The Spider Dairy - Part 1, Unexpected Friends

Heartwarming gestures of friendship and compassion are just around the corner, except they are not always what we expect and not precisely what we were looking for.

When you feel that there could not possibly be anything left to get excited over, something unexpected, sometimes absurd - and take you by surprise.

On a day not so long ago, sad feelings had settled in like a bad weather forecast. it felt that lately, too many things to count had gone wrong, not just for me, but for so many, and tears were beginning to be as regular as the rainstorms up north that were flooding the Riverina. On such a day when things felt heavy, blue and grey, I called my mum and broke into tears. I was sitting on my wicker chair outside on the phone. My little plant-filled courtyard was a jungle-like haven of roughly potted plants and overhanging trees. While sitting in the quiet, trying to better my mood by chatting about things like tea and weather with my mother, something unexpected happened. I was not three minutes on the phone when a tiny spider with enormous eyes popped up right next to my head. This speck of wonder sitting on the ledge of my garden wall - no bigger than a garden pea, instantly stopped my tears. And I told my mum I had to go, a something, a someone had just popped in for tea. Who, whom, was this gorgeous spider lady? And how is it she seems to see me, really see me?? In a swift instance, the sight of the lady jumping spider had sent the blues away. And we sat in equal curiosity, eye to eye... Guest Contributor: Emily Rack Business Name: Horatio’s Jar Publisher: Digital Schools Emily Rack is a  freelance creative writer and researcher, visual content creator and designer. She is the head of the content production, publication and editing for Upschool+ Guest Contributors and Horatio's Jar is her content production agency and wellbeing school.  Emily has dedicated her life to researching and understanding matters of the mind, body and the human experience. Her discoveries and research are focused on cultivating tools and dialogue that encourage us to live in peace and harmony here on earth. Her current focus is the environment and human connectivity, conservation, environmentalism, plant medicine, botany, biology and the practice of 'Nature Bathing'.  Emily is a writer, digital content creator, seasoned photographer and visual artist. ——- PUBLISHER’S DISCLAIMER: The publisher of this blog post (Digital Schools PTY LTD) works in partnership with the school as a 3rd party provider to help build and maintain the school website. Digital Schools sources a range of experts who provide products and/or services to educational institutions and we work with them to produce and publish topical information in the form of blog posts that we think  may be relevant, interesting or topical to families within the community. The views, opinions and content listed in this blog post are that of the guest contributor and/or publisher (Digital Schools). It should be noted that whilst the publisher and guest contributors are acting with the best intentions and in the best interests of the school and their community to provide helpful or interesting information, sometimes the content may not necessarily reflect the views of the school. The information in this blog post is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own physician.  The school and the publisher of this blog post  are not responsible for any person reading or following the information in this article who may experience adverse effects. Any references to external websites or sources are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the school or publisher in any way and the publisher and/or school cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information listed. If you have feedback on any content on this platform, you can submit it to the publisher using the feedback link provided at the bottom of this page.