It was the last time I did some energy work with Mandy, that I kept seeing images in my head of bridges collapsing. They were arched and ornate and they broke apart in the middle and fell into the water below them, or they silently exploded, flying into the air. Half a black bridge came hurling towards me, like in a 3D movie, but before it got to me it turned into a white orb and floated by.
There’s no symbolism here, I thought afterwards, the message is clearly about “burning my bridges.” As in the old saying “Don’t burn your bridges”. But my visions weren’t scary. It didn’t feel like a warning, but an affirmation like, sometimes it’s good to burn your bridges.
There are these saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” and “One in the hand is worth two in the bush” and “Don’t burn your bridges”. And while I’m sure there’s some wisdom to them, they’re all fear based. They’re basically saying be careful and don’t take any risks. And although I don’t think of them a lot. I realized they are there in the back of my mind, waiting for me to step out of myself, to break out of some old beliefs, so they can pounce. Even if you’re not afraid now, they are saying to me, you will regret it later.
But what if, instead of blindly listening to these old sayings that are rattling around in my head, I trust my own instincts instead. What if I decide, like my visions seem to be saying, that there are some bridges that I want to burn. What if there are some places and situations I don’t want to return to or some people I no longer want to be friends with.
I guess my epiphany is not so much about a specific saying, but my idea that these sayings are absolute. Sometimes it’s good to be cautious, but sometimes the only way out is to burn the bridge behind you and run for your life.
The words to my wall hanging Burning Bridges are:
Coming to a dream
I landed on a star
I burned some bridges
to get this far
Burning Bridges is Sold for sale. It’s $125 + $10 shipping. If you’re interested in it just email me at [email protected]. I take checks and paypal.
I love the movement and joy of this piece. I think you are correct. Sometimes we have to burn those bridges of past thinking, behaviors, and ideas that held us captive. This is very powerful and beautiful!
Yeah, Diane, it is about ideas too. And they can be the most powerful chains.
Maria, how true about those ‘sayings’ we grew up with in our heads…another “you’ve made your bed, you lie in it”..they are fear based. I wonder if they were invented to keep us humans in line. It’s the one thing I can’t reconcile myself with, with organized religion…it is based on ‘the original sin’…already that was enough to turn me off ‘religion’ as such when I was told one day by an assistant minister of our church…that ‘we sin the moment we get out of bed in the morning’. Holy Cow, how can I get it together with that stuff hanging over my head. I loved your post. It is releasing.
Sandy P in Ontario, Canada
You’ve made your bed…” is a good one Sandy, along the same lines. And I imagine they are meant to scare us into behaving. But why do they all have to be so negative? I like to find new interpretations (or maybe they’re really old, the true meaning) that make sense to me. I never got the original sin thing, I find it hopeless and I don’t want to live that way.
Maria, you might enjoy this article….
http://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-quilters-reinvigorate-traditional-craft/Content?oid=2471940
Thanks Dale.
Maria, I love how you have the bravado to put your heart on your fabric and in your post. Amazing work, beautiful work, courageous work.
Thanks Sheri, Sometimes when I make something like this I wonder if I’m the only one who understands what I’m trying to say. I’m always a bit surprised when I get responses like yours that do “get” it. But that’s what I’m hoping for.
Oh, Maria!! I so agree with your burning bridges concept that there ARE some bridges we MUST BURN! There are relationships and connections from our past that simply WON’T let us move into our future!! Annie
It’s true Annie. They can keep us from moving forward.