Water, the median of life. Growing upin a small town nestled tightly in the arms of the wasatchfront, I learned early the importance of nature. There was afine line drawn between religion and the outdoors, and thequest of my life was to determine an appropriate balance.
Water, signifying the line between the spiritual and physical,played an important role in my secular teachings. Cuttingthrough the center of town it was the very phenomenon thatI had grown to love, the river. Soul restored andimagination stirred, the words of the river echoed the marksof God. Although by nature I stood alone, untutored anduntouched, the waters of life left me free to understand thenatural side of Gods order. With its flowing properties andunbridled passion to move forward, the water was myspirit. An old weathered palm tree emerged from theseemingly impenetrable sandy beach. I leaned back againstits rough surface as the waves of the emerald blue oceanslowly crawled to my feet. They lapped relentlessly againstthe shore as if trying to take me back with them. The windblew gently over the top of the distant incoming waves asthey mirrored back the competing rays of sun. With eachreflection, I narrowly squinted my eyes and continued tomarvel at this picturesque interaction of color and beauty. Iraised my hand to my brow, wiping off the beads of sweatthat saturated my face. As my fingers moved across mysensitive skin, I could tell the sun had left its mark. I felttheir was no escaping the blanket of rays only the cloudsabove seemed to be able to control. The pain wasuncomfortable, but disappeared quickly as I scooped upthe cool water and splashed it on my face. I knew that Icould not drink the seemingly infinite volume of water whichsurrounded me, so I headed for a nearby stream. Kneelingdown, I penetrated the stream with cupped hands andraised the fresh water to my dry lips. I was unable tocontrol the water as it sifted through my fingers and randown my arms, as if trying to escape back to the stream. Ilicked my salty lips and drank. I had never before tasted amore refreshing drink of water. This euphoric experiencewas one that I savored, as I reached for a second handful.
There have been few experiences throughout my life that Iremember more vividly than of that day on the beach. Ioften think about where the water would flow, and whowould be the recipient of its aqueous forgiveness. Thissimple stream had been the solution to my unquenchableneed for sustenance. My connection, as if umbilical, wasmet when I broke the skin of mother natures body topartake of her life giving substance. But, somethingseparated me from that world which existed internallybeneath the stream. This was the first spiritual encounter Iremembered having with water. The thoughts of theseexperiences connected my inner most soul with theinteraction of beauty and nature. Not a nature that I fullyunderstood , but an understanding of the line that connectsthe perfection of life to a spiritual world. Eventually allthings merged into one, and I would understand bothphysical and spiritual, but until then I would be leftuntutored. All existence seems to fade into a being.
Memories past and present, would leave with themimpressions of the future. These memories always broughtme back to the river which cut through my town, and thewater which had brought me closer to the line of spirituality.
The blanket of life stretched across the valley as the windblew calmly over the tops of the trees. I fastened my khakigreen bag to my shoulder as I slowly released the tensionof my line sending the small hook end over end into thewater. The occasional silver flash of light broke through theundercurrent of water as I pulled my hook over the rocksand twigs that extended through the river body. Fishing wassomething that I enjoyed more than anything. I had spentmuch of my growing up years slipping on the rocks thatlined the bottom of this river bed like mosaic tiles. Althoughit had been quite some time since I had visited the river,the smooth sound of the water as it meandered bywelcomed me back. As the sun beat down, racing its waythrough the trees, I was reminded of the experiences I hadwith the stream before. Taking the fresh cool water anddripping it down my neck, I realized what draws me tothese majestic places. To understand this barrier of life, abarrier that separated me from this underworld of water. Istood on the outside trying to pull some piece of intricatelife from this world I knew nothing about. Motivated tounderstand this spiritual nature, the worlds converged intoone, a world of life. The simple existence of the streambrought the very compulsive questions that caused me towonder. Just as I didnt understand its exact purposethousands of miles away, or even one hundred yards upstream, I knew its effect on me here and now would leaveits impression. Running over rocks, squeezing thoughcracks, and providing the essential elements of life were theunwavering properties of the water. Although interactingwith its surroundings for just a moment, the river wouldleave its mark, carrying on its way of life, never knowingwhere it would end, or if it ever ended.
Category: Miscellaneous
