AWAKENING
You are the vehicle that undertakes this voyage. The places to which you are invited will be ever changing. The possibility of pursuing your life experience therefore depends on constantly taking care of yourself. Take a moment with us to examine what fuel nourishes your life.



© Shutterstock

ARTICLE
Water  A Gift of God
By Marie Claude Dumont
Photo © Getty Image
Why is water considered sacred? Why do we bless water? And why does it play such an important role in religious rites and traditions?

I admit that my questions may seem naïve. I am aware of a few religious rituals, like baptism or purification rites that take place in many different religions. But what I do not understand is the value of water because I waste water every single day.

There is a wonderful movie entitled Va, vis et deviens, in which there is a scene where a little boy travels from Africa to Israel. He arrives in a dormitory and is washed along with other children. While he is being lathered in soap, he stares at the water flowing from the shower head. He is totally impressed as his eyes follow the water to the drain on the floor. Suddenly, seized by an incontrollable sense of panic, he throws himself to the ground in an attempt to retain the water. An adult tries to calm him down and reassures him by letting him know that water is not a problem here. But the boy is unable to understand.

If this anecdote touches you as much as
it did me, it is surely because you and I can only imagine the difference between the water that we use and the water that one hopes for day after day. If water is so precious, it is because it is a gift from God for many people. We must take a look at
a few rites and traditions in order to understand both the symbolism and the importance of water.

Water – Conveyor of spirituality

Water nourishes the earth. Water nourishes mankind. We bless it to invoke goodness. Water symbolizes a passage, a conveyor of purity and spirituality. Religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were all born in desert regions where water remains precious, a gift from God.
The sacrament of baptism, a rite of initiation, is found in all Christian denominations, reminding us that when Jesus was immersed in the Jordan River, he was designated the Son of God.

For Muslims, in order to be ready to pray, one must purify oneself according to a very precise ritual. The water that is used must itself be pure and cannot have had any contact with impurities or non-chaste beings. For the pilgrimage to Mecca many Muslims travel through the sacred waters of Zamzam, among others, to swim or at least to splash themselves with a bit of the water. In this way, they are able to access the holy city in order to continue their pilgrimage.
 
In the Jewish religion, there are several rites relating to water. Washing one’s hands before every prayer, before blessing each meal, and after reading a religious text are all ways in which a distinction is made between the spiritual and the material life.

In the New Testament, when a stranger asked Jesus for water, he said: “He who drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water
I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Water becomes a conveyor of divinity and eternal life.

I warned you that my intrusion would be brief. I could have cited many other examples and I believe that the common thread would have been the same. Water symbolizes a passage towards spirituality because it is nourishing, because it is often rare – and therefore precious.

A job worth doing ...

Finally, I reflect more and more on how I take my bath every night. Out of respect for water, and even if it is abundant here, I want to treat it differently. My ten minutes will become a very simple ritual but one that is done well. I will take the time to appreciate every minute. Why not do so with my own personal touch of spirituality? Let this moment become sacred!