Water. We’re made of the stuff.
I’m not a bath girl but since my Spin Off I’ve been immersing in Epsom salt baths to help with the inflammation to my quads. I’ve also been drinking more water than I think I’ve ever consumed in a single day in my life to flush the protein toxins from my kidneys. After my week of Rhabdomyolysis, I’m floating. Literally. My body is just a float; far from Diet Sodas or the caffeine of that afternoon Iced Tea or the morning mug of coffee. I’m one big bloat of H2O.
Did you know up to 60% of the human adult body is water. According to H.H. Mitchell, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%.
Each day humans must consume a certain amount of water to survive. Generally, an adult male needs about 3 liters per day while an adult female needs about 2.2 liters per day. Some of this water is absorbed through our food digestion. All this hydration serves a number of essential functions to keep us all going:
Water acts first as a building material in our cells and is a vital nutrient to cell life. Hydration regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration. The carbohydrates and proteins used as food are metabolized and transported by water through the bloodstream. Water also assists in flushing out waste through urination, forms saliva and lubricates our joints. Water also acts as a shock absorber for the brain and spinal cord and a growing fetus.
The water in you is critical for survival. And even though it seems I’ve overindulged in water, it’s the healing properties of water at work in my body that will restore my health.
The element of Water is creative and expressive, full of deep and symbolic Spiritual meaning. In her book Hiding in Plain Sight, Molly Wolf lists, “The water of life, the water of baptism, the water that cleanses and heals, the water that breaks down and destroys, the water that lifts us and floats us when we come aground, the water that churns and pounds us out of our complacency and into awareness; the water of swamps and sloughs and soggy despond; the roiling sea-ice powerfully sculpting a coast; soft groundwater, tenderly upwelling to green a barren landscape; the singing chuckle of a creek, the roar of a fall, the calm assurance of a great river, the crash of a sea swell, the quiet privacy of fog, rain washing or slashing or downpouring or falling gentle as a leaf; the soft healing, or bitter springing, or joyful welling of salt tears. . . . God be praised for the gift of water.”
“What is the scent of water?”
“Renewal. The goodness of God coming down like dew.”
― Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water
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