Spirit card, Wise Woman, paper collage by Tammy Vitale of Tam’s Originals
My friend, Sara Leeland, gave a talk on the spirituality of water on July 22 in Calvert County. The following is taken from an article in the Calvert Independent newspaper (Wed. August 2, 2006) on that talk.
"’Water is a mirror of our common soul.’ … ‘What does that mean for the Chesapeake [Bay]?…The mirror of our soul in the Chesapeake is a dying bay.
"’The Hindu origin stories tell of the great god Indri who released waters as the source of all life and fertility and healing.’ Leeland noted. ‘People still wade into the river Ganges, as polluted as that is, in search of spiritual healing. My sense of water spirituality is that it calls us to experience wonder at the role of water in the universe and to experience gratitude for what water brings to us. it’s not to go into despair but to go into that sense of wonder and gratitude.’
"Leeland pointed out that water is actually connected to creation.
"’Earth is our solar system’s water planet.’ she said. ‘Scientists say that Venus is too hot. Mars is too cold. Earth seems to be just the right temperature for water to have gathered on our planet. Water on the earth covers 70 percent of the earth and…Our bodies, on the average, are 70 percent water…we are clearly connected to this water planet. We’re the same ratio as the planet. It makes me feel at home here and makes me feel like I belong here.’
"’…U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan once wrote that people don’t have access to water, which he called a fundamental human need and basic human right – not only for the present generation, but for generations to follow.
"’We have to think of water as a worldwide issue,’ Leeland stressed. ‘Each minute, 12 people die in the world for lack of fresh water…Places like Nevada are running our ot water. [emphasis mine]
"’In Southern Maryland, the aquifers, they tell us, are okay until 2030, but in Charles county, they’re already exceeding the amount of available groundwater and they may have to start looking at desalinization of water in the near future which is a very expensive process,’ she added. ‘In the next 25 years, we may have to think about that.
"’Water belongs to us all,’ Lelland concluded. ‘Water is a presence of divine creativity. Water is a teacher. Water has its own spirit. Buddha said, ‘I have learned so much from water. I feel water is one of my parents.’ Water is a revelation of divine wisdom.
"’It is important that we live a life that nourishes others and nourishes the waters,’ she said. ‘This way of thinking takes us way beyond stewardship. We need to commune with water and think of how our lives connect with water. It helps us understand how to heal ourselves Can you begin to think of the Patuxent or the Potomac or the Chesapeake as having creative spiritual power? When you think about it, our spirituality is getting kind of thirsty. Our communal souls are reflected in this water. That means we need healing too.’"
Thought for the day: Where does your water come from (and don’t answer: the tap)? Does it come from an aquifer or is it recycled through city water systems? If city water systems, where does the new, fresh water originate? If from an aquifer, which one ? Do you know what watershed you live in? Where does the water that hits your roof and falls to the ground wind up? A stream? leading to what? A drain under a city sidewalk? Leading to where? Do you know? Don’t you think you should find out? Do you know how many years of water you have left where you live? Is there such a thing as too many people in one space drawing down too much of what Mother Nature freely gives us? Will the future wars be about water instead of about oil? What do you think?
