Epiphanies from Encounters with a Spider

Yesterday morning I woke up, walked over to the bathroom, and BAM! There in front of me was a black dime-sized spider wiggling up the bright blue wall. Now let me preface this by saying that I really don't like spiders. But my fear of spiders is somewhat different than most people's in the sense that as long as I can't see the spider, I am fine. I crept forward into the bathroom leaving a solid 2-3 foot gap between me and the spider. As I brushed my teeth, I could sometimes see the spider moving on the wall behind me through the mirror, and I let out tiny gasps. Somehow, I hurriedly finished brushing my teeth and scooted out of the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind me and letting out a sigh of relief. However, the experience gave me an epiphany. Living here in Michigan, in the winter months, it is rare to see creatures except for the occasional bird or squirrel. It is easy to begin feeling entitled, as if everything in the world belongs to you and is connected to you. The encounter with the spider was a jolting reminder that I share this world with so many other creatures: insects and animals, birds and humans. Nothing really ever belongs to me, neither my accomplishments nor my burdens. I simply coexist in a complicated equilibrium, each decision I take helping to shift the balance in one direction or the other. Spider or human, each of is on this Earth on a temporary basis. We have a finite number of days to make decisions, to harmonize ourselves to the rest of the world, to experience all that it can offer us. "I have decided to stick with love because hate is too great a burden to bear," said Martin Luther King Jr. And I agree with him because I might not understand a spider or a critter or another human being but I will still try to do my best to respect them. Love is the tempo that cause our hearts to beat in sync with every creature on Earth, large or small.