You Can’t Walk the Path that’s Too Smooth

Ever since I read somewhere, that spiders cannot crawl out of bathtubs, I kind of looked out for them regularly in the tub at home. For years, I never saw one.. till one morning, when I saw a tiny young looking spider walking on the base of the tub. I watched patiently, to see if he (or she) could crawl up any side of the tub.

Lo and behold! He really couldn’t! He slipped back after a few steps – after a couple of tries. I wonder how many times he tried already. Spiders can’t get out because tubs provide too little traction for them to hang on to with the microscopic hair on their legs (which work differently from ants’), and tubs are designed to be super smooth so as to not injure us when we slip in and out of them. I took a piece of toilet paper and scooped the fella out.

What’s the lesson in this? To fly, you need air resistance (to push the air away from you). To walk, you need friction (to get a grip and move). What seems to be obstacles really help us to get forward! The ground that we hurt ourselves on when we fall is the same ground whose support we rely on to rise again. There are no definite obstacles or supports on the path to enlightenment. It all depends on how we see and use them.