A spider

This morning as I was pulling out clean clothes from my bag, I noticed movement on the pile of yesterday's clothes.  It startled me at first until I saw what had caught my eye - a decent sized spider.

Completely recognizing that this is not a typical human response (especially from a woman), I went to grab my phone so I could get a photo.  The macro setting on my iPhone impressed me as I could make out its two larger eyes in the middle staring back at me with a less clear line below them (presumably of more, smaller eyes).  I wished I had my DSLR camera with me which would have captured an even sharper photo of this creature.

I let him be for a moment as I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth.  With the toothbrush in my mouth, I turned around to discover he had followed me into the bathroom.  Now that he was out in the open on the hard floor, I grabbed my folder to try and pick him up to bring him outside where I knew he would be much happier, but he ran from me and went to hide in the baseboards.  

At that point, I was really curious about what kind of spider I was looking at so after I finished brushing my teeth, I sat down on the bed and searched the internet for help identifying him.  He re-appeared then.  He had crossed the room and was looking up at me from the floor between the two beds.   (Or at least I imagine he was looking up at me, I understand they have excellent eyesight.)

I found it fascinating the way he seemed to follow me around.  Most spiders I encounter either stick to the corner where they have set up their web or run and hide from humans.  This one seemed to seek me out.

I tried once more to pick him up with the folder.  I wasn't successful doing that but in doing so, I had encouraged him to move towards the door.  Once we reached the door together, me still in my pajamas, I opened the door and watched him walk outside to freedom.

There was something about this encounter that really stuck with me.  It was a mutual curiosity that was refreshing.  And I felt a peace at being able to take my time with this encounter and enjoy it without interference from anyone else.  One of the lessons from the retreat was to look for the awe in the world, this was a moment where I got to lean into awe.