The Current State of Our Waters

We are water.

The human body is made up of at least 60% water. Every cell in our body requires water to function or it will die. The typical human can survive three weeks without food but only about three days without water.

We need water.

Photo by Natalia KW

All life requires water, so we are in constant relationship to it. Water keeps our ecosystem in balance, maintains temperatures sustainable for life, grows our food, sustains life, and provides a home for an incredible array of plants and animals – and it’s beautiful. Science shows that being near or on the waters has profound effects on our physiology, including our brains. It enhances our mental health, reduces stress, and improves our state of well being.

We are neglecting and destroying our waters.

Today our relationship to the waters is incredibly out of balance. We take water for granted (until something happens), both at an individual and societal level.

Pollution, water policy, and climate change have had devastating effects, in some places threatening the very existence of animals and plants nearby. These are only a few examples:

• Millions of people worldwide have little to no access to clean drinking water
• Toxins destroys our lakes, rivers, and oceans, creating dead zones and unusable water
• Western U.S. droughts threaten our food supply and lead to uncontrollable fires.
• Dams flood some communities while starving others and decimating fragile ecosystems.
• The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and great contributor to global climate health – has been raided, illegally mined, razed, farmed, and poisoned.

The list could go on and on and on… but you get the picture.

It is Time to Honor the Waters

We can change this.

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the ocean in a single drop.”
– Rumi

We can transform our relationship to the waters, bringing it back into balance, starting with increased consciousness and gratitude.

Photo by Loren Martin

Indigenous peoples from across the world have always understood this. They recognized that we are not separate from the world around us – that our actions can have a ripple effect of consequences and should be taken with great care. They developed deep, longstanding relationships with their local waters by focusing their intent using prayers and gratitude. This regular connection brought healing and connection both to the waters and to themselves.

We are all called now to do the same.

Honor the Waters is a global movement founded to increase every person’s consciousness of water as our lifeblood and to ultimately heal the waters and ourselves through ceremony, conservation, and action.

We are inspired by indigenous peoples’ example of how to be in right relationship to the waters.

We believe in the power of the collective action and intent to achieve great transformation.

We are guided by a vision for the future, of what could be, rather than focusing on what was or what is now.

Every Drop Matters

Gratitude for water heals us.

When we remain conscious of water and its vital importance, every sip, shower, rainfall, swim, or view of water becomes a moment of ceremony. We appreciate and connect. We cleanse what needs to be released from our lives and feel the support, interrelationships, and joy that the waters offer us. Research shows that practicing gratitude improves our physiology, as well as our minds and energy.

Photo by Loren Martin

We can heal the waters.

When we focus our love, prayers, and gratitude on the waters, we can heal and purify it. Indigenous peoples have always used prayer, intent, and ceremony to bring healing energy to our lands, and we can do the same. Such actions may actually change the structure of water, making it more pure, and counteract some of the negative effects of pollution and negativity. Stagnant waters begin to flow more easily, restoring themselves.

Once we create a regular practice of connecting to the waters in these ways, how we relate to it changes. We are motivated to protect and nurture our waters by taking conscious action at an individual or societal level. We conserve water. We advocate for policies that protect and clean our waters. We spread the word about activities that need to stop and those that should expand to a broader scale. Importantly, we do it from a place of love and reverence, not anger and blame.

We are more powerful together.

When we harness the power of collective intent and action, the whole is far greater than the sum of our parts. Group ceremony and action creates huge energy – and it’s a great reminder that we are never alone: we are all interconnected. Last, but definitely not least, it’s much more fulfilling – and fun – to work together.

Our dream is for the waters to once again be pure, sustainable, life-giving forces that every person on earth respects, protects, and cherishes.

Join Us – and Celebrate World Gratitude Day

In honor of the Fall Equinox and World Gratitude Day, we will hold our first quarterly global ceremony on September 21, 2014. Check our Events page to find someone leading a group near you – or hold your own and we’ll post details on our site. For ideas about how to honor the waters in your own ceremony, check out our Ceremony pages. Our goal is to get at least 1,000 people celebrating together, all over the world.

More ceremony, as well as initiatives, information, and programs will follow as we get up and running. We welcome your suggestions and involvement – connect with us, and be sure to sign up for our mailing list to stay updated.

Thank you!

Banner photo by Mary Beth Leisen.