Have you trapped yourself in?

As I was leaving my house the other day, opening the storm door I noticed a huge spider between the window and the screen. It had an elaborate web made of what looked like a combination of tubes and regular webbing that it could navigate practically from the bottom of the screen to the top.

The odd thing was that this spider was so large, there was no way it will ever be able to get out – unless someone opens the window, allowing it to escape, which I’m sure it probably would avoid, for a number of reasons that I'll get into later.

I realized that this is a real good comparison to a lot of people’s lives.

When we are growing up, or as we meander through life, we put ourselves situations where we don’t look at the big picture, and where we will be years down the road because of our decisions. Undoubtedly, the spider placed itself in between the screen and the glass when it was quite small. We too, often grow into a situation that we couldn’t get out of, even if we tried. Our web has gotten so large, and we have accepted where we are at for so long, we feel there’s nowhere to escape.

This spider has another problem - now it is at the disadvantage of where it placed itself when relying on it's food source. What it must eat now has to be smaller than the size of the little squares in the screen, making it a lot harder to get what it would have, if it were outside the screen. In the normal environment it would get large flies, and other insects, with much less work. It now has to hope things work out, and that enough small bugs decide to wander in.

Unfortunately, when someone ‘opens the window’ to allow the spider a way out, it will cower back in its comfort zone, too afraid to leave. Instead of taking advantage of the opening, it runs away scared, choosing to run the other way, deeper into it's confined life, to remain in the same spot where it's going to die. 

This is similar to a lot of people. When a door opens, they refuse to go out into the world where they would have a much better chance of having a meaningful, useful, and enjoyable life. Instead, like the spider, they will remain in their confined, mediocre, and often miserable life, knowing that it won't get any better where they are at, and they remain, just waiting to die.

Hopefully you're different, and when you find that the window or door has been opened for you, you won’t hesitate. Take that opportunity to escape from a life of misery, to a life of opportunity!