I watched as the spider repeatedly tried and failed to climb up the straight edged vase. Whether he had chosen to climb down or unforutnately fallen, the result was the same: he was in a pit and could not get out on his own. He needed help.
I don't speak spider, but I do have spidey-sense. If I didn't help this little spider, he would die.
But I was fascinated by his efforts. I stuck a finger inside the jar to see if it was heating up with the morning sun as were outside together, but not "together" on my patio under a clear blue sky. Perhaps a dregree or two warmer, but nothing significant to my way of thinking. Only, he couldn't enjoy the cool breeze from his current poisition.
Then I began thinking philosophically. Would I be tampering with "survival of the fittest" if I rescued this small creature? If God sees even the sparrow that falls, surely he sees this spider; would I be pleasing God by saving this spider's life? Would I be playing God by saving its life or condemning it to die by doing nothing? If I ignored the plight of this tiny creature, perfect in form with 8 legs and a body in 2 parts, would I ignore the plight of a fellow human being, regardless of what they looked like?
Philosophy and rhetorical questions aside, I wondered if this spider was destined to die. Would it be like the movie "Butterfly Effect, or "Run, Lola Run" in which people have to meet, car accidents have to happen, and people have to get hurt and die? If I freed this spider, would it be going into the jaws of death of my one year old curious cat, or would it find some other way to suffer and die, unlucky as that sounds. Or, would he be like a character in "Die Another Day" and continue to evade death, for a time?
Contemplation aside, I freed the spider and smacked the mosquito biting my arm.
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