Rebranding how the mind works ... with a daily maintenance habit (the symbolism of the Francis Scott Keys Bridge collapse)

I live close enough in Baltimore City to the Francis Scott Keys Bridge that came down. My oldest son often travels on the bridge to Sparrows Point, Maryland.

The FSK Bridge was struck by a Cargo ship from Singapore named the DALI traveling in the port. The Bridge and the cargo ship are part of the web of global e-commerce that served not just Maryland but part of the e-commerce web that served other parts of the United States providing jobs to people in Baltimore City and others living in Maryland and the US at large in addition to the port bringing together people internationally as represented by the cargo ship. The port is directly responsible for about 15,000 jobs and generated $4.7 billion in economic value to the state of Maryland. Like everyone else in Maryland and Baltimore City, my sincere sympathy goes to the families affected by the accident.

Why am I sharing about the bridge collapse, as information trickled down on the day of the collapse, I was interested in what had happened, how it happened, and why. As a professional, I wanted the insight of other professionals in that field and there was no shortage of them; Engineers, consultants, analysts, and experts sharing their view.

In one of the new outlets, one of the people I came across, I can’t remember which now had an expert/consultant who mentioned…

Paraphrasing, he said ” that the bridge, the FSK Bridge that people drove on was a very well kept and maintained bridge. When you drove on it you knew that for a fact, and as attested to by the maintenance crew working to cover potholes and routine maintenance, etc before the collapse. He then said but not enough was done it appears to fortify or maintain the base of the bridge (the outer part)”. He thought if the same was invested towards the base of the bridge the damage may not have been as much; even though I will say other engineers on other outlets have disagreed, believing that nothing could have saved the bridge from collapsing after being hit by a cargo ship the size of the DALI.

Another expert describes the collapse of the bridge not as a collapse but as a total structural failure, so for me, both were a good way to reflect on what I can do better in my life to fortify my structure while also performing required maintenance.

The structure inner and outer can also represent the mind and how we interact with it personally and how we think of others. It helps us live up to our potential as fated and destined by God enough fear and reverence and we thrive, too much and miss our life’s purpose.

Reflection and My takeaway is: What are you doing today to maintain your inner structure and your outer structure whatever that may represent for you to be able to brace for an impact that can happen at any moment without notice so that you are standing after it’s all said and done or at least you’re not collapsing or as others have described not having a total structural failure?

A structural failure could be described as our thinking mind not working for us as it should, it could be depression that stops people from functioning and or keeps you just doing the bare minimum, it could be a career loss without support, savings, or even human resources, it could be loss of your partner or losing your community of support, etcetera.

What can you do today to support YOU when that time comes?

And what do you need to support, take a second and think of where you need that help.

Would you need support with how you think, with your mental well-being or your money and finances, health and fitness, or help with career and work, fun and recreation, environment, community, family and friends, partner and love, personal growth and learning, spirituality?

Most importantly, how would you even know that you need help?

These are important questions we need to contemplate and answer and come back to, reviewing them often.

Most days how our mind/mental health is just what it is, chill and perfect and other times we are in a battle with our mind. A battle over fear, irritation, second-guessing ourselves, we are battling stress that leads to overthinking & causes depression, tension, even a pounding heart can be sign of anxiety. Do not forget that living on earth is not a destination but a continuous quest. Our goal is toward a sound mind as the bible tells us.