Snakes and Spiders

So this isn’t a post about creepy crawly things….well not really. Its more metaphysical than that.

I have always had an affinity to snakes. I know its weird but I just have. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want them lose running around waiting to bite me. I am not crazy. But I have had a sort of fascination with them. I love that they shed their skin. I think its great that they are always going through a rebirth, and that they have the foresight to change out of the surroundings that literally don’t fit them anymore. We humans are not always this insightful.

Plus, snakes have been known as the knowledge givers. They have been associated with knowledge since ancient times. That is why there are snakes going around a staff, as a representation of medicine. It is also the reason that there was a serpent (not necessarily a snake but I don’t want to get too particular) in the garden of Eden, tempting Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Snakes have been deified, worshiped and praised for the knowledge that they pass on. The anthropologist in me could go on and on about this.

Since I have always been in pursuit of knowledge, I felt that snakes were an interesting representation of that. In addition to the fact that when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in the zoo in the reptile house. I thought that these creatures were so cool with their cold blooded nature and all.

Now that I am a web developer… I realized that it also makes me a spider. Spiders build webs. Now I am a part of building the web too. Spiders incidentally were also a childhood fascination. I remember asking my mom for a pet tarantula. I thought it would be so awesome. She was less enthusiastic than when I asked for a pet boa constrictor. Then I saw the movie arachnophobia….and I no longer wanted to have a tarantula, but I digress.

Spiders are also quite interesting. Some weave silk that is stronger than steal. There a bullet proof vests modeled on it because that’s how strong the fibers are. They are ingenious in the way that they operate. Building webs that are so intricate that once their prey lands on it, there is no way out. Its like setting a booby trap. At the same time, they are so light that you may walk right into them. And yet, they are works of art. Have you seen one right after the rain with the sun shining through it?

I feel like I have to do my work in the same way.

Make something that is beautiful, light, and malleable. But….it has to catch its prey. It has to do the job right or else what is the point. It takes so much time. Its not thrown up in a day or two. It is an intricate process of weaving and connecting. This branch to the next branch to the next. And if a piece gets damaged, I have to make sure it gets fixed…or else the whole thing is useless. Spiders are cool, and meticulous and amazing. Now I am one too. I am a knowledge giving snake that is now also a web building spider.

I wonder if there is a way I can get a cool tattoo for that without it being too scary?