridges will ever be built. And just as there are two sides to a chasm, so there are two sides from which a bridge must be built. Nobody can build a bridge all by themselves, they need the support of a partner also building from the other side.

And therein lies the conundrum; having burnt a bridge, how would one go about saying “Oops… Sorry. Never meant to burn down that bridge…” Burning a bridge does send a rather clear and forceful message. Which means “Oops, sorry…” can never be sufficient to convince the partner on the other side to help rebuild.

Which leaves one of two choices: find a way to convince the other side to assist, or regret…
Dean says:

Thursday, 17th January 2008 at 07:06

I think bridges can be built from one side, otherwise we would have been constrained by rivers until we mastered flight. What you cant do is force someone to use the bridge.

or otherwise I offer the words of Dorothy parker

My land is bare of chattering folk; the clouds are low along the ridges, and sweet’s the air with curly smoke from all my burning bridges.

:D
eroux says:

Thursday, 17th January 2008 at 08:05

*grin*