We all live downstream
Water: The heart of all life
IS life
Is the new oil
All catchy. All true. But what do I really love about water?
The smell of rain, the floating in it, the slipperiness of our bodies swimming in it. The way that floating with ears under the surface mutes all sounds except my own heartbeat and blood flow. The way we gather around it, flock to it, retreat at it and in it. The way that it causes me to slow down and focus on just being in it. The childhood memories of meeting at it with special people. Learning to steer the canoe and– to anxiously, then exuberantly – land the canoe just right onto the sand to dock at the “Big Rock” to jump in, over and over, laughing and shouting. The way that lying in the ocean, floating on top, parallel with the waves and shore lends its rhythm, rocking and never stopping, even when we go away from it. Watching my baby girl step into a tidal pool or lean down over a shallow creek or the lake’s shore to examine the landscape below the water with a fierce and unforced concentration. The way that a day on the water, fishing, is a destination vacation for my partner, and a true retreat. Skipping rocks and having someone watch the many skips with you. The reflection of fall’s golden sun and the rainbow of fall leaves on a mirror-like surface. The haunting call of loons.
These are bits and pieces of my own love affair with water that I’ve been reflecting on as the season begins to shift. I think: did I get it all in? Did I really live in my summer skin? Indeed, I have had the great good fortune of many waterside retreats, and so I know that I have when I look at the season in photos.
Thank you to you all who work to protect the many waters that sustain us in their many ways. Tell me what you love.
