Webs We Weave

Long before we texted and used shortcuts like AFAIK, B4N, IMHO, and LOL.... long before marketing began abbreviating store names to BK, DQ, JCP, KFC and McD... and long before we understood the differences between WWI (World War 1), WWII (World War 2), www (world-wide web), ww2 and ww3 (alternate web servers to balance load)... there was another WWW... one that we didn't want to acknowledge or market: that is, the Webs We Weave!

Oftentimes, we don't understand or pay attention to the impact that we have on others.  As we "pass along information" (gossip) or "stretch the truth" (fibs or outright lies) to "protect others," we are weaving an alternate reality that is harder to remember and track.

Where is your focus?
(Photo: full moon above trees - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

I was thinking of this as I was watching a full moon rise above our trees in the backyard.  My attention was drawn first to the brilliance of the moon and its light.  I wondered about the "sheen" that surrounded the moon: it was a warm and dry evening so little moisture was in the air.  Then I noticed two industrious spiders and their elaborate web!

As the moon rose, the spiders continued their work -- capturing the moon's brilliance in their gossamer threads.

How do you rise above?
(Photo: Web Brilliance - moon, spiders, and their web
- Larry Gardepie, 2023)

I wondered about our lives, our experiences, and the stories we create and retell.

Do we:

• Celebrate another person's achievements and their brilliance?
• Capture and redirect what is said to serve our own purpose?
• Redefine or shorten historical definitions to remarket our beliefs?

What do you try to capture?
(Photo: The Webs We Weave -
moon, spiders, and web - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

When I moved around the backyard, the spiders and their web were left behind:  in order to see the full moon as it rose above the trees and fence line, I needed to reposition myself; the spiders and their web were no longer part of the view.

 

It took this self-positioning to return to the true focus of that moment.

 

Maybe that is what we are called to do now:

• Notice the webs that we and others weave;
• Reflect on and accept the impact these webs have on others; and,
  
• Move beyond and around so that we refocus on the true brilliance of our lives in relation with others.

 

May Life's Beauty have an impact on you this week!
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Webs We Weave

Walking along Ketchikan's historic Creek Street, I was paying attention to the many bright colors of the houses and shops around the creek as well as the salmon swimming upstream in their final journey of life.  I was reflecting on this sunny and warm day -- how nice it was to be outside following the torrential downpour the day before in Sitka; how different life is from day to day and moment to moment!

In many ways it's what catches our attention that seems so important:  the sun and warmth; the rain and cold wind; the joy and consolation of family and friends; the frustration and uncertainty when we don't know what to do.

What catches your attention?
(Photo: Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska,
Larry Gardepie)

At several points along this reflective walk, I would turn a corner and almost walk into a spider web situated in our path -- gigantic and beautiful constructions with the spiders still busy in their weaving.  My thoughts shifted back home to the health of our hedge, our neighbor's backyard construction project with its noise and disruptions, and work and goals unfinished.  I am so busy weaving meaning and stories that I don't always see the larger scene before me:  Life is Good!

When do you feel trapped or entrapped?
(Photo:  spider web, Creek Street, Larry Gardepie)

I wonder how often I:

• Feel trapped by a situation?
• Assume ill intentions of the other person?
• Entrap myself and others in the webs of exclusion, intolerance, and disinformation?

It seems that sometimes I am so ready to ensnare the other person that I cannot escape my own webs that I weave!

Which web catches you?
(Photo: one of the many webs in the trees along
Creek Street, Larry Gardepie)

I walked around the Creek Street spider webs, letting the industrious spiders continue their day's work with the knowledge that I was free to stay and watch or move on and let go.  At the end of this famous boardwalk street, I noticed the too-early autumn foliage of a tree.  As I approached, I took out my camera to capture the sunshine, tree and leaves as a memory of this beautiful day.  Refocusing the camera, I discovered the tree was full of webs!

 

We have so many ways to weave our intentions or journey around what entangles us.  The choice is ours:  what meanings we attach... if we want to refocus... and how we want to see our world and one another.
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)