Water—Beautiful, Beautiful Water

Today, my wife and I (and our old boxer) went for a little hike in the Florida forests. And sand. There was lots of sand. But that's Florida for you. It wasn't an especially grueling hike, but the sun was out and it was relatively warm for the season. Unfortunately, we didn't bring all that much water. We brought one bottle, but it wasn't much between the three of us. Pretty soon, we were at the halfway point and out of water.

Like I said, it was nothing grueling and it wasn't all that long of a hike, but it made me acutely aware of how much my body needs water and how much I take it for granted. I walk over to the kitchen sink, turn on the faucet, and clean drinking water comes pouring out whenever I please. Same goes for the bathroom sink. Heck, I could even drink the water that comes out of the shower head. I literally bathe myself in drinking water while some people would kill for a weekly ration. It truly is amazing how much I have been afforded in this life. And that's largely what this journey is about—realizing just how much I have and how much I have to be grateful for.


(Cup of cold water, Gunnar Pippel / Shutterstock.com)

So as I sit here, glass of clean water by my side, I am grateful for the access I have—and the access my family and friends have—to this incredible chemical concoction that is H2O. Thank you for nourishing my body and mind and for allowing my cells and organs to do what they need to to keep me going. It pains me to think of others who do not have this access and whose bodies nonetheless require the same H2O that mine does. I hope someday we can come up with a creative and practical solution to the issue of having universally-available clean drinking water. This is a fundamental human need and no one deserves to go through life unsure of whether or not she or he will have enough of it.