Sunday morning I woke up feeling depleted and needing to recharge my energy. In the past, when I’ve been tired or out of balance in my life, water has soothed my frazzled senses, filling me up again and helping me find my way back to my self.
Once more, water called. So I drove to the Big Sioux Recreation Area and went for a walk on the Valley of the Giants Trail, named for the grandmother and grandfather cottonwood trees growing along the river.
The beginning of the trail wound along the ridge overlooking the river, then cut down to the water and followed the bank. The mud flats displayed a variety of animal tracks. Unmistakable signs of raccoon, deer, coyote, wild turkey converged at the river, reminding me of the importance of water to all creatures. We come together in our need for water, the source of life.
Humans need water not just for our physical well-being, but also our emotional and spiritual health.
Water has meant so much to me on my healing journey. It brought me in touch with the ancestral legacy of grief in my motherline. It helped me access my own emotions, calling to me as gently and as persistently as the current lapping against the shore.
Some of my biggest leaps of intuition have come while doing the dishes, hands immersed in water, and while showering, body reveling in the spray of water.
One spring while walking along the thawing Baraboo River, a big ice floe hit a rock in front of me and broke into many smaller pieces. At the same moment, the solid mass of petrified anxiety in my chest shifted and released, freeing me to open my heart in forgiveness and love.
And today, water reminded me to be gentle with myself, to go at a comfortable pace, to relax into my being and enjoy this time with my mother.
What healing energy does water hold for you?