"It always seems impossible until it's done."
~Nelson Mandela
This weekend San Francisco is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, which opened on May 27, 1937. This magnificent bridge, which in 1994 was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, and remains one of the world's most popular tourist attractions, was at first claimed to be impossible to build.
They said it simply couldn't be done. A bridge across the Golden Gate would have to span a 6,700 foot strait where there were just too many challenges: heavy winds with gusts up to 75 mph, heavy fog with near-zero visibility, and strong swirling tides and currents between the ocean and the bay. One opponent said, "Strauss [Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss] will never build his bridge, no one can bridge the Golden Gate because of insurmountable difficulties which are apparent to all who give thought to the idea."
Strauss, however, was certain it could be done. He called upon other experts in the field, designers and structural engineers, and they all worked together, suspending disbelief, as it were, to construct what was at the time the world's longest and highest suspension bridge, against all odds.
Today, as I celebrate the anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and all that it represents, I celebrate the indomitable spirit of persistence and determination that propels one forward in the face of overwhelming challenges. Other heroes who come to mind are Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, (not to mention Jesus, Buddha and other spiritual and religious pioneers), and so many other men and women throughout history who have been paradigm shifters, visionaries who have broken barriers of limited thinking—who have themselves been bridges from old ways of thinking to more enlightened ways of being.
May these heroes inspire us to believe in the beauty of our dreams and to stand strong, to persist in the face of insurmountable difficulties and to challenge those who would cast doubt. May we suspend disbelief and say YES to life!
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