Relationships are so tricky! We are continually building walls or bridges between each other. One day, I thought about that and drew this wall and bridges cartoon.
Each day, we can be tempted to just burn a bridge and build a walled fortress. We think it is easier to write off someone because they may be difficult, have opinions we dislike or tend to build walls. Who needs them anyway?
And there may be situations where that is the wise thing to do. Abusers and those with narcissistic personalities can leave a path of destruction in their wake.
But what if the person is just in a bad mood? What if they are going through a difficult situation and they need to sort out a lot of junk in their lives?
Building Bridges
DealingWithDifficultpeople.org has a good article on how to build bridges, not walls. One valuable tip is to set boundaries even when we are building a bridge. We may have some topics that we agree in advance are off-limits. After all, should we only hang around people that agree with us?
We can build bridges with others while setting boundaries. Bridges have guardrails that keep us from falling off the edge. We can respect others with contrarian opinions, yet still, build relationships.
At the same time, we may be hesitant to let others into our lives because we don’t like our past. Perhaps we fear rejection. While it’s possible someone may not be able to handle where we’ve been or who we are, it’s also possible they can give the same kind of grace you give them. We all have been on journeys with bumpy roads.
Therefore, when we welcome and accept others, it builds bridges that benefit us. Let’s build more bridges as we think about this walls and bridges cartoon.
Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.
