A Life In Imitation Of Water

70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water and on average 60% of a human body is made up of water. Water is essential to life as we know it. There are many lessons for us in simply stopping to consider the nature of water. It is suggested that you prepare 2 half full glasses of water (different sizes please!) in preparation for this meditation. Enjoy.

Transcript

Music Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation in which I hope we will gain inspiration from water.

Before we begin you will need a prop or two.

Very simply I'd like you to arm yourself with two glasses of water,

Each half full but each if possible a different shape.

You may pause the recording at this point or start again in a few minutes as soon as you're ready.

All will be revealed in a little while.

Welcome back.

70% of the earth's surface is covered by water,

And on average 60% of a human body is made up of water.

Water is essential to life as we know it.

A person can live for about a month without food,

But only for about a week without water.

As you know if someone is very ill,

And they cannot take water,

We know the end is near.

When we explore the planets and the planets around distant stars for evidence of any form of life,

We search first of all to see if there is any indication of water.

It's one of the amazing features of our time that even when we find planets around stars that are countless light years away,

We can determine the nature of any atmosphere by reference to the light that they give off or fail to give off.

Using a spectrometer,

Astronomers can interpret and break down the light spectrum almost as easily as we can read a barcode.

But when we look at the earth and the huge amount of water on the surface,

We have to bear in mind that what we see is largely salt water.

If you go searching for fresh water,

You'll find that only 3% of the water on earth is fresh water.

Three quarters of that is tied up in the ice caps.

So really only about 1% of the water on earth is drinkable.

And as we sit here,

One person in eight of the whole population of the world do not have access to safe drinking water.

This is a sad reflection on our priorities that this is the case in a world of plenty.

Yet for most of us,

We turn a tap and there it is.

So our first pause for reflection is to give thanks for the fact that we have water at all,

And that we have safe water to drink.

We have to remember that this gift is not something universally enjoyed.

It's not something to be taken for granted.

And then we think of the people who bring the water to us.

Think of the laying of the pipes,

The building of reservoirs,

The water supply,

The building of reservoirs,

The purification plants.

This doesn't just happen.

What would we do without the cooperation of all these people and the foresight of earlier generations who worked to bring this service to us?

We'll have a pause for thanksgiving.

Welcome back.

Now we'll have some reflections on the nature of water and how we might imitate it and learn something from it.

First of all,

Water teaches us to be calm in a storm.

Did you ever see a huge storm at sea?

You probably have seen one.

And we've all seen them on films and on television.

You notice the huge waves and the waves are so big.

You notice the huge waves and the destructive power of the sea.

We are a bit like the sea.

Sometimes things go against us and we can work ourselves into a fury just like the surface of the sea.

But if we stop to look below the surface,

When you go below you'll see that all is calm and the sea is moving more gently.

It's simply moving in harmony with the rotation of the earth and in response to the gentle pull of the moon.

This reminds us that when we are getting ourselves involved in stormy situations,

We can go within to a place of calm and not let loose our destructive powers.

Bad temper and ill will can proceed from one person and before you know it,

Everyone in sight is in bad shape.

The power of the sea can be a teacher for us.

It teaches us to return to a place of inner calm.

A place where,

When faced with a storm on the surface of our lives,

We can retreat to calm.

Let's take another pause for reflection and think how we might apply this.

How can we remember to remain calm in a storm?

Welcome back.

The next lesson we learn from water is patience.

You might ask yourself,

Which is stronger,

Rock or water?

On the face of it,

You would think rock is stronger.

Rock is hard,

Water is soft.

When you look at a mountain,

You imagine that rock is almost eternal.

But the truth is that water is far stronger than rock.

All it requires is patience and time.

And we are inclined to lack both time and patience.

Think of the rocks and the stones at the water's edge.

Day after day,

The tide comes in,

In and out,

In and out,

Day after day.

Not necessarily a storm,

Just the gentle coming and going of the tide.

But little by little,

Over time,

This will break down the hardest rock into sand and dust.

We see from this how patience and perseverance can win out in the end if we give them a chance.

Gentle patience and unending perseverance can break down any difficulty.

We just need to give it time.

Beth Nielsen Chapman has a song called Sand and Water.

The last two lines are Solid stone is just sand and water.

Sand and water and a million years gone by.

Let's pause now to consider how we can apply more patience and more perseverance in the circumstances of our everyday life.

And more perseverance in the circumstances of our everyday life.

Welcome back again.

Water teaches us not to discriminate in our dealings with people.

Water falls on the good and the bad without distinction.

It's disappointing to have to admit that even in 2019,

People can have a tendency to discriminate against people who are different from them.

We see examples of abuse based on race and skin colour,

Nationality,

Age,

Sexual orientation.

The list goes on.

Even yet,

We can find discrimination between men and women,

The jobs they can do and the level of responsibility they can reach.

Although it's good to see that we are far from the time when almost all women were paid less than men for the same work.

Just over 100 years ago,

Women had to chain themselves to railings to demand the right to vote.

It's hard to believe that now.

Even 50 years ago,

Here in Ireland,

Women had to give up their jobs when they got married or had children.

And up to 25 years ago,

In this country,

Gay people here faced imprisonment.

Gay men and women still face imprisonment,

Even execution of their children.

Still face imprisonment,

Even execution,

Stoning and throwing from rooftops in some countries just because they are gay.

It's taken hard work on the part of campaigners to bring about an end to various forms of discrimination.

But still we see people referring to foreigners,

Or black people,

Or gay people,

Or travellers.

Lumping them all together,

Painting them all with the one brush,

Forgetting that there are bad eggs in every group,

Including people who seem to be like ourselves.

But notice how water falls on the good and the bad,

The rich and the poor,

The sick and the healthy,

The wise and the dull,

Without any discrimination.

Everyone needs an umbrella if they want to avoid getting wet.

Water does not discriminate.

So two things are important.

One,

That we don't judge the book by the cover.

That we don't bend the knee to the rich and the seemingly good while treating the less well off differently.

We think of the quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

More than 50 years ago,

Back in 1963.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin,

But by the content of their character.

And the second point.

If we believe,

And we should recall that rain falls from the sky on everyone without any discrimination,

We should try to stand up for groups that are discriminated against.

Let's pause to think about discrimination.

What can we do to reduce it?

And especially,

Can we resolve not to practice discrimination?

What can we do to resolve not to practice discrimination ourselves?

Welcome back again.

The next lesson from water is its adaptability,

And for this we need our props.

Our two glasses.

Now let us compare the two glasses we filled as we sat down to this meditation.

Notice how the water adjusts to the shape of the glass.

No squeezing it in,

No fuss,

No argument.

The water simply adjusts to the shape of the glass.

Water teaches us adaptability.

We live in a world of constant change.

To live in harmony and peace,

We have to be adaptable to that change.

Alright,

We can make reasonable efforts to influence events,

And of course we should.

We can try to swim in the direction we desire.

But when push comes to shove,

We have to accept things that we cannot change.

You may know the Serenity Prayer.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

We'll pause now to reflect on how adaptable are we.

See how we know how to adapt.

And notice the peace that can flow from that.

Welcome back again.

Now let's take another look at our glasses.

Do you see your glasses as half full or half empty?

We all look at the world through different coloured spectacles,

Even those of us who don't need glasses.

Some look out on the world as a place of threat.

When they see someone,

They think of them as a threat.

Others look on the world as a benign place,

Where it's believed all will be fine and we will get by come what may.

Seeing the glass half full and half empty reminds us that we will attract the world we are looking for.

It's not that we attract bad things,

So much as when we look out for them.

We are attracted to them.

We are attracted to the things we are looking for.

It's not that we attract bad things,

So much as when we look out for them,

We will find them,

And our resultant bad mood will send us looking out for more,

And we will find more and more.

I'm sure it's happened to all of us on the days when we got out the wrong side of the bed.

Everything seems to go wrong.

But if we look out for them,

We will find good things at every turn,

And it sets us on a spiral of positivity.

There's a story that illustrates this.

This is a story about a man who wished to move to a different area.

He saw a house which he liked and he decided to approach the next door neighbour.

He knocked on the door and inquired about the neighbourhood and about the people living nearby.

The neighbour replied by asking the prospective buyer a question.

Describe what life is like in your present neighbourhood.

The answer?

It's a dreadful place.

No one gives a thought about the person next door.

It's a case of everyone for himself.

The resident replied,

Well,

I'm sorry to say,

You won't find it very different around here.

I don't think you'll find it any better here.

You'll have to find somewhere else.

The buyer left and that was it.

Some time later another man came along with a view to buying the same house.

This time the same next door neighbour happened to be trimming a hedge.

Once again the same question was asked.

Would you mind telling me about the neighbourhood and the people living nearby?

The resident stopped his gardening work.

And just as he had stated before,

He had a question for the man next door.

And just as he had stated before,

He asked this prospective buyer what life was like in his present neighbourhood.

This new prospective buyer explained that his present neighbours were wonderful people.

They looked out for one another and there was a wonderful spirit of cooperation all around.

So why are you leaving?

The very last thing I want to do is to leave my wonderful neighbours and friends.

But my job has moved and I need to find a new house in this area.

The response this time.

I'm happy to say that you will find everything the same when you come here.

I'm sure you'll be very happy here.

Now what is all this about and what does it mean?

It means that for the most part we create our own environment.

If we display friendliness and cooperation we are likely to find we are offered the same.

If we stand aloof and only take care of ourselves we'll be left to ourselves.

Let's pause to see how we can set ourselves up with a glass half full attitude at the start of each day.

And how we can be good neighbours.

Welcome back again.

Finally we have to think of the state of our oceans which is at last attracting attention and concern from people all over the world.

Between us all we have turned the oceans into a rubbish dump.

It's been estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there is in the oceans.

But it's not the case.

The ocean is a very important part of our lives.

According to the USA branch of Greenpeace,

Drinks companies produce over 500 billion,

That's 500,

000 million,

Single use plastic bottles in just one year.

Could each of us here play our part and today really be able to make a difference?

I'm sure you'll be very happy.

Thank you for watching.

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With 2,

500 billion disposable cups in the ocean,

One billion disposable cups have been used to take away all the liquid and food in our body.

The microplastics are getting into the food chain.

They are being eaten by fish.

And by ourselves.

What about our love of disposable cups?

You see them everywhere.

We could all easily refuse these.

Every year,

100 billion disposable cups are used just once and then discarded.

And of course,

For reasons of health and safety,

Very often the one-use cups have the compulsory plastic lids that will last for centuries.

All for the convenience of having a coffee on the go,

When we could easily make use of reusable cups of our own.

When people come to pass judgment on our throwaway age,

I think they will find no better symbol than the image of a man and a woman running with plastic bottle and coffee cup in hand.

This is the image of a society mindlessly rushing to its own self-destruction.

Another pause.

This time we think about how we can lessen our impact on the world.

How can we play our part in securing this planet as a habitable place for the generations that will follow,

Bearing in mind this quotation?

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors.

We borrow it from our children.

Welcome back again.

So thank you for taking the time to enter into this meditation on the lessons we can learn from water.

May water remind us to be calm in a storm.

May it encourage us to practice patience.

And just as rain falls on all of us without discrimination,

May we approach all people without discrimination.

May we be as adaptable as water.

May we see the glass as half full and give thanks.

Finally,

May we work to preserve this planet,

Its water and its land,

For the benefit of all its inhabitants.

Namaste.

Reviews

Appreciate water a little more. Thanks.

Wonderful perspectives and a gift to the world. Thank you!

Kudos, TB.
Let’s add that industrialized agribusiness accounts for an *unconscionable* misuse of this resource.
If we were to make much wiser production and consumption decisions; if we were to heavily pressure our governments to enact real, meaningful controls and to thwart privatization, our species *might* just make it to the year 2100.
Please: oppose corporate overreach, greedy market speculators, government agency capture, giant hydroelectric projects and rapacious mega beverage companies. ☮️

Wonderful thoughts on water and the planet Tony. I went to a mini- mart yesterday, a little store with a gas station, took my stainless steel cup and got ice, then looked all over for a water spigot by the sodas. The girl said they didn’t have one! How weird is that. So I bought some ice tea that sadly was in a plastic bottle. I rarely ever buy plastic anything but I do recycle everything I buy.
Plastic is not only horrible for the planet but for the health of our thyroid too.
I love the flow of water. I’m blessed to live in a county full of rivers and lakes.
Water teaches us to bend and flow, to fit where we land, to adapt.
As Bruce Lee said, ”Be like water, my friend.”
🌊💦💧
💕🌷🌺🙏🏽💖🌸🙏🏼🦋🌿🌹💐

Thank you for the reminders 🙏🏻

Thank you, wonderful reminder to be more mindful of our precious planet, always thank you for sharing 🙏🌈

Awareness at its best!

Thank you, Tony. I’d like to offer another lesson I learned floating in water in a lake next to my home. When you don’t struggle, allow yourself to relax, and lay quietly, you are buoyed up and gently held by the universe. It reminds me that by grace I am supported, simply by being.

Many thanks! Sarah

As the Little River Band sang, "I was born in the sign of water and it's there that I feel my best." Thank you for pointing out all of the lessons that water can teach us. I also enjoy the soft music in the background.

Once again, thank you, Tony🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻I did not know that only 1% of the water is drinkable...
Just before this meditation, I went outside to water the plants. It's been so hot here and no rain in quite a while, they are talking about drought again. Even though it was still early, I was out too long, nearly fainted. So went inside, and immediately drank a lot of water. And yes, very grateful for the ease...
Thank you for bringing all the different aspects of water clearly in front of us to reflect upon🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thank you Tony for beautiful reflections on water and the importance that we have as caretakers of this earth.

So beautiful and calming with great insights. Thank you so much for sharing 😇

It’s wonderful to follow your ruminations on such topics. Blessings for this one 🙏🏽

How wonderful, to reflect on this mysterious stuff of life. Thank you! ❄💧🌊

Everyone should practice this. It would change the world 🌍

What a beautiful and creative piece, dear Tony. Your simple illustrations of various elements of water as comparisons to how we live our lives sent meaningful messages. Just looking at my 2 prop glasses of water in front of me remind me of their lessons of flexibility and positive thinking. Watching ocean waves will remind me of the calmness underneath the turmoil. Thanks for such an inspiring meditation.

I loved the quote about not inheriting the earth from our ancestors but borrowing it from our children. Very profound. Thank you for this lovely meditation. 💦💧🌊

Beautiful reflections.

thanks you, for the information, and to be more human for the benefit of our self and everybody! 😘 😘