It’s always good to start with a basic definition and build from there, so, let’s do that. What is a bridge?
Truthfully, it’s a lot of things. It’s a structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a depression or obstacle (such as a river) or connecting an island to the mainland. It’s a time, place, or means of connection or transition. In music it’s a transitional, modulatory passage connecting sections of a composition or movement.
It is also a great metaphor for the experiences we have in life where an obstacle arises that requires us to search for a means to overcome it. Often in our dreams we experience symbolic messages that are of real significance to our waking life. A few years ago, I had one such dream that actually involved a bridge. I was in the woods and came upon a vigorously flowing river that had a sturdy wooden walking bridge built across it. The river possessed such a tumultuous and rapid motion that it instilled instant fear. Even the formidable bridge didn’t vanquish the feelings of hesitation. Despite this, the need to attempt a crossing permeated the dream.
Taking several timid steps unto the bridge, the fury of the river underneath caused a detectable vibration on its surface. After approximately ten steps, I paused and felt compelled to look behind me. Straddling the entrance of the bridge I had just passed through, there was an alligator that possessed the face of someone I knew. It had a menacing look. A message came through in that moment that I must not turn back, but keep moving forward.
Turning to continue, I was stopped cold in my tracks. The alligator that was behind me, had spawned into at least seven additional identical alligators that had formed a blockade in front of me at the end of the bridge. They began moving in a deliberate manner toward me. In this moment, my mind raced for a solution, which ironically was a symbolic bridge other the physical one I was standing on. The answer, “rise above it all”. But how? The next revelation was to jump up on one of the rails that ran along each side of the bridge and simply walk past the hostile creatures below and exit into the woods.
As a shaman, I could go into a detailed explanation of the meaning of all this but won’t. For purposes of this post, I hope to stir within you a desire to do an analysis of this dream in relation to obstacles you may be faced with. Keep the bridge, as it represents a means by which you can escape from, pass over, or find a connection to another space that contains a solution.
Now, in your mind I want you to begin replacing the alligator(s) with other symbolic representations of challenges you may be presently encountering. Maybe it’s a huge bottle of alcohol that ultimately spawns into hundreds of bottles that block a clear path across the bridge. Perhaps it’s a little animated character such as those that were recently personified in the Disney movie “Inside Out”. The negative ones were sadness, anger and fear. These guys may have you frozen and blocked in your quest to move forward and exit into a better place.
It’s possible as you glance backwards on your imaginary bridge you see a vision of yourself attached by a ball and chain to your place of employment. At the opposite end of the bridge there might be a closed gate that resembles a prison door. Further, you could be seeing a distorted version of yourself either exaggerated in a negative way or even an over-aggrandized manner. These versions of yourself multiply so rapidly that the bridge becomes extremely congested, severely limited your movement.
Whatever symbolic representation enters into your mind, know that your journey across the bridge can be completed. In my dream, the whisperings I heard suggested I needed to rise above the situation. The dream of course only offered a metaphoric illustration, it was up to me to find out what that meant and how to do it. Just as bridges come in endless sizes and designs, so do the solutions to the obstacles we often face. My first employer post college frequently challenged his employees to actively come up with solutions. He was famous for saying, “every problem has a solution, some are just harder to find than others”. I cringed he said it so often, but I have learned through further life experience this is indeed true.
Undoubtedly, we all face personal challenges. I encourage you to find your bridge. Be open. It may not look like the one you were expecting at first glance. You might be hoping for something similar to the Golden Gate bridge and what shows up is a rope bridge.
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