"Nothing on earth
Is more gentle and yielding than water
Yet nothing is stronger."
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 78
Water nurtures all life on earth. Falling from the sky to the ground as precipitation—rain or snow—it flows as surface water through rivers into lakes and oceans, or percolates deep into the earth through layers of sediment, becoming aquifers, vast underground lakes. With the sun's heat, surface water evaporates, rising as vapor to form clouds, and the cycle begins again. There is always the same amount of water on earth. We drink the same water that the dinosaurs drank. The golden wheat fields of the American Midwest are irrigated by water from the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive underground lake that dates back to the Pleistocene era
Throughout its cycle, water takes many forms--from snowflakes, tiny lace mandallas from the sky, to shimmering icicles, to a summer's day heavy with humidity, to the rapids of a roaring river.
Water can be beautiful or destructive. Water is essential to life, yet climate change has brought fear and destruction, violent rain storms and floods to some parts of our world and drought to others.
The water cycle includes us all, and there's a powerful parallel between water and the energies of our lives. Some energies are creative, life-sustaining; others, destructive streams of fear or greed. Each day, we contribute to the collective energy of the planet, the cycle of life within and around us.
Living creatively means becoming more mindful of our energies. Take a moment to ask yourself:
- Am I adding to the currents of fear flooding our planet?
- Or does my heart open in currents of compassion, loving kindness, to nurture and create?
Whatever challenges you are facing in your life,
Take a moment now to
Breathe out fear.
Breathe in love.
Connect with the eternal cycle of life