BECOMING THE BRIDGE
Story by Charlene Peck Photos by Cody Storm Cooper
	"A leader is someone who looks at the world and says it doesn't have to be this way... and does something about it"
The first steps into Muskoka Woods leadership studio can be a little daunting.
 But for those with an adventurous spirit, they offer a hint of fun in the journey ahead.
They traverse a 210-foot suspension bridge spanning the gap between routine camp life at the prestigious international facility and a new 4,000-square-foot studio embodying the nature of leadership development
"Canadians are known internationally as bridge builders," explains Ellen Duffield, Project Leader for the new studio, 'That's why we often play a peacekeeping, intermediary role. So this celebrates and speaks to that part of our heritage. As people come to this building, it reminds us that we have a unique opportunity and expectations to be bridge builders as leaders."
The whole structure is designed around a narrative, a story that unfolds throughout the leadership learning experience. A poster at the
primary entrance introduces the ancient Mabinogian myth, and depicts a Welsh king of mythological proportion, as large as a mountain. Enraged at the mistreatment of his sister in Ireland, the king brings a force from Wales and begins crossing the sea.
People in Ireland see him coming. They see what they think is a mountain moving towards them and they burn their bridge and retreat into their city," Duffield explains. "So he has a choice when he gets there. Is he going to just step over the river when he gets there and go into battle by himself, which he clearly could do, but that would mean he'd have to leave his people behind? Instead, he chooses to lie down over the river and become the bridge, and his people walk over him. He becomes the bridge, by which they all achieve the mission together." From that myth comes the funky Welsh adage: "A fo ben, bid bont," meaning "the one who will be a leader or chief, must also be a bridge." "Everytime we walk across that bridge, we're reminded of the kind of leaders we can be," explains Duffield.
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