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| Photo by Hans on pixabay |
Spider has often shown up in my life as a reminder to weave
words and worlds, to express myself in the way I love most. But recently Spider
has taught me something else.
Ants love to come into my house. It may be because it’s hot and
dry outside, and when my husband waters, it’s too wet. I’m not sure exactly why
the ants come marching in. And I’m not a fan. They don’t listen to reason. They
end up dead when they come in. I don’t like to kill them, but where there are a
few, hundreds can follow if one bit of grease or drop of food isn’t noticed and
cleaned up.
Where there are ants, there are spiders. It is mainly daddy
long-legs that bless my home. They move awkwardly on their spindly legs unless
they’re scurrying, which I rarely see them do. Mostly I see them wait patiently
in a corner on their web. They wait for an ant to get caught in their weavings
or when one walks by, they grab it. I thank them for catching ants. It’s why I
leave them alone in their corners. There are probably a dozen in this large
house right now.
With spiders there is no chase involved. They simply do the
work of weaving a web and waiting. Mind you, they seem to choose areas
frequented by what they want to catch. There does seem to be some planning
involved. But once in the perfect place, there is only biding time to be done.
Being patient works. Within a day or two I see the empty husks
of ants lying at the base of webs. The spiders are successful in their ability
to feed themselves and they don’t expend a lot of energy doing it.
Life is about planning and taking action, but it also calls
for more patience than many are willing to have.
This society is about making things happen. I get caught up
in that sometimes. I just want to get that essay done and published. I want to
make this coaching thing work. I want to take action and be done. But it doesn’t
work that way.
We set our intentions. We weave our web of thought and belief.
And we wait for inspiration to come our way. I’ve learned to write even as I
wait. The writing is a kind of weaving that catches inspiration. But I’m not
writing to get it done. I’m open to possibility and I let the words flow.
Patience is needed for the first part of the writing process. Later we build
and make.
Whatever intention we set, we must be patient. Patience is
akin to being open. Patience is the gateway through which possibility enters.
When we lose patience, we slam the door on possibility. It’s like a daddy
long-legs spider trying to catch an ant by chasing it down. The spider can’t
reach out and catch an ant while it’s running. It can’t jump on the ant. It
would have to stop and the ant will outrun it. But by waiting patiently, the
spider catches dozens of ants.
So, here I wait. Inspiration already hit yesterday when
Spider’s wisdom came to me. Now I’m ready to catch more ideas. I trust they
will come to me. I simply ask the right questions, set my intentions and wait.
What are you waiting for? Think about what you want. Ask “what
if” questions. Ask to know what is rising up within. Believe in possibilities
and then wait. The idea, the next step will come to you. But first, have
patience. Keep the door open and the muse will fly in.
