For a lot of us, overlooking water as a crucial resource is commonplace and its availability to us is often taken for granted. In other places around the world, having water readily available could mean saving millions of lives and increasing productive growth for a nation’s economy. As we sit comfortably in our own homes using and consuming as much water as we’d like without threatening an entire nation’s supply, we think to ourselves, does this problem really apply to us? Honestly, it does.
The first step to change is awareness to the problems and familiarizing ourselves with the realities that people other than ourselves share. Whether influencing those ways of thinking comes from a commercial on T.V., a documentary displaying the realities of those lives, or from a published text, we become more aware at the end of the day about lives completely different from ours. Living in our own bubbles and staying there, as comfortable as it may be, does not ignite change for parts of the world that need it the most. That’s why contemplative practices are so crucial for igniting the spark in tying what we learn to those realities we don’t share.
With contemplative practices on water, I’ve come to understand the importance of integrating that new-found knowledge into my everyday life. I think often of the water I’m drinking, where I get it from, and how much privilege I have in my own bubble compared to millions of others. While contemplative practices alone aren’t enough to ignite the change, they certainly offer motivation towards the next step: action.
These influences alone regardless of medium have enough power to make us influencers in the change that needs to happen. The video below is a visual representation on the water crisis which complements the importance of information through our contemplative practices.
Hi Cindy, I’ve often reflected on this topic myself. We are so fortunate to have access to running water basically 24/7, and that we don’t need to be constantly conscious of our usage. I know for instance that the average shower an American take uses around 17 gallons of water needlessly, when there are much more resource efficient options for us out there. I also agree that there is a lot we can do to be more intentional about water usage in our own lives, by cutting down on our own personal footprint. One of the things I like most about your post is calling attention to the relevance and importance of contemplative practices like these that expose us to new or forgotten realities that may not be our own. I truly do hope that in the coming years we as a society become more conscious of these issues and take concrete steps to address them.
Cindy, I really enjoyed reading your piece, as this issue is so pertinent around the globe, but somehow goes unrecognized in our country and other developed countries. I also think it’s interesting that we’re so far removed from it despite the fact that there are still communities in our own country that don’t have clean water, like Flint, Michigan. I think that contemplative practices are an important step in raising awareness about the situation, but, like you said, are not enough on their own. I also thought your video was very helpful and informative, but it’s important to consider the fact that this issue still affects many in this country, and it’s much more prevalent here than we would like to think.