A garden spider chilling between the wall and the bin, an image I took in April 2019. Of course for any arachnophobe out there, this is a scary post, especially as I zoomed the image in. And yet, this spider was no bigger than perhaps a pea, but no doubt it brought up some strong emotions seeing it so close.
Today reading another blog I remembered an activity I did over a decade ago where I looked at all the people in my life and I looked at how i met them, who was the catalyst for that meeting and what did I get from having those people in my life. I think I was going through one of those moments in my life where I was re-evaluating who is worth my time or not, and whether what I was seeing in the world around me was something I created or they did. I was trying to understand myself and my experiences.
What is this activity to do with the spider? Well in the activity I did, I put myself in the middle – just like the spider, and I drew lines from the centre identifying the people who are closest to me, like friends and family and then extending that web out to identify the people who I met as a result of them. Not only that but by each name I also added the good things they brought into my life, and also any sadness or anguish they may have created. I ranked them from safe to unsafe, to people who inspire me and people who drag me down. I noted who was a success and why, and who was actually not doing too well. And through this exercise I realised that some people came into my life to teach a lesson; and some to take a lesson from me.
This exercise showed me the intricacies of the webs we create for ourselves in our life; and how as human beings we need this web in order to do what we need to do in the world. And of course; just like a spider web, when someone let’s go of the silk/string the web unravels or breaks.
We can chose to be in the web and observe the world, or catch others in our web and turn them into prey, or we can chose to capture some people in the gravitational pull of our being; learn the lessons we need; and then let them go thanking them for the energy, the lesson and returning their own energy and self.
I do this activity with many of my clients in my day job; especially those clients who are unable to see how their decisions and choices are not from their own place; but from taking on the qualities of others and making risky decisions. I do this activity with my clients so that they can observe what qualities they need to recognise within themselves and do more of that; and perhaps what traits they need to delete because it is not serving their highest good. I also do this exercise with them so that they can see within themselves the good parts and the not so good parts, for the brain is very interesting, in order to know what you mean it has to have an idea/a picture of what you are talking about. So, if your brain can picture that image, it means that quality is within you, you just have not used it yet. We all have all the skills we need to make it in the world, sometimes we just forget to turn on the light; look in the tool shed and pick up the tool.
So, what is your web telling YOU about your connections? How scary is the spider within? How intricate is your web? How often were you the spider? How often were you the prey?
Are you ready to be the one weaving the new web? Is the web strong enough to support and sustain you?
Are you chilling calmly in your web, observing the world from your vantage point? Or are you ready to move to a new place with your web?
As always join in the conversation in a comment, or journal your thoughts. We are ready to evolve, join us on the journey of discovery.
