by Tonya Sheridan

As a form of ‘nature therapy’, I will sometimes take my camera and spend the entire day outdoors in a natural setting to see what I discover. One particular day, in an area that I had been to many times before, there were an unusually high amount of spider webs. They were everywhere I looked, each unique and in all different shapes and sizes, some even spanned from tree to tree. I was also able to watch some of the spiders in the process of building and repairing their webs. I thought about  how alive and beautiful these intricate webs were compared to the ugliness of old, dusty cobwebs. 

 I realized that the main difference between a spider web and a cobweb is that spider webs are still in use, while cobwebs are webs that spiders have abandoned. The web is no longer useful to the spider so it goes on to create a new web. There are several reasons why a spider abandons its web, the main one being that the web has lost its stickiness or strength so it is no longer useful for catching prey. Other reasons might be that it was built in an area where there is poor hunting or it’s being constantly disturbed.  Whatever the reason may be, the spider has the instinctual knowledge that it is time to move on.

Unlike spiders, as people we often stay in the ‘web’ we have created even when it is no longer serving us. We may be unhappy in one or more areas of our life and even though we know we need to make a change, we stay where it’s comfortable. This could be in the area of our work, a relationship, or maybe it’s something we have always wanted to do or a place we’ve  wanted to live. Sometimes we simply need to repair an area of the web, while other times it may suit us better to spin a new one. This does not mean that what we previously created was not beautiful or useful, it’s just that it may have already served its purpose in our life.

Here are 8 signs that it may be time to weave a new web.

1. You no longer look forward to each new day.

2. Things that used to excite you no longer interest you.

3. You are envious of other peoples accomplishments.

4. You have unexplained fatigue.

5. You feel  a constant restlessness or yearning to be doing something different.

6. You are unfulfilled by your work.

7. You’re neglecting the important things and people in your life.

8. Someone says something or you hear something that sparks a creative idea or newfound interest.

Change can be painful, and we often feel like we are giving up something we spent much of our life energy creating. Pay attention to signs that it may be time to create something else that is beautiful and know that nothing lasts forever. When you are able to let go, you will find new possibilities, have fun adventures and  new people will enter into your life who will help you on your way.

Tonya Sheridan

Life Coach

www.TonyaSheridan.com

Follow @TonyaSheridan

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