Glorious Burning Bridges

It is said that all new beginnings start with an ending. My beginnings often start with me gazing at a  flaming bridge. I am not sure what to do with this pattern of crossing bridges that then burn behind me. I rarely strike the match that ignites the funeral pyre. Regardless, I have learned not to try and extinguish the flames.

It is tempting to return and ask for explanations or to offer soothing apologies hoping that I will understand what started the blaze. But in the end, there is no point, for the reasons are only cold ashes of a past the leads nowhere. The only choice is to turn my face into the future while the fire shadows flicker over my shoulders. How odd that the shadows light the way forward, away from the flames and from the comfort of a world I thought I understood, but not one in which I ever truly belonged.

There is amazing power in burning bridges. Knowing that I cannot go back focuses me forward. There is no value in lingering or blaming or wondering or even hurting at these startling endings. The only true choice is to commit to the journey before me, even though I do not know where it leads.

So send your blessings and love to all the closed doors, dead-ends, and yes flaming bridges in your life. They are messages of completion marking lessons learned, symbols of change that lead to a new type of freedom. Just like a butterfly, we must all leave the safety of our warm cocoons in order to embrace our next adventure. And sometimes there is a great gift in setting fire to the cocoon that we have outgrown.