--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s like a man standing on a bridge in…" description: "\"“It’s like a man standing on a bridge in the middle of a river with his pants on fire wondering why his pants are on fire. It doesn’t matter. Just jump..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/alcoholics-anonymous-4926_river_it-s-like-a-man-standing-on-a-bridge-in_94696.jpg" --- # It’s like a man standing on a bridge in the middle of a… ![“It’s like a man standing on a bridge in the middle of a river with his pants on fire wondering why his pants are on fire. It doesn’t matter. Just jump in! And that is exactly what I did with A.A. once I finally crossed the river of denial!” quote by Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/alcoholics-anonymous-4926_river_it-s-like-a-man-standing-on-a-bridge-in_94696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/alcoholics-anonymous-4926_river_it-s-like-a-man-standing-on-a-bridge-in_94696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/alcoholics-anonymous-4926_river_it-s-like-a-man-standing-on-a-bridge-in_94696.jpg) > ““It’s like a man standing on a bridge in the middle of a river with his pants on fire wondering why his pants are on fire. It doesn’t matter. Just jump in! And that is exactly what I did with A.A. once I finally crossed the river of denial!”” [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses a vivid metaphor of a burning- on a bridge to illustrate confronting denial and taking decisive action despite absurdity. **In simple terms:** Confront denial with bold action Key Takeaway Jump into truth despite absurdity Themes denial courage metaphor recovery transformation Mood determined reflective Type metaphorical self‑help When to use this quote - 12‑step meetings - personal crisis - therapy sessions - support groups Key Concepts addiction recovery Practical Applications - recovery counseling - self‑help workshops Questions to Reflect On - What 'bridge' are you avoiding? - How can you turn absurdity into motivation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crossed River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossed-river-459709/) [Pants Wondering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pants-wondering-1166684/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [River Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river-denial-1166682/) [River Pants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river-pants-1166683/) ## Related quotes > [You aint standin in the river so why are you in denial? (the Nile)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyhi-da-prynce/you-aint-standin-in-the-river-so-why-are-you-in-denial-the-nile/) [Cyhi Da Prynce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyhi-da-prynce/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [Don't insult the alligator until you've crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/don-t-insult-the-alligator-until-you-ve-crossed-the-river/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [To insist on a spiritual practice that served you in the past is to carry the raft on your back after you have crossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/to-insist-on-a-spiritual-practice-that-served-you-in-the-past-is-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Only when you have crossed the river can you say that the crocodile has a lump on his snout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/only-when-you-have-crossed-the-river-can-you-say-that-the-crocodile/) [Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/) > [“It is only safe to mock a crocodile when you have crossed the river.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/it-is-only-safe-to-mock-a-crocodile-when-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-ve-never-been-far-from-the-river-i-m-sort-of-like-a-thames-nymph/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Life is like the ocean. It can be calm and still or rough and rigid but in the end, it is always beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-the-ocean-it-can-be-calm-and-still-or-rough-and-rigid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/one-of-the-unique-things-is-that-whether-we-were-out-at-sea-or-in-the/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [The least unhappy persons do, in so fickle and so tempestuous a sea as this world, meet with many more either cross winds or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-least-unhappy-persons-do-in-so-fickle-and-so-tempestuous-a-sea-as/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) ## More by Alcoholics Anonymous > [“and I actually talked about God, the one who had abandoned me when I was very little, very frightened, and very hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/and-i-actually-talked-about-god-the-one-who-had-abandoned-me-when-i/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“New Year’s resolutions I recycled for a dozen years while my drinking and my life kept getting worse. Alcohol had enslaved me. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/new-year-s-resolutions-i-recycled-for-a-dozen-years-while-my-drinking/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“The horrors grew. Inner horrors. On the surface it looked as though I was more or less keeping it together, but day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/the-horrors-grew-inner-horrors-on-the-surface-it-looked-as-though-i/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“How I ran my home, I don’t know. I went on, realizing what I was becoming, hating myself for it, bitter, blaming life, blaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/how-i-ran-my-home-i-don-t-know-i-went-on-realizing-what-i-was/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“Acceptance is the answer to all my problemskey to all my problems today.When I am distrubed, it is because I find some person, place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/acceptance-is-the-answer-to-all-my-problemskey-to-all-my-problems/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“But in the light of the new understanding that I have found in A.A., I have been able to interpret that defeat and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/but-in-the-light-of-the-new-understanding-that-i-have-found-in-a-a-i/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“I actually wanted a drink, besides feeling that I had to have a drink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-actually-wanted-a-drink-besides-feeling-that-i-had-to-have-a-drink/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“When I got home in the evening, I drank at least half the fifth in front of the television set and watched reruns until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/when-i-got-home-in-the-evening-i-drank-at-least-half-the-fifth-in/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“I wondered how this misery would end. I was full of fear. I was afraid to tell others what I felt lest they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-wondered-how-this-misery-would-end-i-was-full-of-fear-i-was-afraid/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“I tried everything. I moved a thousand miles away from home to Chicago and a new environment. I studied art; I desperately endeavored to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-tried-everything-i-moved-a-thousand-miles-away-from-home-to-chicago/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“Dishonest thinking, prejudice, ego, antagonism toward anyone and everyone who dares to cross him, vanity, and a critical attitude are character defects that gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/dishonest-thinking-prejudice-ego-antagonism-toward-anyone-and/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for we are liable to drink if we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/we-must-lose-our-fear-of-creditors-no-matter-how-far-we-have-to-go/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“So I continued spinning fantasies, and now alcohol fueled my dreams. I would make great discoveries, win the Nobel Prize in medicine and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/so-i-continued-spinning-fantasies-and-now-alcohol-fueled-my-dreams-i/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“Above all, I am grateful to A.A. for my sobriety, which means so much to my family, friends, and business associates, because God and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/above-all-i-am-grateful-to-a-a-for-my-sobriety-which-means-so-much-to/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“I knew, I would start working on the half gallon again, despite the fact that I was still very ill from the night before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-knew-i-would-start-working-on-the-half-gallon-again-despite-the/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) [Explore all 105 Alcoholics Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) ## More River quotes > [The least unhappy persons do, in so fickle and so tempestuous a sea as this world, meet with many more either cross winds or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-least-unhappy-persons-do-in-so-fickle-and-so-tempestuous-a-sea-as/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/one-of-the-unique-things-is-that-whether-we-were-out-at-sea-or-in-the/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Life is like the ocean. It can be calm and still or rough and rigid but in the end, it is always beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-the-ocean-it-can-be-calm-and-still-or-rough-and-rigid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-ve-never-been-far-from-the-river-i-m-sort-of-like-a-thames-nymph/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [If you ask an actor what he'd prefer to act on, he'd probably say a tangible, real set, or even better, a real location…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/if-you-ask-an-actor-what-he-d-prefer-to-act-on-he-d-probably-say-a/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [In the road ships must ride in 30, 40, or 50 fathom water, not above half a mile from the shore at farthest: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/in-the-road-ships-must-ride-in-30-40-or-50-fathom-water-not-above/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [I finished 'Hell or High Water' and started writing 'Wind River' literally the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/i-finished-hell-or-high-water-and-started-writing-wind-river/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) [Browse all 3,638 River quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s like a man standing on a bridge in the middle of a river with his pants on fire wondering why his pants are on fire. 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