Building Bridges

"Our hunger to belong is the longing to find a bridge across the distance from isolation to intimacy."

-John O'Donohue

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I sit and listen

to voices share their love for someone

once here,

now gone

I watch as lifelong friends

banter on FaceBook,

and post pictures of joyous reunions

planned get aways

celebrating,

belonging

I have never been quite sure if I belonged

from grade school, through high school

from college to graduate school and beyond

I was always

just a touch outside the circle of love

I was not rejected

I have always been talented, reasonably good looking

articulate and accomplished

and, I believed, loved

and yet

I did not know how to bridge the gap

From isolation to intimacy

I did not know, and perhaps still do not know

How to move from longing to belong

It is not for want of longing

or trying

somehow, somewhere along the line

something,

some part of the divine design simply

did not wake up

and so I sit on the edge so close

but so far

but life is not over

not quite over

and I believe people want

to share intimacy with me

there is are still lessons to be learned

and Sacred is never finished

building bridges