Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The Curious case of ‘Tumbling Spider’

Today was one of those days when I had to reach office by 6.30 AM. So inevitably I had to get up really early to complete my usual early morning chores at an unusual hour…!

It was also an hour when you get to see the spiders and roaches at their active best…I don’t have the habit of killing them whenever I see one of those running around…Most often than not, I just displace them from their current location and throw them where I might not go until the near future(don’t ask me why, but I hate both the sight of them and the thought of killing them!!) Anyway I digress…


So today I saw this solitary spider trying to climb the bathroom door…The door was wet and it was struggling to get a grip on it and hence for every few steps it took to climb up, it would invariably tumble and lose more height than it had gained…My clothes were hanging above in the hanger and I didn’t want it to reach anywhere near my clothes…So I decided that if it comes anywhere near it I will pour water on it, flush it down the urinal and give it a watery grave…

But the whole time I was there it never reached beyond the first half of the door…I just carried on with my daily duties and just before I left for office I wanted to check where this hard working creature was and to my surprise I found it right at the top of the door. It made me wonder what would have happened if it had actually succeeded the first time. Even though it would have managed to reach near the top of the door it would have ultimately ended up in a watery grave…

The very fact that it failed so many times in the matter of 15 min that I was there, or in other words ‘because’ it failed to make it past the half way mark inspite of its best efforts, it remained alive and now happily sat in its web!! What contrast in the end result..!!


Can you see, how our lives could be paralleled to this? Have you ever wondered what would have happened if everything had worked out the first time you tried..!!

Even though I prefer everything to work out the first time, life’s best lessons are learnt when you fail and overcome it eventually…

It just reminded me of the quote “What we do does not define who we are. What defines us is how we rise after falling…”


20 comments:

Preeti said...

superb, apt conclusion to the story :)

dilip said...

@preeti:
Thanks..:)

Rajesh Goli said...

Isn't there a kindergarten parable to this effect?

dilip said...

@Goli..
I have no clue buddy..Its been ages since i attended one..;)

unknown said...

Nice story. I would say the spider was very lucky the first time :)Hope it has enough sense to move to a safer place.

dilip said...

@Divya:
haha..nice one..
I would say "hope it doesnt have to come/fall down at all!!" :)

Pratibha said...

i somehow liked reading it and the more i think of it, the more it makes me smile...and thanks for the happy ending! :)

dilip said...

@Pratibha:
Thanks for the nice compliment..:)

Divya A L said...

Hey how can you be sure that the spider's first attempt began when u actually started seeing it??? May be it was much earlier than that... And if that was the case and it did succeed reaching the top, it would have still been safe ;)

dilip said...

@Divya:
Did i say all that?
And obviously it was not its first attempt as there was a web already there..;)

Nikhil N said...

Well... I need to justify my weird thinking so here it goes:

"If the spider had succeeded early, then you would have killed it. But it succeeded at a time when you were busy with something else and had moved on"

So moral of the story, if the guy above you (your boss or whatever)who has full power to screw you doesnt notice you succeeding or is busy with something else you live, else you are screwed! So whether you succeed or fail isn't in your hand but trying at the right time is (when the all-powerful is not looking)!

dilip said...

@Nikhil:
:)...Now thats a moral that i am sure is never taught in kindergarten!!

Unknown said...

Even any trivial experiences gives us the insight of Gods Creation. Spider is the only creation in this world that it imitates its Creator's style of Creation. It creats web from it's naval that is unique thing in this world.
One can draw lessons from day to day exprience what they have alredy imbibed in their life.

dilip said...

@Radhakrishna:
True..Very much true..And the lessons are for everyone's taking..:)

Me said...

A beautiful analogy drawn.. awesome!!!

dilip said...

@Me:
Thanks yarr..:)

Anonymous said...

very well narrated :-)

dilip said...

@Sowmya:
Hey..Thanks..:)

Deepti said...

hey..rem me? m preeti's sis :) read ur blog..awesome ! nice narration :) apt conclusion !

dilip said...

@Life in pearls:
hiii..Yep..i do remember..:)
how you doing?
Thanks for the compliment..