My Journey To M-Bridge

Her name is Sophie. We have been friends for over four years now. We met in a very unusual way. I was asked to be part of a team designed to produce a DVD to be handed to new immigrants to Ontario. A year later, we were called to watch the DVD and see if it had all the elements we had discussed. Guess what! Sophie was in the movie. I saw her , and in my mind I was like “I know this lady but I don't know where”. As it turned out, I was in the same class with her in a course I was taking at that time.

The same evening I went to my class. Guess who I met in the elevator? Sophie! I told her that I saw her in a movie. She went: “What movie?” We have been friends ever since.

As I came to know Sophie more, she shared with me a project she had started. Her dream was to help professional newcomers to integrate the Canadian society. She had created an organization called M-Bridge. It is a volunteer operated federally-registered non-profit organization providing educational services on Canadian workplace and social culture.

I have been one of the M-Bridge speakers for years now, and I am also part of their advisors. For almost two years though, I have not been available to do any workshop for them, but I made sure to promote the organization to different speakers who gladly accepted to give a hand.

Last week, I was back to M-Bridge again. After my presentation, I sat down with Sophie who gave me an update. They have now over eight hundred members, they operate on two locations in Toronto, they are frequently featured in the media, and this past weekend, they were invited to Ottawa to visit the Federal Parliament. What a success! Things are really falling into place for them.

You may be thinking that it has been a smooth road for Sophie, Alex, Pauline, May, and other faithful volunteers at M-Bridge. Far from the truth. When Sophie told me what she personally went through in her life the last few years, I couldn't believe what I heard. This lady is a true warrior. She had overcome hardship that very few of us can endure. I was blown away. It was like a movie. I told her that when she writes her first book, I will be the first one to buy it. WOW!

That's the thing with dreamers. They go through so much hardship without losing the focus of their dreams. Why that? In the words of Paulo Coelho, author of “The Alchemist”.

“We who fight for our dream, suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse:”Oh, well, I didn't really want it anyway.” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.”

Well said sir.

Always a pleasure

Patrick

The Journeyman