We are Never Alone

It was midweek, right after dinner and all I wanted was to sit on the couch and watch TV. It’s been a cold spring, windy and rainy for weeks, so finally as the weather got better, there was a lot of yard work to catch up with. The ivy has overgrown big sections of my raised beds in the backyard, so I devised a plan to spend an hour a day cleaning up and preparing the beds.

After 45 minutes of procrastination, I finally went outside, got my garden scissors, put on my gloves and gave myself a pep talk: “You can do it! It’s going to look so much better after you are done.”  I went to one of the raised beds, which is next to the split rail fence separating our property from the woods. As I started cutting and pulling the ivy vines, my eye caught a motion on one of the wooden rails. It was a big spider that was probably disturbed by all the ivy removal action. I have always had a special relationship with spiders (see my post Of Spiders and Men) so I tried not to disturb it while I kept pulling the ivy.

As I made progress, I moved further away and kept pulling the weeds and dumping them in the yard waste bin. I noticed that the spider also moved along the rail in my direction. I got curious and inspected the spider closely – it had an exquisite rose pale geometric pattern on its back, which was beautifully reflecting the light from the setting sun. As I kept cleaning the dead leaves and removing ivy patches and strings, the spider kept crawling slowly on the rail and staying close.

I started my yard work cranky, tired and lacking motivation. After an hour of pulling weeds and ivy, and observing the spider, I was still tired, but less cranky and in a much better mood. As soon as I finished cleaning the patch, I looked around and I was quite happy with the result. I looked at the spider, it was still next to me on the wooden rail.

Right there, I had the sudden realization that we are never alone. Through thick and thin, as we walk along our life path, we always have friendly company. We may not recognize it at first for it may come in the shape of a curious spider, but next time when you feel down, exhausted and lonely – just look around and listen. You might hear a bird song or notice a fluffy dandelion seed floating in the air – every moment is special, and we are sharing it with many other friendly creatures. We are never alone…