Water.
So simple.
Un-spectacular and unpretentious.
Yet so
powerful.
It gives life literally to the earth and its inhabitants.
It
is the amniotic fluid, our pre-birth state.
As we go through life, it is our
cleansing friend.
It is also uniquely tranquil.
The sound of rain is the tonality which
people most prefer as a sleeping aid (according to a Google search):
Whether it's a rustling brook, or a majestic fountain; water creates a
personal island of serenity.
Water is so basic.
So pure.
Its so natural. Yet somehow beyond
nature.
In Torah, immersion in a pool of water known as the Mikvah is the
'conductor' which guides us from one spiritual stage to the next.
The High
Priest in the Holy Temple would immerse himself in a Mikvah between one stage of
the Yom Kippur service and the next [successively higher] one.
Women immerse themselves as part of their journey through life's cycles.
Men regularly use the Mikvah as part of a 'rebirthing' process; shedding one
level of personality as they aim for a higher one.
Perhaps conversion is the
most obvious transition, when the Mikvah-waters usher an individual and his/her
new identity into full blossom.
But why does water also serve as a metaphor for life's difficulties?
Why
do we speak even Scripturally of the 'rushing waters' which threaten to
extinguish my flickering flame of hope, or the ferocious tide which threatens to
knock me off balance?
How do I reconcile the Mikvahs serenity with the stuff of Noah's
flood?
But maybe that's just it.
The babbling brook tranquility is
precious; but it's also easy.
Life is about facing the raging tide; theres
no other way to access my lifes potential.
I just need to prepare myself.
When I am emotionally and spiritually cocooned, when I've found internal fortitude and focus, when I'm anchored to firm principles and vision .I can face the rushing waters.
So my contemplative prayer and study is my protective boat, my personal Ark.
I need that Ark every day;
When Im protected, the 'waters' can't drown me; they'll only lift me higher.
Welcome aboard.