The web of life. Sprawling. Interconnected. Laced together with fine strings of silk. Each thread, a different moment, a different relationship, a different entity, held together with the glue of emotion. Each fine fibre holds firm another, supporting and being supported. And yet at times it feels so flimsy and weak. All it takes is the blink of an eye, a moment, an incident, the breath of a single word to tear it all apart. And then you are left with the pieces of your life scattered across the floor. Battered, broken and longing for a reason to believe.
The silk of a spider is stronger than steel, they say. It acts as a place to sleep, a place to catch food and much more. Who taught the spider how to spin its web? We humans regularly demolish these beautiful structures. What do spiders do? They move on, and rebuild their lives, from scratch.
Bad things happen, but life goes on.
It is not long before we go are gone.1
God gave everyone the ability to make a life for themselves. Yet, “we do not rise to the level of our abilities, but fall to the lies (sic) of our excuses”.2 When it feels like it is all disintegrating, remember the spider. Every thread you lay, make sure it is stronger than steel. And try again. Remember, when it all seems to be falling apart, it may just be falling into place.3 Remember, and keep the faith.
*****
Thank you to B for giving me the idea for this post. I dedicate this to Tutti Fruitti and all others who are going through testing times.
_________________________________
Photograph of an exposed web just after sunrise from personal photography, available here.
1 A couplet from a poem I once wrote.
2 This was a quote I posted on Twitter in the last couple of weeks, but I can no longer remember where / who it’s from.
3 This is another quote I posted onto Twitter a month or so ago. Unfortunately I cannot remember its source.
Posts
6 October 2012 at 21:55
That was Amazing. Who knew you could spin such a common topic into words of beauty....Love. X
7 October 2012 at 08:45
And somehow each of ours webs are connected with everybody else's.
7 October 2012 at 21:12
@ B: Thank you so much for the idea <3 x
7 October 2012 at 21:13
@ Gahdeer: Nicely said! Indeed. The flailing strings find themselves attached, knotted with others.
8 October 2012 at 00:54
"We humans regularly demolish these beautiful structures. What do spiders do? They move on, and rebuild their lives, from scratch."
This made me realize: Who are we to break down a spiders home?
8 October 2012 at 08:26
sometimes it's as simple as being a spider...but the complication is obvious as we are not spiders. haha. sorry, im just feeling down. but this is an inspiring post really. :) thanks for the positive thought.. :)
8 October 2012 at 19:33
So inspiring, comparing your life with that of a spider gives you hope, perhaps God made them to give us hope.
10 October 2012 at 19:12
That comparison was beautiful. Truly inspiring. And the photograph completed it all.
I have a feeling this is going to be one of those pieces that will stick with me forever...Or at least I hope so.
10 October 2012 at 21:41
@ perfectly.imperfect: Indeed, why do we? Fear? Disgust? OCD (Obsessive cleaning disorder?)
10 October 2012 at 21:43
@ Virkky Mums: Oh I agree with you. Spiders may seem simple and yes they are. But just because they're so small, it doesn't make them insignificant. They're complicated in their own way.
Though I guess you're right comparing them to humans is wrong, and I understand.
10 October 2012 at 21:44
@ Mr Nasir: There's something you can learn from everything I think. You just have to look at it in the right way.
10 October 2012 at 21:45
@ Shoojasmine: Thank you! I am glad you were able to find something useful here. Thank you for the visit.
28 October 2012 at 01:52
Love. Although, thinking about it in a different way reminds me of an ayah...
41. The likeness of those who take Auliya’ (protectors and helpers) other than Allah is as the likeness of a spider, who builds (for itself) a house, but verily, the frailest of houses is the spider’s house; if they but knew.
~~~
Tafseer Ibn Katheer Volume 7, Page 492.
This is how Allah described the idolators in their reverence of gods besides Him, hoping that they would help them and provide for them, and turning to them in times of difficulties. In this regard, they were like the house of a spider, which is so weak and frail, because by clinging to these gods they were like a person who holds on to a spider’s web, who does not gain any benefit from that. If they knew this, they would not take any protectors besides Allah.
28 October 2012 at 11:46
@ Anonymous: Thank you for your very insightful and learned comment, with which I wholeheartedly agree.
However, the only similarity between the post and your comment was the spiders. The topics of both were completely different.
Nonetheless, thank you for commenting and I hope you will conintue to do so in the future insha'Allah.
30 October 2012 at 00:46
Beautiful post. Thanks!