What If I Was A Spider?

    Diane always wanted to be a writer, but she just did not know if she could do it. Diane was worried about what other people would think of her. She was terrified of failing. However, she felt incomplete. So, with a heavy heart she went outside to sit under her favorite Pecan tree to ponder the idea of being a writer and facing her fears.

    She loved nature, appreciated her surroundings, and found it to be very inspirational.  A gentle breeze stroked her face as she looked up in the tree branches and noticed a medium sized spider spinning a web.  That is when the question hit her, “What if I was a spider”? She decided to do an experiment with several of her friends and family to see how they would react to the spider in the tree. She felt that different people would see the spider in a different perspective just as they do other people. 

   So, the next day she invited her friend Michael over for brunch under the Pecan tree. He never even noticed the spider or knew of its existence. He continued his brunch as usual never even concerning himself with the spider. Diane did everything she could to bring his attention to the spider. But it was to no avail.

    That night Diane thought about her evening with Michael.  A person can exist without many people ever even knowing of their existence. That person is a void to them, an unknown no matter how hard you may try to get their attention.

    The next day she invited her friend Angela and husband Eugene for brunch under the Pecan tree.  As they were eating Diane observed Angela look up in the branches and she clearly saw the spider, but she never verbally acknowledged it. She knew it is there but really did not seem to care. Eugene, on the other hand, saw the spider and said, “Wow that is a cool spider.” But then said nothing more about it.

    After Angela and Eugene left Diane reflected on their reactions to the spider. She thought how many people pass each other everyday but never acknowledge each other. They know in their minds that others are around them, but they just do not talk about it.  Then others may speak or wave as they pass you by. They never think of you again.

    Diane was still curious about how others may react to the spider. Therefore, she invited her sister Abby and her husband Gerald to come over and talk under the Pecan tree.  Abby saw the spider and said, “That is an interesting spider.” She was curious and began to look at it closer and talked about its color, what it had caught in its web, how hairy it was etcetera. Suddenly Gerald sweeps up the spider into a jar to look at it. He began asking questions as well and even took it home with him to show the kids but imprisoning the spider. Diane was terribly upset with Gerald. She called him the next morning asking him to please bring back the spider. Knowing how much Diane loved nature, Gerald brought the spider back and released in the Pecan tree branches.

    This made Diane think about how people may be curious about each other. Some people ask questions and get to know you a little better. Others take it to the extreme and become very nosey. They can make you feel trapped just like the spider in the jar, put on display and afraid.

    Diane wanted to do one more experiment. So, she invited a new co-worker, Carol over one evening after work and had some tea under the Pecan Tree. She did not know that Carol was terribly afraid of spiders.   When she saw the spider, she instantly killed it. Diane was horrified. Carol saw the look on Diane’s face. She said, “I was afraid it was going to bite me.”   She said, “I thought it was poisonous, and it would make me sick or kill me. Diane understood and forgave Carol.

    Diane was sad after Carol left and wondered what she could have done differently to save the spider. She felt it was killed because it was misunderstood. Diane felt this in how some people treat others, simply because they do not understand them. They may bully them, avoid them, and unfortunately even kill them. 

     Diane thought about her experiment and how each person reacted differently to the spider. She asked herself, what if the spider ran away or left the tree, especially after Gerald captured it. But then she realized that the Pecan tree was the spider’s home and that is where it felt safest. She wondered what the spider could have done differently.

    She realized even more just how much she saw herself in that spider. The spider lived its life the way it knew how. No matter what it did or where it lived people would still have different reactions and perspectives about the spider. It was doing what it felt best for itself. Diane knew then that she also needed to do what she felt best for herself. She knew that different people would react differently to her as well. She had to be brave and take a chance. 

    Soon after Diane finished her experiment, she decided to write a story just for her. She sat under the Pecan tree to remember the spider. She picked up her pen and began to write.  A gentle breeze came up again. She looked up to where the spider lived, and she thought she saw movement. There was something small and white in the web.   Low and behold it was a spider egg sac. Excitedly she looked closer and sure enough there were several tiny spiders near the web that the mom had made for them. Diane was so happy. She was so focused on the spider all this time that she never noticed the spider had an egg sac.

    In conclusion, Diane learned so much from her experiment. The baby spiders were her sign that she was doing the right thing. Life goes on and she knew she needed to as well. She was inspired to embrace her fears and concentrate on the positive people’s reactions. She also learned that she could not let negative people influence her decisions to listen to her heart.  Diane sat back down and began to write her first story.