The effects of our actions aren’t always immediate and we oftentimes don’t know what the end result is or will be. Things are said and done without thought of the consequences. The little spider taught me this.
Sitting peacefully in the corner of our backyard, in our little hummingbird garden, enjoying my Sunday morning, sipping on a good cup of coffee, I noticed my red geraniums were being eaten – their buds were being devoured before they could open. The pests are nearly invisible and by the time the flowers come – if they come – they resemble pieces of red lace. I thought twice, but still went and got a can of insecticide and gave them a quick spritz – it always helps and rich blooms come soon after. I waved away the cloud of toxic air and sat down again with my coffee. My gaze remained on the flowers and I began to worry a bit about the poison I’d just spread. I’d only sprayed it on that one plant, very localized, I thought, no harm done. Then, I saw him – the tiny spider almost invisible he was so small – run down, down, down his long strand of a web, to the bottom of the bread rack that holds my pots and other garden things – I’d polluted his tiny world and chased him out, probably killed him ,with the major dose I’d poured on. I sat there and thought – I didn’t know he was in there – and yes, he was just a spider, but what else might I have poisoned? Ladybugs who are in the leaves eating the pests? What about the hummingbirds? Oh, yes, the plants they enjoy are not ever sprayed with anything harmful, but what if this drifts over? And even if it doesn’t, it has affected a tiny creature it wasn’t intended for – RUN, RUN , I could hear the spider say.
Man’s power to inflict harm is larger than life. The power we have to love is so much greater .
Today I will focus on that power and I will do my best to let it guide me. Love IS the answer.
The post Love is the Answer first appeared on Carrie Pepper.