Deeply Rooted
By Rodney Bullard
CEO The Same House PBC | Former Senior Executive at Chick-fil-A / Global CSR, ESG and Marketing Leader | Best-Selling Author | Former AUSA | Former Air Force JAG l Corporate and Non-profit Board Director
“Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.”- Paul Tillich
A bridge is rooted in where it started or came from and spans to a new destination. To give it purpose, we must move from where we started, meet new people along the way, have new experiences, and consequently cross the bridge to whom we can become. As we progress, we become not only a bridge for our better selves but a bridge for someone else. When we don’t allow bridges to be built or cross those bridges, we create false or unfounded narratives about where it leads and what is there. Scared of the unknown, we leave it alone and deny ourselves the opportunity of discovery.
Without bridges, we can’t get the necessary resources from one place to another. Individuals don’t get what they need. Children go without opportunities and get left behind. Communities and neighborhoods deteriorate without the necessities to thrive. As Harvard sociologist Robert J. Sampson stated, “Deprivations come bundled, packaged, and may reinforce each other over time.” Without the proper foundation or infrastructure, a bridge will not work and will become useless. Once built, it takes a concentrated effort to make sure the bridge is used, and that people are willing to cross it.
We often take pre-existing bridges for granted. We forget they are built with a purpose and with intention. They are meant to carry people, resources, and ideas in both directions. Moving back and forth keeps each side accessible and available to everyone. When a bridge doesn’t exist or is collapsed, those resources stop, and the conversation ends.
I will be the glue that binds the bridge.