Coexisting

Sometimes coexisting in peace can be personally challenging. If we are confronted with a neighbor whose presence makes us feel uncomfortable, we might be inclined to respond to this neighbor in a very unwelcoming manner. But often, the politically correct response, coexisting, is in truth, the best approach. Two simplistic examples.

First, a common spider. Instead of pulling out the can of bug spray when finding a spider in the house, maybe a better approach is to move the spider outdoors. A couple of days ago, Cristy found a rather large spider indoors. Gracyn had it trapped in a corner. So Cristy retrieved it and sent it on its way outside where it quickly went to work locating a proper location for a new web. This is what spiders do. On the one hand, the spider selected a location near the eve of the house on the deck, a place frequented by humans and canines alike. It is doubtful that we would much like running into this spider or the spider web. But on the other hand, there are an abundance of flies in the backyard and this natural predator will surely do a superb job in assisting to diminish that population.

Second, a scorpion. This story comes to us via a friend that formerly lived in Phoenix. Moving to Phoenix from Houston with his wife and two young children years ago, he was first a bit surprised to encounter so many scorpions in that habitat and they responded by aggressively exterminating. However, the after-effect of this response was an incredible surplus of crickets. While it was common knowledge among their neighbors, my friends did not realize that the scorpions living around their yard helped to keep the cricket population in check. By coexisting with the scorpions, nature found the proper balance.

It’s all about perspective. Conquer the fear of a scary-looking arachnid. Coexist. Our reward is the benefit of the valuable service they perform naturally.