Lingering on the Bridge Between Worlds

by Debra Mae White on May 25, 2016

Bridge Pic

“We bring our humanity into that space of strangeness where darkness sometimes gives us the power to see.” – Sarah York, Pilgrim Heart

 Wandering between the worlds has become a past time for my husband Dennis and me. We go deep inside the well of spiritual nourishment with our meditation time, studying the wisdom of the masters and connecting with the abundance of nature. Then we wake up smack dab in the middle of a very physical human existence. Someone needs to take out the trash, pay the bills and cook something for dinner. We struggle at times to navigate our way to and fro between the spiritual and earthly life.

When visiting our daughter who just became a stay at home mom, she voiced her need for structure and routine. I had a quiet giggle thinking of how our darling six months old granddaughter will alter my child’s best laid plans. It seems to me that the secret to thriving exists outside the edges of a linear life in the tall grasses, the unseen and the surprises. Life was meant to be bent into, like a stream that flows its own way. But how do we learn to move with ease from spirituality to physicality, from structure to surprise?

Taking time to linger and rest between tasks is a bridge that allows one to travel effortlessly around the curves along the path of life. When we rest, we develop the capacity to see under the surface of circumstance, to meet challenge with flexibility and aplomb. In turn, we develop an attitude of welcoming whatever life has in store for us.

In essence, we are meant to be our own bridge to the great beyond, to find that mysterious place within that connects the worlds we traverse. Today, I give myself permission to rest, to linger there on that bridge between the worlds and sway with the winds in harmony.

What bridge are you crossing?

Savor the moment…

Debra Mae

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Shanee May 27, 2016 at 10:20 pm

This is so true, Debra Mae, and so subtle too. I think too often we see it as an all or nothing solution or way of living, rather than simply (?) as making space between, or at least that is what I am learning, thanks in large part to you 🙂

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Debra Mae White May 31, 2016 at 11:39 am

Your encouraging words and companionship as we walk this path mean more than you know. Thanks Shanee!

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Amy Isaman May 31, 2016 at 3:23 pm

I think the biggest challenge for me is bringing that “rest” frame of mind into my day to day life and not navigating back and forth. Do they have to be separate? Or can one infuse the other?
I guess that’s the bridge I’m crossing – trying to not cross at all but to “marry” the two worlds with pauses (exactly like you say to). Does that make sense?

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Debra Mae White May 31, 2016 at 8:34 pm

Yes Amy, I agree that ultimately we are cultivating the ability to live mindfully, infusing our day to day life with the nurture a regular resting practice provides. Our greatest teachers mastered melding the physical and spiritual by marrying the worlds as you suggest and becoming living, inspiring examples of no longer needing to navigate. I think this is what is meant by being in the world but not of the world, a state of being embodying both worlds that we can aspire to.

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