SPUN TO PERFECTION ~ YET DEADLY!!

The Spider......

Another perfect creation of God…..

I see the delicately woven silk web spun to perfection, glistening in the early morning sun ~ the dewdrops sparkling like newly cut and polished diamonds in the rays of sunlight. In the center, spread eagled, hangs a beautiful black, white and cadmium-yellow spider. Its long legs remind me of a tiger with their black and yellow stripes - at the end of each of the 4 front legs a long spike-like “finger” - a single claw. The spider is covered in fine hair that shine in the sunlight, creating a silver aura around it.
The head ~ hairy, flattish and gray forms the first segment of the body, while the back segment is long and black with white spots that look like stripes until you see them closer. It sits in wait for some innocent insect to fly into the trap so neatly spun across the bare patch between two palm fronds.
Such a beautifully spun silken web that looks like a jewel, yet it is a deadly trap for the prey that have the misfortune to land in the sticky glue that keeps the silver strands together. They become entangled where they will soon die and become food for the spider.
That is life - and endless cycle. We all need food, and sometimes have to kill to get it.

CHANGING SCENES

Life is like a cloud - forever changing shape and direction......

Have you ever had a good look at clouds and cloud formations.

A while back we traveled back from Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, (South Africa) where we had done a Wedding Photo and DVD shoot.

As we traveled clouds started gathering more and more until the sky was covered with white fluffy cotton balls. White candy floss forever changing shape.

I love finding shapes and forms in the clouds. "Look - there is a bear lying sleeping!! and there is an old man smoking a pipe!! Is that a little lamb?"

Alas! within minutes - sometimes seconds - they disappear and change into fluffy cotton balls again. Sometimes they stay longer, changing shape, but still recognizable.

Beautiful!! So many different sights to see. Some clouds are very
dark - almost black. Others seem blue, and then the bright white ones that almost hurt your eyes when you look at them. "Look, there are some bright gold and orange clouds - isn't it a sight too beautiful to even describe!"

Then I think of the proverb - or is it just a saying - "Every dark cloud has a silver lining", and I realize that it is literally true. Look at all the large black clouds hovering above the mountains. They each have an incredibly bright edge... a silver lining!!

Our lives are just like these clouds. There are so many different shapes, sizes and colors and they are forever changing.

Show me the person who can HONESTLY say that their life is the same every day, and I will have a hard time believing you. Every day comes with its own joys, challenges and sorrows, and it does not only choose certain people. Everyone must go through the happy and the sad, the success and the failure...to be able to grow.

Everyone's life is like a cloud, I know mine is. Every dark cloud has a silver lining....sometimes you have to look carefully to find it, but it is there... the same way every dark period in your life will have a bright spot hidden somewhere...just look for it. Also remember that the sky is always darkest just before the dawn!!

I know that it is not always easy to stay positive, but with help from above I know that I will always be safe.

Here are some quotes I love and would like to share with you:

“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.” ................................................................ by: Stephen Kaggwa

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.” ............. by: Tom Krause

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow ................................................. by: Mary Anne Radmacher

“You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.” ................................................................................................................ by: Adlin Sinclair

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.” ...................by: Unknown

And this is my best choice:

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” ..........................................by: Mark Victor Hansen.