Its only water

The water lines to our cabin froze.
Amazing how losing a simple convenience will rock your level of awareness.
For a week I have been remembering - remembering how quickly I forget. I feel like a child.. embarrassed by my own naivety. I feel like a child that hasn't realized the abundance of beautiful yet; I'm fascinated with a single raindrop... when there is an entire deep blue ocean right behind me. Its only water. It is only water..
Its the simplest of comforts; those silent, seemingly uncomplicated rhythms that become so effortless I take them completely for granted.


To drink or wash, my brother and father and I have been carrying buckets of water from an outlet about 300 yards from the cabin. It takes time, it is slow, it is hard work - but it is exactly what I needed. Awareness. It has put balance back into my equation; reminded me of the gorgeous pieces of life that seem so insignificant at first glance.
I poured myself a glass - the sound that water makes is so soothing. Instead of simply drinking.. I held it gently between my palms and stared into the cool blue. watching ice bubbles float to the surface.. watching the tiny crystals dance and swirl like magic.. I began to realize the magnificence of it, the sacredness - it was suddenly extraordinary in a way which I have never known. As if I was looking into the soul of liquid - seeing it for the first time, seeing it with open eyes - fascinated eyes. It was like meeting an intimate friend again.. a friend I had forgotten about entirely.
Its only water.
It is everything; Our desire to find awareness in the simplest parts of our lives. The way we notice each time we take a drink.. the way we notice our steps when we walk.. the way we notice sunshine on our skin.. the way we notice the delicate, and the ordinary, and the unquestioned. There are a thousand blessings each day that I overlook, because I already expect them.

Lose my expectations, lose my cleverness, lose my distracted eyes.
It is only water, until it is gone... then it becomes so much more than that.. it becomes a reason, a pursuit, a thought.





(Andrew Tipton)