The Silken Strands of Our Lives
Spiders and their webs have terrified and mystified human minds since millennia. The critters are hated with a vengeance by many, and some fear them with a passion that could even turn China into a democracy if it means no more spiders!
There’s something about them that keeps men enthralled- maybe it’s their deadly fangs, or their spindly legs, or even their hideous bodies- but most of all it’s their intricate webs of silk. As an old-folk song goes,
“Strands of silk, strands of silver,
That’s where they dine on unfortunate meals.
Strands of strength, strands of patience,
They lie waiting with untorn zeal.
Strands of deceit, strands of survival,
Don’t they depict Man’s lows and highs?
Spider silk, with all its metaphors and forms,
Doesn’t it show the silken strands of our lives?”
It’s not just songs though. We have the story of Arachne, the Greek mythical figure who was stupid enough to challenge Athena’s weaving skills. Yes ATHENA, the same goddess who punished a woman, Medusa, for being a victim of rape, by turning her a into a monster.
Back to the tale, Arachne and Athena had a spectacular contest- a mortal and a goddess engaged in a battle of tapestries and threads! Arachne proved to be god-gifted in the skills of the needle, but she forgot an important point in that process to perfection: she was ‘god’ gifted.
She lost, and with it began her descent: first from gods’ grace then from gods’ adoration, until all she had left was pain, humiliation and a gnawing fear about the consequences of her actions. Athena, like every mythical god with a fragile ego, cursed her and for her love of weaving, turned her into a spider. And so they go, Arachne and her descendants, weaving away silvery tapestries without vibrancy or vigour till the very end of time…
Now this story doesn’t exactly show spiders in a very positive light, so here’s another one. Just to balance the scales, you know?
So there was once a king who reigned in Scotland by the name of Robert the Bruce. Well, he didn’t exactly reign per se, since the English had defeated him and driven him into exile. A king without a throne or a kingdom, this real-life Targaryen wandered the forests and countryside as a wanted man. With nowhere left to turn to, he found refuge in a small dark cave.
He had almost drifted off to sleep when his eyes fell on a spider dangling from the roof. It was busy trying to make a web, but the web just wouldn’t stick! It tried again, and again it was the same. It tried again, and again, and again. After what felt like an eternity but in truth must have been less than an hour, the spider successfully managed to create its stellar, hard-won web. It shone like a net of silver wires in the light of the dying sun.
That’s when the truth dawned on the weary king:
‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If still you don’t, you can only try again.’
Robert then went on to apply his lessons and win the Battle of Bannockburn to become King Robert once again. Not Baratheon, but the Bruce.
Both these tales have a lot of lessons to offer. In the first, it’s pretty clear that sparring with someone who has power over and above you isn’t just stupid, it’s in fact suicidal. It’s also a lesson on the fact ‘Pride Leads to Downfall and Sometimes, a Change of Species’. In the second, the spider teaches the king the importance of patience, from carrying out an ancestor’s curse to winning an unwinnable battle. It also inspires people to not clean their homes for the possibility of getting some gainful insight from house pests, like Robert did.
Lastly, it reaffirms the fact that the English just can’t be content with what they have; they’ve got to have it all!
Jokes aside, if you look closer yet, you might find that both the stories have an uncanny similarity. Though they aim to explain things that are totally different, the tool they use remains the same: the web. The first tries to explain why spiders make webs, and the second shows how a spider’s resilience to make its home could be a source of motivation.
These are just two stories weaved to explain two of the many metaphors a spider’s web embodies. Who could have guessed that something so thin, weak and forgettable could become a source of wisdom to a species that considers itself strong, resilient and exceptionable?
We go about sticking to our routine- attending classes, working from home, chairing meetings, cleaning the dishes, and all other chores that make up our lives. Spiders too stick to their chores- creating silk from their saliva, twisting it, turning it, fixing it to small cracks and crevices, spinning yarn and creating its trap-cum-home. We watch shows online, they watch their prey suffocate to death. We earn by working hard and making our companies stronger, they earn by working hard and making their webs stronger. Their webs sway with the wind, our lives sway with the changing times.
With so many similarities, what else can we explore in them to understand ourselves better?
Our Social Lives
Though it’s been reduced to ‘Until Tomorrow’ and ‘Stay Home’ Instagram challenges since the past two months, we humans are nothing without our social circles and constructs. Introverts might say ‘Naa, not me!’, but contrary to their beliefs humans are actually ‘herd’ animals, ie. we thrive in groups.
Yep, I had a dinner with Science last night and they said that, so it must be true.
Now let’s start mapping our social networks. Originating from us, they branch out to immediate family, close friends and people who are essential in our lives. They’re followed by people with whom we have a working relationship, like fast friends, associates and co-workers. Last come the people whom we know in general, ie. people we have a ‘hi-bye’ relationship with but aren’t too close to.
Notice how almost all our lives’ essential personnel started off as people we know in general. As we started creating experiences, opinions and memories together, they ranked up to a working relationship. As this pool of experiences and shared memories became deeper, they advanced to where they presently are, close to us.
Now comes the Itsy Bitsy spider and its web. The web starts of as a group of extremely thin strands barely held together by the spider. As time progresses, the spider picks out some strands that it feels will endure, and begins reinforcing them. It slowly puts more layers of silk on them while spinning a net of thin strands around, connecting them to each other. As the web takes shape, so does its integrity rise. As the strands get fortified, the spider identifies even more strands that can be fortified until the web becomes the fortress we see at the end.
So how do we relate to all that jargon?
Each of us is the spider, with the few thin strands of friendship in the beginning. We choose which ones to pursue, and work by fortifying those strands with layers of memories, inside jokes, shared experiences and cultivated interests. These thicker strands are further strengthened by thinner strands; people or associates we have in common. As these friendships strengthen and relationships improve, our social fabric too gets strengthened. What we achieve at the end is a beautiful web of our relationships. But all’s not hale and hearty in Spider World.
The thin strands regularly break due to sudden disturbances like the wind, just the way people come in and go from our lives. The thick strands can be counted upon for their strength, but sometimes they too give in. When that happens, the web still stands proud and bold, strengthened by the other strands that now support it. Translate that into real life? Homies stick with us in times of need like break ups, a free Netflix or Prime account, or sharing their Net with us though we all are stuck with that same rotten pre-paid plan. Our family sticks with us in dire straits (though maybe with a pinch of salt sometimes), like getting suspended from school, getting caught trying to eat your siblings’ share of the chocolates, or even farting in front of guests. And even if one of them walks out of our lives, the rest stand in while you begin making a thin strand thick enough to replace that old strand.
Sometimes the spider will be able, sometimes it will fail.
Yet the web continues supporting the spider.
Our Mental State
Just like we love the comfort of our homes, the spider likes nothing like its web. Or maybe that delicious looking fly that just trapped itself. Well, I don’t exactly know what a spider like better, but I do know for a fact it hates to be ripped apart from its web.
Yep, I had a lunch with Mr. Tarantula last month and they said it.
Looking at a web with the same perspective like we did earlier, what all can you relate to?
What does the web mean?
What do the thick strands embody?
What about the thin strands?
Most importantly, what does the spider signify?
Well, from what I gathered during that fateful lunch, the web is our network of experiences, memories, essences, recollections of events, ideas, and morsels of truths and principles that make up our identity, our essence, our soul and our self. The thick strands are the recollections that directly make us who we are, like the first time I won a trophy, or my staunch belief that my creativity would never fail me, or even my motto in life: ‘Expectations lead to disappointments’. The thinner strands are events, opinions and ideas that help reaffirm those conclusions about ourselves that form those thick strands. This web again supports the spider, ie. our mental framework, by keeping us connected to our ideals, our senses and our identities.
Yeah identities- that reminds me of a date I had with Mark, but that’s a story for another time.
Coming back, issues arise when pressures start mounting, the wind picks up its pace or a big insect flies right through the web. The strands start drifting apart and break away, or there might even be a sudden hole smack in the middle! Of course, you guessed it right, the big insect is in fact one of the many life crises that always have a probability of screwing up our psyche. The spider hangs on to the remnant strands with dear life as it prays for the destruction to stop. Sometimes the web gets obliterated, and sometimes there’re barely any strands left to hold on to. Sometimes the insect just flies past the web, barely grazing it and sometimes it gets trapped in the web against all odds and the spider wins a jackpot meal that’ll last for weeks!
Sometimes the spider will be able, sometimes it will fail.
Yet the web continues supporting the spider.
How does all this relate to us?
Well I’m sure you will figure it out!
As could be seen, a spider’s web and its attributes can all be used as representation for some aspect of our lives. In the first case it was our social circle for the thicker strands, our common experiences for the thin. The web in one case denoted our entire social network, while in the other it was a collection of our memories and morals.
Now those were just two ways I could show you the silken strands of our loves, and I for sure know this is just the start of our exploration.
Where else do these ‘Silken Strands’ apply in our lives?
Where else are we spiders?
Where else do these webs represent our lives?
Catching Opportunities
Well, this one I’ll leave for you to figure out yourself.
What would the thick strands denote?
What will the thin strands mean? What/who will the spider represent, and most importantly, what will the web in its entirety signify?
All right, a simple clue to help you begin your Sherlock Quest: Opportunities could be represented by stray flies or small insects that get trapped in the web.
Or could they represent something else?
Now before I launch into another tirade, off you go!