Eco Tip: Our Unfolding and Fluid Relationship with Water

by Luann Brown, BVM

As I write this reflection, I am currently at Two Spiders Lodge in Hayward, Wis. It is my favorite place in the world, and I dream of being up here all year long. This year, my connection to water, which transitions continually from resource to something to be cared for to a living being with whom I have a relationship, has been swirling around in my mind and heart.

Water as a resource is a place for me to begin. As a child, I had a sense that the water flowing from the taps was infinite and there to quench my thirst and wash me. In the process of maturing, I learned that water is a finite resource that should be preserved; that access to water was unequally distributed among the world’s occupants.

At the Spiders, the lakes are for swimming, kayaking, canoeing, water-skiing, tubing, and, more recently, jet-skiing. In our younger years, some of the members of March Madness loved to water-ski and tube, creating a ruckus for both wildlife and humans. There is a limited time when boat and other watercraft can exceed 10 miles per hour, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There is ongoing tension between those who enjoy water sports and those who fish and appreciate the quiet beauty of the Northwoods. I am currently of the latter persuasion.

There has always been concern for the care of the lakes in North Country Wisconsin. Building codes along the water lines are strict, and there is a perpetual struggle to keep invasive species out of the lakes. Our friend, Sharon Manahan, regularly snorkels around the lake, relieving it of garbage carelessly tossed into the lake and rescuing small fish from aluminum caves in the process.

My connection to water has evolved into relationship over the years. In working with the Indigenous Quichua people of Ecuador, I learned that all of life is living and breathing. Water has a name: Yaku Mama (Mother Water). When I swim, I sense Yaku Mama’s tender embrace and I feel love.

My interaction with water is fluid, moving seamlessly from resource to care to relationship. As I connect with water on a daily basis, my relationship deepens.

Ponder  . . .
by Rose Mary Meyer

What is my relationship with water?

How has my attitude toward water changed through the years?

As I deepen my understanding of water, do I focus on the lives of other gifts in nature who also need water such as fresh sweet corn, flowers, animals, trees, fish, birds, and . . .

How often do I offer prayer and thanks to our Creating God for water so that creation might flourish?