This visualization was based on the teaching of Rabbi Nachman
of Breslov: ALL THE WORLD IS A NARROW, NARROW BRIDGE;
THE MAIN THING IS TO NOT BE AFRAID AT ALL.
At the edge of the cliff..
Sometimes life has you standing on the edge of a slippery cliff and the wind is blowing and the sky looks gray. You know that you are high on a mountain with this cliff jutting out, even though it feels like you are in the deepest valley. And you are not sure where to go from here.
There is a fog that surrounds you and things are hard to see.
A short distance away is a little narrow rope bridge with wooden slats. It is the kind of bridge where you can see through the wooden slats and it is swaying in the wind.
You cannot even see where the bridge is leading because the fog is obscuring most of it.
Perhaps you need to climb up to this bridge or perhaps you need to sink down to it. Maybe you even have to go around a tree or a rock to get to it. Maybe getting to it is as simple as walking straight ahead, one foot and then the other.
Then you are at the edge of the bridge and you can see that the ravine is very, very deep. So deep that you cannot even see the bottom and a mist swirls up from its depths. It almost looks as if that mist is tickling the bottoms of the narrow wooden slats.
With great effort you make it up to the bridge and you can see that it is very narrow indeed. And it is not all that strong and it moves in the wind. At most, one person can cross this bridge at a time for it will not support more than a single person's weight.
Perhaps all you can see is the bridge, perhaps it is misty around it. As you strain to see, you can just make out the other side, also attached to a cliff jutting out over the ravine from the mountain face. There is grass on the other side, or there may be, for the fog is there as well.
It is impossible to tell what is on the other side of this narrow little bridge and there is nothing on this side to keep you here. Without anyone saying anything you know that you cannot stay on this side of the bridge for you cannot live on this cliff. The path by which you arrived at this ledge cannot be travelled again, for there is no returning. And as you stand here, the cliff threatens to become increasingly slippery.
With a certainty that is beyond question, you know that the only path open to you is that narrow bridge before you, no matter how frail and flimsy it appears. And there are no promises as to what the other side will hold, for it, too, is covered in fog.
Slowly, you place one foot on the bridge and it moves slightly. You can see through the slats, but all you see is mist and fog. The bridge will hold you. Perhaps you believe that it will, perhaps not. There is a temptation to run back, and yet, you know there is no turning back, there is no where behind you that you can go.
Do you hesitate a second? a minute? an hour? or even a day? Time appears to freeze and you can hear and feel the beat of your heart. You feel the power of the breath within you as it moves your body. The wind may be blowing hard or it may be caressing you.
And so you step onto the bridge and it shifts slightly under your weight. You cannot turn back and you cannot run, for the bridge is too lightweight. It must be walked slowly and steadily, one footstep after another. Step after step as you are suspended between the two mountain faces. The wind touches you and so does the mist and the fog. You need to concentrate on moving each foot and look toward the other side without being able to quite see it.
Step after step after step. Step after step after step.
Finally the fog becomes lighter and the other side is slowly coming into view. You want to run to the other side, but you know that you must still walk step by single step and the bridge still sways.
Another step and another step.
Finally you reach the other side and you can step off the bridge unto the solid ground. There is grass here and a firm footing. There might even be a flower or two in bloom. You are exhausted from the effort to cross the bridge and you cannot remain awake, no matter how much you want to or how hard you try. And so you collapse onto the gentle grass to nap and replenish your strength. As your eyes close, perhaps you see that angels steadied the bridge for you; perhaps it was a friend or two as well. Perhaps they were complete strangers. As sleep overcomes you, you realize that there were several people steadying the bridge from both ends.
When you awaken, will you still see them? Will you help hold a bridge somewhere one day for someone else?
All the world is very, very narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to be afraid at all.
Reb Nachman of Breslov
(c) 2002 Shafir Lobb. All rights reserved.
