PHOTO: Autumn, Welwyn Garden City, UK


This is a photo of a spider's web near the back garden of our house when we lived in a town called Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.

Just as very late Summer was turning to Autumn, in the crisp air of a slightly misty early morning shortly after sunrise, I saw this very fine simple wonder suspended between two trees. Beads of dew had settled on the web and the gentle sunlight sparkled through the moisture to light up the structure. So delicate, yet so strong; so simple, yet so complex, intricate, symmetrical, and functional in its design.

A little spider had done this. A form of life we would hardly give any thought to. After all, compared to us humans - such an advanced life form - what significance could a little spider have? Well, that spider had obviously "thought" to deliberately construct this web as a trap for nocturnal insects that would become dinner for that spider. That simple and insignificant spider had enough intelligence to devise such a cunning scheme for its own survival. In the process, it also left its "mark" on the world, albeit for a brief moment until the wind came along and blew the web away.

Real life in its simple natural beauty is all around us, yet we do not stop to marvel at it or reflect on its true meaning. We are too busy devising our own cunning plans, which really are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. 

When I saw this marvel I could not help recalling the lines written by the Scottish novelist, poet, and playwright Sir Walter Scott: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive".

Compared to the life of that little spider, which is characterised by natural instinct for pure existence, our lives are so tangled and complicated. We are self-serving in our desires and ambitions, which often work against others and the world we live in. We create problems and complications that ultimately prove to be destructive. Where is our balance, symmetry, integration, and natural beauty? Yet we label ourselves as intelligent and most supreme on earth. 


Image: "Web of life", Early Autumn, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK. Copyright - Michael Beaton 

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