Two brothers with adjacent farms fell apart after years of farming side by side, sharing machinery and labour. The relationship soured because a small misunderstanding grew into an exchange of bitter words. The enmity resulted in the younger brother excavating the meadow between their lands to create a deep trench.
The infuriated elder brother asked a carpenter to block his brother out of view by building a high fence. The farmer went to town and returned at sunset to see that the carpenter had not built any fence. Instead he had built a bridge across the trench! And his estranged younger brother was coming across, his hand outstretched and saying, ‘after all I've said and done, you have built this bridge’. The brothers laid to rest their differences as they embraced on the bridge.
So often, small misunderstandings develop into major rifts. The deepest of divides can be overcome, only by the building of bridges. If we cannot bridge the gap ourselves, we must permit mutual well-wishers to build the bridge like the carpenter did. The bridge of communication helps us to be better at crossing across the unwarranted rift in a relationship.
So many gaps widen only because there were no attempts to bridge the break-ups. We must re-look at all our conflicts and examine them to see whether they are divergences on values and principles or just frivolous misunderstandings. Most of the time, we discover it is the latter and when do realise the fact, may the bridge be built!
May we BE BETTER at building bridges of connection…
to overcome every divisive gap in the bond of association!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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