A Ritual to Honor Water
By Wendy Macdonald
Water is life: elemental, essential, mysterious, sacred. One has only to experience a blooming desert, a sprouting seed, a clean body, or the sense of well-being after a refreshing, hydrating drink of this clear liquid, to grasp the value of water. In the U.S., drinking water is available to everyone, and east of the Mississippi River, water is plentiful. Yet, there are places in our country where man-made aquifers and irrigation methods are necessary and places on our planet where humans and animals must walk long distances to reach a water source.
Water purifies, cleanses, restores, and heals. Humanity celebrates a spiritual connection to the sacred essence of water with washing and immersion rituals, baptisms, and prayer. Make conservation a regular practice, and, whenever you use water—while filling a bathtub or stepping into the shower, brushing your teeth or shaving, or preparing to dive into a body of water—pause to say thank you.
Here is a simple “hydration appreciation” ritual practice you can do daily:
When you have settled into a hot bath, are standing under a shower, or are swimming in a body of water, feel the water cleanse your skin and energy fields. Consciously release negative thoughts and feelings, and make a regular practice of letting go of the past and forgiving self and others. If you are bathing, allow the water’s warmth to relax tense muscles and reach core places like your mind and heart, visualizing negative thoughts, toxins, and pain dissolving, flowing with the water down the drain. Say to yourself: Thank you, water, healing water.
About the author: Wendy Macdonald believes all of life is sacred, that every life matters, and that ritual and ceremony honor and celebrate the value and meaning of experience. She is a certified Life Cycle Celebrant and lives with her husband and three Newfoundland dogs at the base of the White Mountains in Randolph, New Hampshire. [email protected]
