"Water is Life"

"Water is Life.". I stood reading the words on a blackboard display in the middle of Marymoore Park in Redmond, Washington. I was visiting the Seattle area on this particular weekend. I had just spent a marvelous day watching the musical, " Wicked," at the Paramount theatre in Seattle. This event was a year in the making. My Hubby and I coordinated a group to see the show one year ago, and now the day finally arrived. It was everything I had hoped it would be. A couple days later, he was spending the day with his mother, and I was sleeping over at my parents. My mom had arranged for us to go to the Redmond Derby Days at Marymoor Park that evening. None of us were really up for any of the rides. We played a few Carnival games and ate dinner while listening to a live salsa band. I got up to dance with my sister. We had some fun - just letting go for one moment. While walking around the park, we came across the board which stated Water is _____________ .  It was a campaign for promoting clean drinking water as well as water conservation.  Each of us ran to fill in the blanks on the board. I knew this was my sister's passion. She, a previous Peace Corps volunteer had started building a clean water system for people in Uganda, among other things. Ironically, she got sick due to the toxins in the water and had to cut her Peace Corps assignment short. But, she continued her efforts from abroad through continued fundraising efforts associated with an agency she created called Empowering Dignity in Girls Everywhere (EDGE). Of course, my sister wrote the website of her agency on this blackboard in the middle of the park. I wrote something about the right for all humans to drink clean water without fear of sickness. Water really is a necessity of life. We need it to survive. And, it is not right that some of us have to be worried about the water we consume.  

This moment in time made me think a lot about privilege. Water, supposedly a natural resource, is actually a privilege. It is sad but true. I am not sure whether I should be ashamed or not about something I said to my sister at dinner on the night in question. We were sitting on the grass without a blanket. I was getting paranoid about dirt and bugs. I stated, at least I have bottled water.”  My sister just looked at me and laughed. She commented that she could not worry about such things after living in Uganda. I adamantly stated, "I will never drink water that is not filtered first ." It was then that she looked at me with surprise and stated, "Really?" I could almost hear her thoughts - "The difference been first world and third world problems."

I live in California. The air quality is not great. It is very hot, and we've had a drought for a long time. They say that we should take shorter showers, turn the faucet off after rinsing our hands, and be sparing with how much water we actually use daily. In restaurants, they don’t give us water unless we actually order it. All of this is in the name of water conservation.  I find all of this very difficult to observe. I like my long, hot showers! Likewise, I can't imagine not leaving my house without my water bottle by my side. Yes, I filter my water. Yes, I even give filtered water to my dog! I am beginning to realize how privileged I am. I don't have to worry about where I will get my water. I don't have to walk miles to get my water. I don't have to be concerned that water will give me some incurable, or God forbid, fatal disease. I have every modern convenience to get myself clean water.

I came across a website called Compassion's Water for Life. I learned that 

• 800 million people around the world do not have safe, clean water to drink.
• Every week, 27,000 children die because of unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions.

As for Uganda, more than half of all residents do not have access to improved sanitation - sharing overcrowded pit latrines or practicing open defecation. As you can imagine, many are exposed to illness and a variety of health problems. It is absurd to think about.

But, I feel like a hypocrite. I actually don’t think about it. I turn on my water filter, pour myself a glass of clean water, and go on my merry way. It very rarely dawns on me that someone in Africa is drinking water that is filled with toxins and sewage. Again - another form of my  privilege, not only to drink clean water, but also not to think about it. And, this does not leave me with a very nice taste in my mouth.

What can I do? For one,  I can recognize my privilege. Rather than feel guilty for the luxuries I have, I can feel immense gratitude for the niceties I experience in life, including drinking clean water. Next, maybe I can do my part to conserve water. It is a valuable resource, after all. Lastly, I can remember that people in Third World countries are actually real, live human beings. They are parents with children. They are newborns completely dependent on their environment for the health and development. They are like you and me with hopes and dreams. They are communities that just want access and the basic necessities of life to survive. Basic necessities is a human right, is it not?

I am working on cultivating gratitude & compassion in my life, especially as it relates to the privileges I have.