Spider Sails

I don't like spiders. . .they make me shiver. . .and yet in the space of a week I'm making two entries about them. What's up with that? Anyway, as I was taking a walk yesterday through a small wooded area near where I work, I came across an almost "perfect" spider web. What I mean is, it was one of those webs that was roundish, very symmetric, and stitched between two branches in such a way that it was catching the slight breeze like a sail. The filtered sun was hitting it at just the right angle so all the features sort of glowed. The spider was sitting in the middle and the breeze was filling her sails. I stopped and marveled at this little piece of work and thought, "How ingenious. . .food will eventually fill up her little sail and with some patience she'll have a feast."

Fast forward to this morning: As I was reading Patrick's last comment to my Fatally Safe post, where he says, "I think sometimes there's a certain pressure to seek out more 'complexity' because we feel dull and bored, but you're right--life IS complex. But I think one needn't seek it out--it will come to you, as I discovered.". . .the image of the spider waiting patiently in her web came to mind. She lives or dies by the grace of God. She's doesn't try to escape boredom or hunger by seeking "better" ways of being a spider. She's content. I'm usually not. I'm going to go back later today and have a little talk with that spider. She can teach me something.