Near my hermitage there is a private outhouse. That may sound more exclusive than it is - it has three walls, a toilet and a large number of "daddy longlegs." At the beginning of our relationship (the arachnids and myself), I admit they seemed like a pest. Cobwebs filled every crevasse and corner of the structure and these long, thin-legged creatures seemed the culprit! "And," a voice shouted, "who wants to use the facilities with things crawling around? Get them out of here!” In any other building, one would take a "bug bus" and gently invite this creature to live outdoors. In this three-walled structure, however, the delineation between inside and outside blurs, and as I've found, so does the separation between spider and human.
Twice a week I'd clean out the unoccupied webs and watch all the silk catchers return two days later. It was in these frequent cleanings and daily visits to the outhouse that the annoyed voice began to wane and fascination ensued. Their incredibly nimble movements, the fact that they seemed to perch in one area for days, catching insects and wrapping them up like master seamstresses, ballet-like mating rituals and the arrival one morning of 9 baby spiders -- what a wonder!
One day, across the room in my hermitage where the wall and ceiling meet, appeared a delicately perched daddy longlegs. "Bug bus!" I heard, and then a pause. It seemed best to leave this gentle life be. Every day I would say “good morning” and “goodnight.” I explained that although he was welcome, this wasn’t a good place to catch food (only to be proven wrong on day 4). On day 7, he disappeared without even a good-bye. I quickly forgave my new friend, as I realized how much I had been given. Attention had moved from annoyance and division to fascination and inclusion. It seems when we develop a relationship with anything, when we bring the gift of presence, what is revealed as the Life force living us all. Everything is made of the same "suchness,” all deserving of care and respect, arachnids and humans alike.
Gassho,
Scott