--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but…" description: "\"“Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.”\" — Bruce Chatwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/bruce-chatwin-11797_home_life-is-a-bridge-cross-over-it-but-build_1397938.jpg" --- # Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it. ![“Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.” quote by Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/bruce-chatwin-11797_home_life-is-a-bridge-cross-over-it-but-build_1397938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/bruce-chatwin-11797_home_life-is-a-bridge-cross-over-it-but-build_1397938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/bruce-chatwin-11797_home_life-is-a-bridge-cross-over-it-but-build_1397938.jpg) > ““Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.”” [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting; use it without trying to own it permanently. **In simple terms:** Life is temporary, don't cling. Key Takeaway Live fully, let go. Themes impermanence freedom mindfulness Mood reflective philosophical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - travel - relationships - career decisions - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism stoicism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance enjoyment with responsibility? - What does “building a house” symbolize for you? A Different Perspective You may need stability for health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-russell/the-hardest-thing-to-learn-in-life-is-which-bridge-to-cross-and-which/) [David Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-russell/) > [“Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/sometimes-the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridge-to-cross/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Your mouth on mine our bridge to cross and serve where we would go. Utopia of sensations the flesh could never know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/your-mouth-on-mine-our-bridge-to-cross-and-serve-where-we-would-go/) [Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/) > [“Most people see those who help them as a bridge; they cross the bridge and move on, without even looking back! To sincerely stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/most-people-see-those-who-help-them-as-a-bridge-they-cross-the-bridge/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Life is a bridge starting from nowhere going to nowhere. We must find a way to remain on the bridge, inside the existence!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/life-is-a-bridge-starting-from-nowhere-going-to-nowhere-we-must-find/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Alexei Alexandrovich stood face to face with life, confronting the possibility of his wife loving someone else besides him, and it was this that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/alexei-alexandrovich-stood-face-to-face-with-life-confronting-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridge-to-cross-and-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And then what?" "I'll burn that bridge when I cross it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/and-then-what-i-ll-burn-that-bridge-when-i-cross-it/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [It hurts to see the one you really love loves someone else. 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"Finché non siano devastate le città...". I Profeti confidavano in un Giorno della Restaurazione, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/fino-a-quando-signore-fino-a-quando-finch-non-siano-devastate-le-citt/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [I climbed a path and from the top looked up-stream towards Chile. I could see the river, glinting and sliding through the bone-white cliffs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-climbed-a-path-and-from-the-top-looked-up-stream-towards-chile-i/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [“The real home of man is not his house but the road. Life itself is a travel that has to be done by foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/the-real-home-of-man-is-not-his-house-but-the-road-life-itself-is-a/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [“What am I doing here? Rimbaud writing home from Ethiopia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/what-am-i-doing-here-rimbaud-writing-home-from-ethiopia/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > ['I will go to France, to Yugoslavia, to China, and continue my profession.' 'As sanitary engineer?' 'No, Monsieur. As adventurer. I will see all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-will-go-to-france-to-yugoslavia-to-china-and-continue-my-profession/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [Walking is a virtue, tourism is a deadly sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/walking-is-a-virtue-tourism-is-a-deadly-sin/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [Richard Lee calculated that a Bushman child will be carried a distance of 4,900 miles before he begins to walk on his own. Since,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/richard-lee-calculated-that-a-bushman-child-will-be-carried-a/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [“Gradually the idea for a book began to take shape. It was to be a wildly ambitious and intolerant work, a kind of 'Anatomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/gradually-the-idea-for-a-book-began-to-take-shape-it-was-to-be-a/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) [Explore all 53 Bruce Chatwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) ## More Bridge quotes > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“Art is what gets us beyond what is real. It makes reality more real. It also shortens the distance we gotta travel to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-pritchett/art-is-what-gets-us-beyond-what-is-real-it-makes-reality-more-real-it/) [Laura Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-pritchett/) > [People who have lost relationships often wonder why they can't just let it be water under the bridge. It is water under the bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-fairley/people-who-have-lost-relationships-often-wonder-why-they-can-t-just/) [Grant Fairley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-fairley/) > [Telling your story is transformative. For both the storyteller and their audience, a new bridge to understanding is created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/telling-your-story-is-transformative-for-both-the-storyteller-and/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [“Mr Benz, the parapet of an Italian bridge doesn’t look like the proper place for you,” said Chase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefania-mattana/mr-benz-the-parapet-of-an-italian-bridge-doesn-t-look-like-the-proper/) [Stefania Mattana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefania-mattana/) > [I find that it's best to take one step at a time and cross each bridge as they come to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stuhlbarg/i-find-that-it-s-best-to-take-one-step-at-a-time-and-cross-each/) [Michael Stuhlbarg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stuhlbarg/) > [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Bridge the gap with closed minds though careful dissection of ideas and solid presentation of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/bridge-the-gap-with-closed-minds-though-careful-dissection-of-ideas/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [I remember, many years ago, coming over the Brooklyn Bridge in the night and seeing the skyline of Manhattan, with the Twin Towers. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/i-remember-many-years-ago-coming-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-in-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [My parents wielded disposal cameras and Polaroids with the best of them, occasionally begging for at least one decent photo of my brother and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/my-parents-wielded-disposal-cameras-and-polaroids-with-the-best-of/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [“Love is a bridge between your future and mine. A bridge constructed entirely out of trust, honesty, and in our case, wooden planks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-is-a-bridge-between-your-future-and-mine-a-bridge-constructed/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [What I do is I'm trying to bridge the gap between yoga and fitness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-ingber/what-i-do-is-i-m-trying-to-bridge-the-gap-between-yoga-and-fitness/) [Mandy Ingber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-ingber/) > [Historically, Hong Kong has served as an important bridge between China and the world. Our freedoms, stability and the rule of law have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/historically-hong-kong-has-served-as-an-important-bridge-between/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Tower Bridge would make a cool house. I like the idea of living over the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-broad/tower-bridge-would-make-a-cool-house-i-like-the-idea-of-living-over/) [Stuart Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-broad/) Browse all 736 Bridge quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life is a bridge. 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