In Praise of Water

It’s everywhere around us.

It takes the shape of everything it surrounds.

It flows and it freezes and it rains and it snows.

It’s so common that we don’t mind spilling it.

Or letting it flow from the tap while we soap our hands or brush our teeth.

And once we wash in it, we throw it away without second thoughts.

We take it for granted.

But deprive us of it without warning, and we begin to feel uneasy.

Earlier this week, a pipe burst or someone bungled something between the water plant and me and there was no tap water for most of the day.

It happened without warning, and I wasn’t prepared for it.

I use a Brita water jug to filter tap water before drinking it.

My water jug was one glass full when I realized the taps were dry.

I didn’t have any other store of water ready.

When tap water is always there, you take it for granted.

One hour passed, two, three, six.

Evening fell and still no water.

I had to borrow a bottle of sparkling water.

I didn’t want to go to the supermarket to buy any.

I gave up the habit of buying bottled water a while ago—the less plastic we use, the better.

I wasn’t angry with anyone, something must have gone wrong somewhere.

But being deprived of water like that without warming reminded me how underrated water is.

We can manage without internet, without electricity, without heating.

We can live without food for days too, but without water, we can only survive for about four days.

Water is transparent, tasteless, odorless.

It provides no calories and no nutrients.

And yet it’s essential for all life forms that we know.

It covers 71% of the Earth’s surface.

Our bodies are around 60% water.

Our brains around 80%.

90% of plasma, the liquid part of blood, is water.

The best wine, the best juice, the best tea, is mostly water.

Your love is mostly water, too.

I’m getting thirsty from writing so much about water.

I will go now to pour myself a glass of water.

I’m going to drink it like I mean it.

I’m going to drink it like it’s an act of creation on which the whole of life depends.

Let’s drink water like we mean it.

Water’s too damn important for us not to enjoy every glass.