Welcome to this meditation and reflection,
Which is designed to be done whilst washing up the dishes.
So,
Starting by taking a few moments to feel into the contact with the floor,
And taking a few deeper breaths,
Perhaps imagining the breath coming up from the earth,
Through the feet,
Up the body,
To the crown of the head,
And then the out-breath falling back down through the body and into the earth,
And seeing if there can be some letting go with each out-breath.
And now starting to feel the washing up bowl with water,
Listening to the sound of the water as it comes out of the tap,
Aware of the many different sounds that water can make,
From the gentle lapping of waves to the crashing down of giant waterfalls.
And now putting your hands into the water,
Noticing the feel of water on your hands,
As you add washing up liquid,
Creating foam,
How does the foam feel on your hands?
And as you lift each utensil,
Each bowl or pot to wash it,
Feeling its weight,
And noticing the movements in the water,
And noticing the subtle sounds the water makes as it moves.
And feeling the movements in the hands,
Fingers,
Wrists and arms,
As you lift,
Scrub and place things to drain,
Noticing the fluidity of these movements,
The fluidity of the wrist joints,
The elbows,
The finger joints,
And reflecting that this smoothness in our movements,
This fluidity,
Depends on the water element.
Depends on the fluid present in our joints.
And as we feel our hands in the water,
Reflecting that within these hands that are immersed in water,
There is water,
Cells full of water,
Surrounded by water,
Water that is constantly renewed,
Excreted and replenished,
Constant cycle.
So this water that we can see,
Feel,
Hear,
In this moment,
Where did it come from?
Where did all these molecules of water come from?
What journey have they been through to get here?
Is there a molecule in there which was once a tear in a dinosaur's eye,
Or part of the blood of a woolly mammoth?
Part of a waterfall,
A cloud,
An igloo,
A stream,
An underground lake in a distant country?
And who and what will these water molecules be part of in the future?
And the water within these hands,
What about the journeys of all those water molecules?
So this body,
Part of the cycle of water,
Everywhere there is life,
There is water,
Taken in and released.
Water evaporating off from our skin,
From the surface of lakes,
And turning into vapour,
And condensing,
Falling,
Nourishing the earth,
Nourishing all of life.
And as you bring the practice to a close,
Maybe forming an intention to keep noticing and connecting with the water element through the rest of the day,
Aware of it within and without,
Aware of this body as part of the cycle of water,
Not separate from it.
