July 31, 2016

This afternoon as the murmur of other campers filled the heavy humid summer air, I leaned back in the rickety weathered plastic chair and watched my girls squeal and play in the KOA pool. Growing up on a farm, it was such a luxury to swim in a crystal blue swimming pool. Across the alfalfa field and through a pasture was a small creek. My brother and I spent countless hours poking at crayfish in the murky water and piling up slippery rocks to create dams or bridges. But swimming was reserved for trips to the municipal city pool in town or family vacations with hotel pools.

I have an unusual connection with water of any kind…..pools, oceans, rivers, ponds, even raindrops and puddles. There is something about it that draws me in and beckons me. I often joke that I was born to be a mermaid but got distracted and became a teacher. So, the educator in me loves quotes of all kinds and subjects including the hundreds that I poured over today about water.

These were some of my favorites:

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
~ Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

“The emotional states are liberated inside water, we calm down emotionally, we become more sensitive, we are able to “touch” deeper ourselves and other beings. Empathy is echoing back to us giving subtle vibrations from the realm of the senses. Find your water ~”
~ Grigoris Deoudis

Without the wetness of your love, the fragrance of your water, or the trickling sounds of your voice ― I shall always feel thirsty.”
~ Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“For me,
you are fresh water
that falls from trees
when it has stopped raining. For me,
you are cinnamon that lingers
on the tongue and gives
bitter words
sweetening.
For me, you are the scent of
violins and vision
of valleys
smiling.
And still,
for me, your loveliness never ends.
It traverses
the world
and finds its
way back to me.
Only
me.”
~ Kamand Kojouri

We are all swimmers before the dawn of oxygen and earth. We all carry the memory of that breathable blue past.”
~ Lidia Yuknavitch, The Chronology of Water

Just take my hand, lead, dance with me…and I will simply follow the blueness of the water, the white waves rolling free…where the earth beneath my feet and stars make my heart whole again…in long and priceless moments of shared solitude…”
~ Oksana Rus

How I wish I was like the water,
Flowing so freely with every drop
Let my every emotion wonder,
No need to start, nor even stop
How I wish I was like the fire,
Burning with every flame up
Leaving a trace of hot desire
As a Phoenix raises its’ wings up
How I wish I was like the earth,
Raising each flower from the ground
Seeing the beauty of death and birth
And then returning to the ground
How I wish I was like the wind,
Hearing each whisper, sound and thought
A lonesome and wandering little wind,
Shattering all that has been sought
Oh, how I wish I was where you are,
Not separated by empty space, so far
It seems like we’re galaxies apart,
But we find hope within our heart
And how I wish I was all of the above,
So I can come below and yet forget,
The beauty of angels which come down like a dove
And demons who love with no regret.”
~ Virgil Kalyana Mittata Iordache