From Tama Sloat

Today I saved a tiny spider from drowning. I never expected her to teach me something about life.

Sometimes the smallest creatures leave the biggest impressions on our hearts.

I walked over to a bucket today that was about half full of water and noticed a tiny spider struggling in it. I scooped her out and gently placed her on the seat of our picnic table.

Then I stood there and watched.

She began drying herself off, carefully cleaning her little legs and body, one tiny movement at a time. I started recording her, completely fascinated.

And somewhere in those few minutes, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion.

There was something so incredibly human about watching this tiny creature tend to herself after what must have been a terrifying experience. The way she moved, the way she carefully cleaned herself, the way she seemed so determined to get back to the business of living.

And then the sunlight caught her.

Suddenly, this tiny black spider was shimmering with the most extraordinary colors. Little flashes of iridescent light danced across her body, like miniature rainbow-colored stars. Colors I never would have imagined were hiding there, just waiting for the sunlight to reveal them.

It was breathtaking. This tiny creature, so easily overlooked, was carrying around her own little universe of beauty.

I know she's a spider. I know some people would have walked right past that bucket without a second thought.

But I couldn't stop thinking about how much life matters to the one living it.

That little spider didn't know I was watching. She didn't know I'd just saved her life. She was simply doing everything her tiny body knew to do to survive.

And I was reminded that this world is full of little lives, each experiencing existence in ways we may never fully understand, each carrying beauty we might never notice unless we take the time to look.

Sometimes I think we humans are so busy deciding which lives matter that we forget to marvel at life itself.

Today, a tiny spider reminded me.

And I can't help but wonder how much beauty we walk past every single day simply because we aren't looking closely enough. ❤️🕷️

The video wasn't of the best quality and it was hard to make out much of the spider, so I subbed in a photo for reference.

It looked to be a Bold Jumping Spider, with a characteristic abdomen spot and the bright chelicerae (mouth bits).

Love these little weirdos. I’ve had one hanging around on my patio for a few months now.

They’re very beautiful and it’s fun to watch them hunt.

i rescued a box elder bug that was struggling for life in some water. i don't particularly like them, but the idea that it would die so horribly if i didn't intervene made me feel so awful.

This internet stranger is proud of you

It's so hard to reconcile the beauty of the world with the horrors going on all around us. Stuff like this helps.

I usually spot them around my houseplants, but I've never gotten to see them hunt. It's wild how far they can jump though. They are very cool and neat looking creatures. They seem a good starting point for people looking to become less afraid of spiders in general.

Insects get short lives as it is, I'm glad you were able to give more time to one of them. I think it's a sign of a very kind person to be concerned over the smallest lives.

This is what finally motivated me to get involved in wildlife rescue. The animals are great, but the people I meet give me such positive feelings of humanity at a time it seems there are so many bad people around. It's been so beneficial in a number of ways to become involved.

I think I'll do the same, maybe while my son is at school

It's changed my life for the better so much. If you dona dog/cat shelter, you can my probably volunteer whenever. If you want to do wildlife, most places will have signups around January to start in the spring.

We work from about mid-March through the end of September, and they ask for a 4 hour weekly shift, so it's not a huge commitment, but you do need to be consistent with it. That is pretty typical throughout the US as far as I've seen. Volunteers work primarily with baby animals for safety reasons, so the work term is basically baby season for all the animals.

Sweet thanks for the info!

My pleasure!

Wholesome read. I'll stop scrolling now <3

I told a distant relative recently that I save spiders and other critters, which she really didn't understand at first, but I explained. A few days later she said she caught a spider alive in the house and threw her out unharmed, saying "You can thank raspberriesareyummy for that!"

I told her that genuinely made my day.

If we can be compassionate to something as alien to us as a spider, we should have no trouble treating each other more kindly as well. I think if more people would take a moment now and then to observe or help an insect or other small creature, we'd be much better off.

I think if more people would take a moment now and then to observe or help an insect or other small creature, we’d be much better off.

Amen.