Trail Notes: Spiders
The spiders are out in force this month. Every morning when I walk out to the carport, I see another 8-legged opportunist trying to start a web between the recycling bin and my car’s mirror. Webs have formed under the gutters around the house that require weekly sweeping.
Spider webs also abound on the trails, and as the first person to arrive at the State Botanical Garden a couple of days a week, I run into more than I’d like. Being a morning hiker during spider season requires an extra level of focus on the trail ahead, looking for signs of spider activity -- perhaps a floating leaf or a slither of web caught in the rising sunlight.
The webs (and their makers) are just the latest hazard that trips me up on my morning walks through the woods. Oftentimes, I’ll literally trip over a tree root or roll my ankle on an unforeseen rock.
The cause of the incidents is always the same: I get caught looking elsewhere.
When I am walking through the woods, I love to look up through the canopy of trees and out to the creeks and streams I pass by. There is some real, calming beauty out there, and I want to take it all in. Too many times, though, I try to take it all in as I keep moving forward, despite numerous opportunities to stop and sit and enjoy the view for a minute.
Sound familiar?
We often find ourselves running through our daily lives, so focused on the tasks in front of us that we never stop and look around -- and for good reason. After all, there are deadlines to meet, appointments to make and projects to deliver.
But those deadlines, relationships and projects can suffer when we try to keep them going against all odds. And we can suffer if we don’t take a moment every now and then to stop and look around.
As we close out the summer, I’m taking such a moment. The last 18 months have brought new work and new clients, new challenges and a whole lot of growth. Just this month, we’re welcoming a couple of new clients to the Trestle Collective, and our collective network is growing, too.
Honestly, it can all be hard to process. Johnathan and I are running this company and trying to make out every spider web, stumbling stone and tricky root in our way. There are enough of them out there on this journey to keep us on guard most of the time.
But even the best guards need some time off.
That’s why I am driving across the country this week and spending a string of days in the mountains of Colorado. Not only will this be a time of rest and relaxation -- if you could call hiking in the mountains relaxing -- but a time of reflection, appreciation and planning.
Achieving that trinity means pausing my day-to-day work. This time last year, it meant shuttering my little company for two weeks. Now, with the power of our collective, the work can continue even while I stop to take in a good view of everything.
If you can find the time, take some for yourself and get a look around at everything you’ve been through the past year or so.
Just keep an eye out for those spider webs.
