Spiders and Bees

Ignatius wrote of 'ordered' and 'disordered' desires. Ordered desires are creative, they give as much as they take, and they leave the world in a better state. Disordered desires consume their objects, leaving emptiness in their wake. We all have these desires, and learning to recognize them is an important part of the spirituality expressed in Ignatius' writings. It's another way of saying that we have to be self-aware if we are to manage ourselves and develop our relationship with God.

Inner Compass uses an analogy of Spiders and Bees to visualize these desires, and I found it appealing. Disordered desires are like spiders - whatever happens to get caught in the web gets consumed. It's life for the spider and death for the prey. It's a one-sided consumption. Ordered desires are more like bees - they fly from one flower to another, indeed they are attracted to the flowers. They take some nectar and pollinate the flower - they not only do not diminish the flower but they are integral to its life cycle.

I'm not saying spiders are always bad and bees are always good, just that the analogy might help me be more aware of how my desires affect the world I live in - how my desires affect relationships, other people, the environment and so on. That sort of self-awareness in my relationships and in God's creation can surely lead to good things.

Comments

[Alexa]

Yes, I like that. That is beautifully put and beautifully simple. Thank you.

[Jim]

Sounds like a great sermon in there somewhere, Steve. Will have to check out the link and take a few notes.........

[Mark W.]

That's a great analogy! As a teacher, it is easy to see those types of relationships happening all the time with my students. Ironically, it is not so easy to identify those types of relationships with respect to me.

In a way, this describes a fundamental difference between heaven and hell. C.S. Lewis in Screwtape Letters describes devils as "feeding" upon human souls and upon each other. They have this deep hunger to devour, consume, and control the will of others. The more obstinate a soul, the better it taste.