What prompts your writing?

Sometimes I sit down to write but inspiration avoids me.

Sometimes I sit and think, ‘What will I write today?’

Sometimes I sit and gaze out the window … waiting …

Like today, a beautiful autumnal morning, cold, with a little sunshine, white clouds gathering in a clear blue sky.  There’s a slight breeze, leaves dropping from the big eucalyptus tree at the bottom of the garden.  I watch them drifting slowly, gently, and softly to the ground … a flow of hypnotic and unhurried seconds from Mother Nature.

Just as I was drifting into a trance, a sudden movement caught my eye.  There he was, a huge spider weaving his web between the garden shed and an evergreen bush. I watched how he meticulously wove the shiny, silvery threads, slowly and with precision. He moved up and down, left to right, backwards and forwards creating and adapting as he went.  I wondered if he had planned the design before he started or whether or not he made it up as he went along? Every now and again the breeze blew at his work.  He stopped, secured himself safely in the centre of the web. When the breeze passed, he continued to weave, and didn’t allow himself to be distracted by the occasional butterfly who fluttered past checking progress from a safe distance.  I was transfixed by the intricate pattern he wove.  I sat.  I watched spellbound and in awe and admiration of his artwork.  I was impressed by his diligence, patience and perseverance.  I wondered if this spider had a message for me. What might that message be?  What might a spider share as he goes about his day-to-day business of web development? Maybe it’s about making something beautiful?  Maybe it’s about spending more time in the slower lane? Maybe it’s about how nature inspires us?

Sadly I was unable to capture a picture of his artwork. However, I have managed to locate something that may allow you to admire his handiwork courtesy of YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNtSAQHNONo

I’d like to thank a busy spider for my writing prompt today. Who would have guessed that he would be my inspiration? But wasn’t there someone else inspired by a spider … in Scotland … a long time ago?