We Are the Weavers, We Are the Web

It is clearly fall. As I have noticed every year of my life, this seems to be a particularly busy season for our arachnid family members. Unlike many people, I have always welcomed spiders. This could be due at least in part to my grandmother, who when we were terrified by Daddy Long-legs, told us “Never kill spiders, they are good luck”.

Although I certainly am a bit less respectful of their privacy since I was bitten by a poisonous one in 2008, they continue to fascinate me. For the last two weeks, each day my car has been adorned with intricately patterned filaments leading from the bushes several feet away to the door handle and side mirror. Wiping away the threads I wonder how they accomplish such a daunting task everyday.

My only comparison comes from the few times I have lost large amounts of un-saved ‘brilliant’ writing on my computer. The first instances were devastatingly shocking.  It took a couple of losses to figure out that often the re-written material was better, although I still complained bitterly. What do you suppose happens each time they discover their work is missing? Does it go quicker the next time? Do they build better, stronger, or more carelessly with each additional destruction? Do they ever think as I occasionally have, why bother, or what’s the use?

Continuing along the path of mourning and grief, there are now glimmers of energy that occur with some regularity, though still relatively short-lived. It feels a bit like two steps forward, one back. In what ways am I similar to the spiders who continue to rebuild day in and day out? Where and under what circumstances do I lose heart and give up before the job is done?

Perhaps the weavers of these incredible structures are superior beings who have already figured out the secret to happiness. Does their constancy come from understanding that change is the only constant in life? Have they learned how to cope, manage, welcome, embrace, and learn from inevitable losses without assigning positive or negative qualities to ‘reality’? If everyone and everything, from mosquitoes to volcanoes has a natural life cycle that runs a continuum from conception to death and beyond, does our success come right down to our ability to tolerate loss in one form or another with our creativity, curiosity and will to continue intact?

As for the web itself, does our true nature – peaceful, loving, gentle, strong (whatever our individual strengths) become more intricate and beautiful as we continue to be ‘woven’ by ups and downs? Do we glisten and quiver with receptivity, even knowing we too may be swept away? Are we constantly rolling out the same reflexive patterns with little in the way of flexibility or innovation?

Just for today, whether weaver, web, or a bit of both, may your creation be inspired by your unique version of majesty. Blessings and love to you all. z