What Creatives Can Learn from Scorpions

Yes, those creepy arachnids.

I hate scorpions. I’m pretty certain I was stung by one in a previous life because the first time I saw a living scorpion basking on the exterior wall of my in-laws’ house in Phoenix, I wanted to flee, fight and faint all at the same time.

Perhaps it’s the O-shaped whip of their tails like a deadly, invisible lasso that makes them so creepy. Or the oversized pincers that are almost gratuitously too big for their bodies. Or their ability to blend into their environment making them practically invisible to the unsuspecting, barefoot person who should’ve grabbed a pair of flip flops before heading off to the pool. Or the fact that a bark scorpion can outrun the average adult man by nearly five miles per hour, which I don’t even want to visualize.

All of the unpleasantries associated with scorpions aside, they happen to be one of the most resilient creatures on Earth and there’s a great deal that artists can learn from such tiny, deadly arachnids.

First lesson— not everyone is going to like …