Spidery Spirituality
August 1, 2005
Spiritually Speaking
There is a three hundred million year old fossil
preserving proof of a critter that lived then.
It was about eighteen inches in diameter.
It had massive shovelling jaws – well, as massive
as an eighteen inch critter can have – and an armored
belly. It fed on cockroaches and giant millipedes.
The descendants of this creature exist today –
everywhere in the world – but much smaller.
There are many legends – some more than a
thousand years old – about how God used one
of these critters to save a person's life.
According to legend but not the Bible, King
David was one of those people. According
to Japanese legend – a mighty Shogun
warrior named Yorimoto was saved.
Another legend claims the same for Mohammed –
the prophet of Islam. Back in the 1300's,
this creature was credited with the realization
of Scottish independence for inspiring
Robert the Bruce.
A tale from Hollywood tells of how Alan King,
the comedian and Judy Garland were having
dinner at a posh restaurant when one walked
off Judy's dinner plate. The waiter had just
assured them that it was a rare and luscious
mushroom. Judy could not stop laughing.
Alan thought she was panicking. He slapped
her to calm her down. She slapped him right
back and continued laughing. Nothing more
is said about the creature.
My porch and basement are full of these things,
as are most anyone's. I watch their homes
shimmer in the sunshine – on the grass each
morning – woven all around my hanging planters
and porch posts. Of course, by now, you've
figured out that I'm talking about spiders. Right?
Spiders and insects are different. Yet both belong
to the largest group of animals on earth: the
arthopods. This means they have hard external skeletons
and jointed limbs. They shed this hard shell throughout
their lives. Most are so small that we can barely see
them – especially as we get older and the eyesight gets
weaker. Others are large enough to cover a dinner
plate and give us all a good scare. All have unusual
body shapes and they come in a variety of colors.
Their silk is the strongest natural fiber known. The
strands can be stretched to more than a quarter of
their original length before breaking. Spiders have
4-8 pairs of spinnerets on their abdomens which
make this silk. Some silk is for capturing dinner.
Other kinds are non-sticky and enable them to stay
unstuck from their own webs. There are other kinds
of silk which plays a part in mating and reproducing.
It would take 415 spiders to produce a square yard of
silk. Don't tell the spiders but silkworms are much more
efficient. Hence, spider silk is not used commercially.
All in all though the spider is a truly remarkable part
of God's creation.
Throughout history, they have been both feared and
adored. We all remember singing the Itsy-Bitsy Spider
and reciting Little Miss Muffet. Currently there are
urban legends flooding the internet about camel spiders
which allegedly can kill humans with their paralyzing
venom. There is a photo of one which appears to be
2-3 feet long. In reality, these critters are at most
six inches long. They are ugly and nasty from a
human perspective, and they will bite. But they do
NOT have any venom and unless left with no alternative,
will flee from anything bigger than themselves. They do
not lay their eggs in camels and they do not lay in wait for
humans. Camel spiders are simply fulfilling the role God
gave them to keep down the insect population.
Another myth making the rounds today is that we
swallow – name any number – while we sleep.
This is highly unlikely. Spiders avoid breath and
wouldn't be caught dead walking into someone's
open mouth as long as breathing is taking place.
They are not above biting human flesh however
should they encounter other body parts in the dark
of night – or the light of day. Spider bites can
easily become infected which is believed to be
why rumors of their venomous nature have been
bandied about.
King David was supposedly saved from the murderous
King Saul by hiding in a cave. A spider quickly spun
a web across the cave opening. Saul saw the web and
did not look in the cave for David.
Likewise, Mohammed was chased by his enemies.
He hid in a cave. A tree miraculously grew up. A
spider immediately spun its web between the tree and
the cave. Mohammed's enemies saw the web and did not
bother to look in that cave for Mohammed.
Yorimoto, the Japanese Shogun hid in a hollow tree
from his pursuers. You guessed it. A spider spins a
web over the opening in the old tree and
his enemies do not look inside. Sense a theme here?
There is a story making the internet rounds about a
soldier in World War II who is trapped in a cave with
enemy soldiers hot on his trail. He prays to God for
rescue. A spider spins a web across the cave entrance.
He does not understand how this is of any use until
the soldiers merely look at the cave entrance, see the
web and move on.
Robert the Bruce was hiding in a barn looking up
at the rafters. He spies a spider trying time after
time to spin a web. It takes seven tries before the
web is spun. This inspired him to keep trying to
beat the British. And he did.
We can fear spiders. We can adore spiders. We can
hate spiders. Or we can try to ignore spiders. But
they are everywhere. I prefer to study them, to learn
from them and to see what others have learned from
them throughout history.
Here's a gem from Mark Twain.
One day during his tenure as the editor of a small
Missouri newspaper, Mark Twain received a letter
from a reader who had found a spider in their paper.
The reader wondered whether this meant good or bad
luck.
Twain replied, "Finding a spider in your paper is neither
good luck nor bad. The spider was merely looking over
our paper to see which merchant was not advertising so
that he could go to that store, spin his web across the door,
and lead a life of undisturbed peace ever afterward."
For spiritual nourishment and spider appreciation, I
close with this parable taken from Buddhist literature:
The Buddha was in a lotus-filled garden when he saw
a man squirming in the depths of Hell. This man had
been a murderer, an arsonist, and a thief. This landed
him in Hell with others like himself.
The Buddha examined the man's life looking for any
sign of goodness and mercy. There was one incident.
One day this man had spared the life of a spider.
Just as he was about to thoughtlessly stomp the spider
into oblivion, he stopped himself saying, "This spider
is a living being like myself. It is a shame to take its
life for no reason." The spider lived.
The Buddha then took a spider thread and lowered it
into the depths of Hell with the intention of saving
this man. The man reached for the thread and found it
was indeed strong enough to bear his weight. Using
all his strength he began lifting himself out of Hell.
After awhile, he looked down and saw hundreds of others
behind him climbing on the same spider thread.
He shouted angrily, "Get off! This is mine!" Just then,
the thread broke and the man fell back into Hell.
May each spider we see remind us of God's mercy,
and may each web we spy remind us how the
mystery of God is woven into all our lives.
http://www.anecdotage.com
http://www.gakkaionline.net/myths
http://www.amonline.com/au.spiders
Spiritually Speaking
There is a three hundred million year old fossil
preserving proof of a critter that lived then.
It was about eighteen inches in diameter.
It had massive shovelling jaws – well, as massive
as an eighteen inch critter can have – and an armored
belly. It fed on cockroaches and giant millipedes.
The descendants of this creature exist today –
everywhere in the world – but much smaller.
There are many legends – some more than a
thousand years old – about how God used one
of these critters to save a person's life.
According to legend but not the Bible, King
David was one of those people. According
to Japanese legend – a mighty Shogun
warrior named Yorimoto was saved.
Another legend claims the same for Mohammed –
the prophet of Islam. Back in the 1300's,
this creature was credited with the realization
of Scottish independence for inspiring
Robert the Bruce.
A tale from Hollywood tells of how Alan King,
the comedian and Judy Garland were having
dinner at a posh restaurant when one walked
off Judy's dinner plate. The waiter had just
assured them that it was a rare and luscious
mushroom. Judy could not stop laughing.
Alan thought she was panicking. He slapped
her to calm her down. She slapped him right
back and continued laughing. Nothing more
is said about the creature.
My porch and basement are full of these things,
as are most anyone's. I watch their homes
shimmer in the sunshine – on the grass each
morning – woven all around my hanging planters
and porch posts. Of course, by now, you've
figured out that I'm talking about spiders. Right?
Spiders and insects are different. Yet both belong
to the largest group of animals on earth: the
arthopods. This means they have hard external skeletons
and jointed limbs. They shed this hard shell throughout
their lives. Most are so small that we can barely see
them – especially as we get older and the eyesight gets
weaker. Others are large enough to cover a dinner
plate and give us all a good scare. All have unusual
body shapes and they come in a variety of colors.
Their silk is the strongest natural fiber known. The
strands can be stretched to more than a quarter of
their original length before breaking. Spiders have
4-8 pairs of spinnerets on their abdomens which
make this silk. Some silk is for capturing dinner.
Other kinds are non-sticky and enable them to stay
unstuck from their own webs. There are other kinds
of silk which plays a part in mating and reproducing.
It would take 415 spiders to produce a square yard of
silk. Don't tell the spiders but silkworms are much more
efficient. Hence, spider silk is not used commercially.
All in all though the spider is a truly remarkable part
of God's creation.
Throughout history, they have been both feared and
adored. We all remember singing the Itsy-Bitsy Spider
and reciting Little Miss Muffet. Currently there are
urban legends flooding the internet about camel spiders
which allegedly can kill humans with their paralyzing
venom. There is a photo of one which appears to be
2-3 feet long. In reality, these critters are at most
six inches long. They are ugly and nasty from a
human perspective, and they will bite. But they do
NOT have any venom and unless left with no alternative,
will flee from anything bigger than themselves. They do
not lay their eggs in camels and they do not lay in wait for
humans. Camel spiders are simply fulfilling the role God
gave them to keep down the insect population.
Another myth making the rounds today is that we
swallow – name any number – while we sleep.
This is highly unlikely. Spiders avoid breath and
wouldn't be caught dead walking into someone's
open mouth as long as breathing is taking place.
They are not above biting human flesh however
should they encounter other body parts in the dark
of night – or the light of day. Spider bites can
easily become infected which is believed to be
why rumors of their venomous nature have been
bandied about.
King David was supposedly saved from the murderous
King Saul by hiding in a cave. A spider quickly spun
a web across the cave opening. Saul saw the web and
did not look in the cave for David.
Likewise, Mohammed was chased by his enemies.
He hid in a cave. A tree miraculously grew up. A
spider immediately spun its web between the tree and
the cave. Mohammed's enemies saw the web and did not
bother to look in that cave for Mohammed.
Yorimoto, the Japanese Shogun hid in a hollow tree
from his pursuers. You guessed it. A spider spins a
web over the opening in the old tree and
his enemies do not look inside. Sense a theme here?
There is a story making the internet rounds about a
soldier in World War II who is trapped in a cave with
enemy soldiers hot on his trail. He prays to God for
rescue. A spider spins a web across the cave entrance.
He does not understand how this is of any use until
the soldiers merely look at the cave entrance, see the
web and move on.
Robert the Bruce was hiding in a barn looking up
at the rafters. He spies a spider trying time after
time to spin a web. It takes seven tries before the
web is spun. This inspired him to keep trying to
beat the British. And he did.
We can fear spiders. We can adore spiders. We can
hate spiders. Or we can try to ignore spiders. But
they are everywhere. I prefer to study them, to learn
from them and to see what others have learned from
them throughout history.
Here's a gem from Mark Twain.
One day during his tenure as the editor of a small
Missouri newspaper, Mark Twain received a letter
from a reader who had found a spider in their paper.
The reader wondered whether this meant good or bad
luck.
Twain replied, "Finding a spider in your paper is neither
good luck nor bad. The spider was merely looking over
our paper to see which merchant was not advertising so
that he could go to that store, spin his web across the door,
and lead a life of undisturbed peace ever afterward."
For spiritual nourishment and spider appreciation, I
close with this parable taken from Buddhist literature:
The Buddha was in a lotus-filled garden when he saw
a man squirming in the depths of Hell. This man had
been a murderer, an arsonist, and a thief. This landed
him in Hell with others like himself.
The Buddha examined the man's life looking for any
sign of goodness and mercy. There was one incident.
One day this man had spared the life of a spider.
Just as he was about to thoughtlessly stomp the spider
into oblivion, he stopped himself saying, "This spider
is a living being like myself. It is a shame to take its
life for no reason." The spider lived.
The Buddha then took a spider thread and lowered it
into the depths of Hell with the intention of saving
this man. The man reached for the thread and found it
was indeed strong enough to bear his weight. Using
all his strength he began lifting himself out of Hell.
After awhile, he looked down and saw hundreds of others
behind him climbing on the same spider thread.
He shouted angrily, "Get off! This is mine!" Just then,
the thread broke and the man fell back into Hell.
May each spider we see remind us of God's mercy,
and may each web we spy remind us how the
mystery of God is woven into all our lives.
http://www.anecdotage.com
http://www.gakkaionline.net/myths
http://www.amonline.com/au.spiders
posted by Andrucilla at Thursday, August 04, 2005
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