This is the lament of sailors from a time when they had no fresh water on board their ships and were surrounded by salty seas.
The dreadful reality is that we're fast approaching a time when we will have little water anywhere and not a drop to drink, because of pollution and wasteful practices. There are already fresh water shortages in many parts of the world. There are predictions that wars will be waged over water in the very near future, just as they are now waged over oil. While these issues are bigger than most of us, we can still do our part to conserve water and to drink the purest cleanest water we can and appreciate what we have, especially in the western world.
Surprising numbers of people just don't drink water. Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau said "We forget the water cycle and the life cycle are one." Of course he was right. When I ask people how much water they drink I'm often told that they get their water in tea, or coffee, or juice, or from the melted ice in their vodka tonic. In our house we have a pitcher in the fridge that filters tap water and a water cooler in the kitchen that dispenses ice cold water on demand. We encourage the children in our family to drink water regularly and we adults drink 6 or 7 large glasses a day.
Two weeks ago we hired a company to cut down a tree in our front yard whose roots were threatening the foundation of our house. One of the workmen asked for a glass of water. I brought him one from our new filter pitcher, bragging "This will be the best water you've ever tasted!"
"Why?" he answered. "Does it have beer in it?"
Enough said! Laugh and be well!
No comments:
Post a Comment