There is a certain magic in water . . . we know we depend on it to survive, we know that we need take it with us wherever we go (or stop and fill up our reusable canteens), but how many of us ever stop to really observe just how amazing water is?
water is always moving: it is continually moving through cycles of evaporation, precipitation, runoff, through our homes, our gardens, our pools, our cities, and eventually will make its way to the sea . . .
water takes many forms: liquid, solid, vapor; water, as a liquid, always takes the shape of its container, sticking to surfaces in what I wouldn’t necessarily describe in a sticky-sort-of-way but sticks until well, we wipe it away or it is absorbed . . .
and water is filled with life: all the earliest forms of life are said to have started there, fish swim there, dolphins and whales and other marine life live out their days there, amphibians spend much time there as well, as do many, many plants; plankton is said to be the foundation of the ocean’s foodchain . . .
I’m glad that our pool water probably doesn’t host too many life forms, though I always smile when I see my rambunctious two-year-old splashing her way around the kiddie pool . . .
Human civilization has historically been cradled between bodies of water; clean drinking water is crucial . . . but it is scarce: Currently, about a billion people around the world routinely drink unhealthy water.
The World Health Organization estimates that safe water could prevent 1.4 million child deaths, according to Wikipedia’s article “Water.”
water, so important, so vital to us, is also a great comfort to us too; the sound of a trickling stream, rain pitter-pattering against our window panes, or like my dear little one, the sensation of being surrounded by water and just peacefully floating within it relaxes the spirit and mind . . .
water, such a curious part of life, full of life, and said by some to be a dancing form of life, is
“the driver of life” ~Leonardo da Vinci
“a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself” ~Laura Gilpin
“H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one, but also a third thing that makes water and nobody knows what that is” ~D.H. Lawrence
“life itself . . . a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“one substance from which the earth can conceal nothing; it sucks out its innermost secrets and brings them to our very lips” ~Jean Giraudoux
So, I ask you today, when sipping from your cup of water, what will it mean for you?
{ 3 comments }
If you haven’t yet seen the film “FLOW: For Love of Water” I highly recommend it, though maybe not for Annabelle :)
Water has that sticky quality due to it’s hydrogen bonds, partial negatives and positives that make it attracted to itself. A fun experiment for you and Annabelle to try might involve seeing how many drops of water can stay on a penny. All you need is a penny and an eye-dropper, and count one by one as you drop the water onto the penny. You’ll be surprised how many drops can stay there before spilling over the side.
One more thing about the phytoplankton in the ocean- they produce much of the Earth’s oxygen!
I love sciency posts :)
My all time favorite element is water. I am a Tai Chi player and there is a saying. “In stillness, like a mountain. In movement, like a river”.
The softness and yielding nature of water is balanced by the power and life giving elements. I wish I was a poet so that I could explain my deep affinity for water.
Your post is very thought provoking. I certainly think about water differently now that I have sunnyboy and see how much he appreciates water and how he plays and learns so much with water in different ways.
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