Reflection #54  Building Bridges

There are stages in life,
each one a crossing,
each one asking something of us
we did not know we carried

We learned to stand, to strive,
to gather inward, pieces of a life
that feel, at first, like it is only ours to shape and secure

Ego loosens its grip here,
and life is held as it is—
complete, imperfect,
enough.

Then comes a turning outward—
generativity whispers:
give it away now—
the wisdom, the stories, the well-honed values.

Now, with widening vision
and a more panoramic heart,
we shift from building our lives
to building bridges.

Because what comes next
will walk across
what we choose
to leave behind.

—Patricia D. Brown