Do you really need a bridge?

Dorji and Tashi were two brothers who lived on an adjoining farm. Everything was quite well until one day, they fell into conflict.

Now it was a serious rift in over 40 years of living side by side. Up until now, they had shared everything starting from bulls, tools and even labors without a slightest hitch.

Then the distance started getting better of them. It started as a small misunderstanding, which grew into massive difference, forcing them into exchanging bitter words. Since then everything halted into silence.

One ordinary morning, there was a knock on Dorji’s door. There was a carpenter, when he opened the door. ‘I am looking for a few days work’, said the carpenter.

“As a matter of fact, I do have a perfect job for you. Look over there. Do you see that farm. Well that’s my neighbor, infact it’s my brother, you see. Last week, he dug up a creek over there, which had meadow. He did that to spite me, but I will get better of him. So you build me a 10 foot fence, so that I don’t have to look at his barn, anymore”, said Dorji.

The carpenter didn’t say a word. He immediately got into action.

Dorji had to go to a town, so he left, giving all the charges to the carpenter. The carpenter worked all day; measuring, sawing and nailing. About sunset when  Dorji returned to his farm, to his utter surprise, he saw a bridge instead of a fence, which was neatly built and it went right till his brother’s farm.

As he walked to the middle of the bridge, he saw his brother coming from the other end, with hand outstretched. “I am sorry for making you to build this bridge”. As Dorji turned to the carpenter, he was already hoisting his tool box to leave.

The brothers pleaded the carpenter to stay some more days, to which the carpenter said, “I have got many bridges to build.”

Often we fall into disagreement. And we think we are right and others are simply wrong. Here our ego is getting better of us. So when such an unfaithful events unfurl, remember, ‘when nails grow, we cut the nail, not the finger. Similarly when misunderstandings grow, cut your ego not relationship.