By Donna Kennedy-Glans
People often accuse me of having a bridge fetish: Integrity Bridges… Canada Bridges… Yes, it’s true, I like bridges. I like driving over bridges. When I’m hiking, I like balancing on logs thrown across mountain streams by fellow hikers. In Calgary, I even like the plus-15s; bridges connecting buildings so we don’t have to freeze walking outside in the winter.
To me, a bridge is a metaphor for our human capacity to connect two different sides. A bridge over a river connects the river’s two banks. A pedestrian overpass over a highway connects two sides of a road. A bridge only exists because there are opposite sides…a bridge needs two poles.
The live in a world full of opposites, or poles, that could benefit from some bridging:
- spiritual realms and the physical world;
- theoretical science and applied engineering;
- thinkers and doers.
Without bridges between these opposites, we can sometimes stagnate.
Religious symbols (physical forms) become rigid and narrow when they are no longer infused with spiritual energy. When a Catholic sees a statute of the Virgin Mary and isn’t stirred in his or her faith, this icon isn’t acting as a bridge between the heaven and earth.
Sometimes the world of academics and the world of business could benefit from more bridging. When PhD candidates who genuinely care about corporate ethics get stuck in ‘thinking’ mode ….the bridge between theory and practice can be broken. Likewise, people on the ground doing the work of fighting corruption in individual communities—the doers— can find themselves so busy acting they fail to notice the full potential of new ideas. In the early 1990s, I worked in a company under a French CEO – my colleagues and I would laugh hysterically when he asked: “Yes, it works in practice…but does it work in theory?” With our cultural bias to action, we couldn’t imagine slowing down long enough to figure out why our actions were effective!
Who are the bridge-builders…those people who connect the poles?
Faith leaders are the most obvious bridgers between the spiritual realms and the physical world. Usually though, we have an image of faith leaders trying to lead their fold across the bridge in the direction of heaven…and not the other way around. But bridges—especially those built for people— usually encourage two-way traffic. Faith leaders are wise to remember that they can also infuse the physical world with spirituality. Eckhart Tolle, for example, invites us to ‘liminal space’: the space between form and non-form.
I’ve encouraged faith leaders in Fort McMurray Alberta, home to Canada’s oilsands, to help locals respond to their critics. The idea isn’t for faith leaders to ‘God-wash’ the issues in Fort McMurray, but to build bridges between the polarized debate that people seem to be stuck in right now. Public dialogue on the oilsands seems to break down along two lines: resource vs. place. As a resource, we talk of jobs, trickle-down economics, stronger tax bases, competitiveness, relative options, training, technology, and innovation. As a place, we focus on the physical and human environment, Aboriginals, capacity (voice), relationships, and ask if we are ethical – are we living good lives? Bridging the space between our focus on resource and place is challenging. But it is critical if we want to support the development of a community that can have an ethical response. I believe faith leaders in Fort McMurray can play a critical role in building these bridges.
Artists can be bridge-builders. Recently, I met with a remarkable artist in NYC, Janice Gordon. Janice works with cardiologists to help bridge the interface between spiritual and physical aspects of the heart…using art as the medium.
In her ongoing series, Matters of the Heart (2006-present), Janice Gordon explores the complex nature of the heart as symbol, as the anatomical center of our being, and as the interface between matter and spirit. Materials such as coral, sheep’s wool, horsehair, bits from well worn dolls, and the chambers of seashells are used for both their ancient associations and personal memories.
Actually, anyone can be a bridge builder. You just have to be open to the value of creating connection between polarities…and be willing to try to create this breathing space even in (especially in) times of chaos or crisis. At the Pari Center, quantum physicist David Peat creates the conditions for this bridge-building by hosting Pari Dialogues. If you or your organization struggle with an issue that you just can’t seem to think your way out of, this approach may help. Pari’s process brings people together from different disciplines and experiences to encourage a dialogue that circumvents normal ‘thinking’ about the problem and transforms the way you would look at your problem. Although it is tempting for some (especially quantum physicists) to stay lodged in the theoretical and analytical, you can’t! What is the value of scientists and thinkers creating sensational new ideas, and then not testing them in the real world… what if Microsoft’s operating system or RIM’s blackberry technology hadn’t been brought to market?
This dialogue process encourages participants to go back and forth between the intellectual and the practical, the theory and the applied. Solutions are usually created in this breathing space: the breathing space is a neutral zone—that Geneva kind of place where seeds of change are sewn, a creative space where new ideas are allowed to be explored…
Rumi’s writing has a lot to say about the importance of polarities, and how to build bridges between opposites. Here’s an excerpt from his poem, Mistaking the Lightning for the Sun, edited by Kabir Helminski:
“God continually turns you from one state of feeling to another,
Revealing truth by means of opposites…
So that you may have the two wings of fear and hope;
for the bird with one wing is unable to fly…”
We need the two sides of a river…but we also need ways to build bridges between the opposite banks.
Tags: blog, bridges, corporate integrity, leadership, polarity
For an inspiring interview with Janice Gordon, bridge-builder extraordinaire, check out this interview by National Public Radio’s Science/Arts producer: here is the link: sciartsjanicegordon .
Through art, Janice bridges the worlds of matter and spirit, reinforcing the human need to see ourselves not just as great minds but as physical beings with beating hearts. Janice is able to teach me how to speak from my mind, and my heart. And, that’s not an easy thing to teach a lawyer!