WA 2

Water is Life

Water is the most unappreciated substance on Earth. We fail to realize the importance of water and often take advantage of it. When we are born our bodies are made up of around 72% of water (Discovery Health). Water is in us and we need water to survive. Water can cause harm in the form of rain or tsunamis. For example, Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating storms to hit America causing many to evacuate the south. The number one requested item for the victims of Katrina was water. People had a lack of fresh water and because of that bottled water was in high request. Water is the common denominator of all of life. All of life is linked by water; it is what gives humans a sense of connection with nature and with other animals. Water is the most important element on this earth, underappreciated, has spiritual connections, and affected by human emotion.

Water is essential to life and we would not be able to survive a few weeks without it. Caroline Way, the author of “Still Water Meditation” noted how water “has flowed down board rivers, has risen on the sap of trees, has been the sweat of slaves” (3). This quote illustrates how water has formed our earth and molded our history. Water has been the number one source of necessities to live since humans have been on Earth, but the technology we use in now is starting to affect water. With modern technology that we use in today’s world some people think we are polluting the Earth. Our water sources have suffered because of this we have changed the thought that bottled water is pure clean water; yes, it is good water with chemicals to make it fresh. We use water in everyday life for things like transportation. For many centuries now the United States primary source of transporting goods is by water. Rivers play a big role in the transportation of goods in the United States. For example, the Mississippi River has been used to trade goods and deliver goods for hundreds of years now. 

Now in days we fail to realize how important water really is. In today’s society we are so use to water fountains and water bottles. We take for granted how hard it was to even get water. In America water is easy to get, but in other countries around the world water isn’t as easy to find fresh clean drinking water. The Project Water is a non-profit organization providing sustainable water projects to communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Off their website they showed three remarkable facts about how many people are affected by little drinking water; one and eight people do not have access to safe clean water. Half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water related disease. Water is essential to growing crops around the world. Most farmers in Texas would understand how important water is to the business of agriculture. Texas has had bad droughts throughout the years. When it doesn’t rain the crops die, when the crops die not only people but animals suffer from a lack of food. When farmers don’t meet the needs to produce they lose business.

Water also has spiritual connections. For example, in “The Blessing of Water” written by Marina Lachecki, tells a story about a group of students from the Northland College that traveled to Lake Superior to pray for the waters of the Earth. Here Lachecki tries to show the connections between water and God. She describes dipping a cross in the water, saying, “Symbolic of the baptismal immersion of Jesus… into the water” (48, par. 3). This shows how water has great history and how water is used in religions. Similarly, in connection with this story, Water the Great Mystery illustrates an experiment where researchers collected samples of tap water and Holy Water then froze them to examine the structures. The study was done on January 18, 2005, the evening before the epiphany. On that day two flasks are filled with ordinary tap water. One of them was set inside the church, near the vessel where the ceremony of sanctification is to be performed. Every year on January 19th people go to the churches to pick up holy water that was believed to contain unusual properties. The two flasks were taken to the laboratory after the service. The water was frozen in a cryogenic chamber and photographed under the microscope. The crystals in the tap water looked chaotic, with spots everywhere, while the water that had been in the church had the form of a six-pointed star. This experiment was interesting because of how the holy water crystals were in a shape of a six pointed star. Holy water has been used to cure sick animals and they can survive. Scientist have yet to figure out how this happens. This shows how powerful and complex the holy water structure is.

Human emotion and music can also change the structure of water. According to the documentary, studies done by Dr. Emoto, a Japanese energy scholar, showed how water displays emotion. He placed rice into three glass beakers and poured water into each of them. Then every day for a month he said “Thank you” to one beaker, “You're an idiot” to the second, and the third he completely ignored. After one month, the rice that was being thanked began to ferment, giving off a strong pleasant smell. The rice in the second beaker turned black, and the rice that was ignored began to rot. There are many factors to why this experiment does not seem plausible to me. One in particular, is how just from saying a few words to a beaker of water with rice in it can determine if the water knows human emotion. I believe that tempter could have played a role in determining the results, or if the beaker was thoroughly cleaned of any bacteria. Along with the experiment of human emotion, Water the Great Mystery also shows how water reacts to different types of music. In the documentary they experimented with two types of music, Beethoven, and hard metal rock. When they played Beethoven and rock music they immediately took a sample of water and froze it to see its structure. After furthering examining it they noticed that the water that was listening to Beethoven were complete water crystals, compared to the water listening to rock the water was scattered and oddly shaped. This experiment noticeably shows how water is affected by the type of music you play. Water is a sensitive substance that can be disturbed by both human emotion and different types of music.

In “Sogen’s One Drop of Water” Gisan Zenrai Zenji was upset when he saw Giboku dump out drops of water on the ground. Zenji explained how “If you take it outside and put it on some plants, then the plants will be given life, and the water will also be given life” (47, par. 6)!  Zenji said this because he believes that every drop of water is important and should not go to waste. Water is mistreated and unappreciated in some countries. In the United States we take water for granted, for example, swimming pools and taking a shower or bath. For as long as humans have been alive water has been the primary source of life. According to the Water the Great Mystery, we can survive 7-8 weeks without food, but you can only survive 8-14 days without water. Water is essential to life and we would not be able to survive a few weeks without it.  Benjamin Franklin said, “When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.” This quote stuck out to me because of how water is underappricated, but like the old saying you don’t know what you got until it’s all gone.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Given Water. The Water Project. 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2008

Roshi, Shodo Harada. “Sogen’s One Drop of Water.” Schubnell, Stampfl, Pryor, Perez, Clark, Swofford 50-64

Schubnell, Mattias, Tanji Stampfl, Hector Perez, Emily Clark and Mary Beth Swofford, eds. The Water and Culture Reader 2e. South Lake: Fountainhead Press, 2013. Print.

Shodo Harada Roshi. “The Water and Culture Reader.” Sogen’s One Drop of Water. South Lake: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 9-10. Print.

Water the Great Mystery. Anastaysia Popova, Julia Perkul. Masterskaya, 2008. Film

Way, Caroline. ”Still Water Meditation.” Schubnell and Stampfl 11-13

Way, Caroline.“The Water and Culture Reader.” Still Water Meditation. Ed. South Lake: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 9-10. Print.