A Great Cup of Morning, Today

Every morning for the past several months, I have been selecting one little spot to sit, meditate and pray. A small bench by the garage has been my perch of peace and quiet as I prepare for the day.

A few days ago, on the bench that I perch, a very large spider made her presence known. A wood spider, they call it, but really quite large and a bit intimidating. Respectfully, after an sudden itch on my leg caused me concern about spider bites - I got up and moved away.

It's the start of Fall, and spiders have a lot of work cut out for them; I'm totally fine with giving them space.

This morning, I dragged a new chair next to the bench, giving myself distance from that spider, while still enjoying my view. Given her presence, I named her Charlotte and remembered fondly my favorite childhood story, "Charlotte's Web".

I looked over to Charlotte's hiding corner and there she was. All 2 inches of her. I said, "Good morning Charlotte," and sat in my chair, while placing the coffee mug on the bench. Laughing to myself, I wondered how many people try to actually communicate with creatures that are not human.

• Do they hear us?

• Can they tell if we are good people?

• What do they observe?

Sitting quietly, I enjoyed my coffee and ritual of readings, meditations, journal writing and prayer. After an hour, it was time to depart and begin the glorious day ahead.

Walking into my bedroom, I placed my coffee mug on the work desk. Reaching to take another tasty sip - I suddenly see it..... almost invisible, but there......

A thin strand of spider web crossed the width and length of the top of my mug. While my eyes were closed in contemplation, she had come to visit and left a trail of her greatest gift. I reached down and gently lifted that single spider web and realized that, during my quite time and eyes closed, Charlotte had visited my coffee mug and let it be known that she trusted me enough to say hello.

"Good morning", I heard her say in my mind, "thanks for not killing me the other day".

It was a great cup of morning today.