A few nights ago, I saw this spider between my fence and my trash can. It was about 9 PM when I first saw it; when I got home it was about 4 PM. The web hadn’t been there when I arrived, which means that in the four hours between when I got home and when I saw it, the spider weaved its intricate hunting apparatus.
As usual, I was amazed with this spider. I’m never unimpressed with a spider’s ability to weave its web and I’m ALWAYS impressed with the way spiders use their webs. These animals are nothing short of powerful hunters well equipped to face their spider lives.
The thing is, people have all they need, as well. The difference is that spiders do what they need to do and aren’t muddied with their “minds.” I’ve watched hundreds of spiders weave webs and they’ve never struck me as neurotic. As a matter of fact, among my many sources of inspiration happens when I find a small moth or cricket and gently toss it into a web. The instant when the spider feels the trapped bug’s vibration, it runs to it, bites it, and then wraps it in webbing. What a spider has NEVER done is hesitate in a moment of self-doubt. Spiders act as part of the environment they create and are symbiotically linked with the system of web and placed to which the web is attached. The spider is a part of a system that achieves its needs and doesn’t seem to be too concerned with any possibility of failure.
People are generally considered to be far more complex creatures than spiders, yet we can be quite neurotic and far less creative the spider I found one night. As a matter of fact, many people who attempt recovery KNOW they’re going to fail even before they really begin. If a spider had that type of negativistic belief, it would starve pretty quickly. Spiders act towards their needs; people MUST learn to do the same.
I don’t what’s needed for anyone except me. I can’t say what’s right or wrong for someone to do. I can, however, say that if someone wants to accomplish something, they should map out the steps necessary to achieve the goal, and then execute those steps. The spider can’t guarantee that its web will catch anything; all it can do is build the web and wait. In much the same way, we can’t assure ourselves that any plan will yield the exact desired results we seek; but if we don’t at least define and execute our plans, NOTHING will result.
So, if you want to start living a healthier life – name your goals and then act towards them. Try to remember that there’s no such thing as a self-doubting spider — there shouldn’t be self-doubting people, either….
