Wash your worries away

© David Stewart

There’s something relaxing about getting lost in nature. It is tremendously soothing to allow your mind to wander off, to stop perplexing over routine daily life problems, and merely enjoy the moment of all that the outdoors has to offer.

Water helps. The trickling of it calms your nerves, and the endless flow is actually better than any anti-depressant or tranquiliser.

Waterfalls are the best at this. They offer a combination of sight and sound, and if you’re bold enough, you can even dive into them to wash your worries away.

Just don’t take it so literally, and drown instead.

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Drops of us

Water is the driving force of life. It is a known fact. Everything is composed of water in some form. Water and man made the planet as we know it today.

Perhaps that is why water is so powerful.

Why we turn to water in every form of it, seeking comfort, consolation, contentment.

Be it in a walk in a park with a water fountain, an excursion to high waterfalls, a playful day in the snow, a hot shower after a long and tiring day, water helps us regroup ourselves.

Perhaps most importantly, water is associated with emotion. It helps us with all stages of grief (a hot tea, a warm bath), of thirst (a cold drink, an ice cream), and it helps us heal, by reinforcing the sentiment of joy that is integral for our wellbeing. Water helps us rekindle our happiness, for without it –without that feeling of euphoria – we disintegrate and evaporate. Just like the water cycle that maintains life.

Water is a part of us. That is why we rejoice in seeing it around us, because it reminds us of a purity and authenticity that we lost. Because it proves that no matter how soft or fluid, it can patiently and persistently cut through hard rocks or form new paths to move forward.

Magic waterfalls

©Dale Rogerson

“Look”. She saw his hand rise and point to the source of that calming sound they were hearing a while now. It was still the beginning of winter and the water was flowing rapidly.

She always loved that sound it makes. She found it stole your troubles and drowned them into its soothing flow.

“Listen”. She said. They stood mesmerised with the sunrays bathing their faces. It was a welcome touch in that cold morning.

Whatever happened, waterfalls had a magical way of making everything better. And of bringing them closer together.

Water, after all, is the source of life.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

The trickling of drops

©MCD

Parks – all kind of them: theme parks, amusement parks etc. – all have something that always catches your eye, to the extent that you are left staring mesmerised: water fountains. They have often huge areas where water sprinkles in various shapes, forms, rhythms and intensity, resulting in a spectacle that thrills and excites.

Water is the source of life. 90% of our body weight comes from water. More specifically, 70% of the human body (and about 70% of Earth) is water, while it also comprises 31% of our bones.

We need water to survive. That’s how important it is.

Water is an integral part of our lives. Yet, it is constantly something that enthrals us: we love looking at water – in rivers, springs, lakes, seas – because it calms us down.

As this fascinating article explains, “The immeasurable sense of peace that we feel around water is what Wallace J. Nichols (a marine biologist) calls our “blue mind”—a chance to escape the hyper-connected, over-stimulated state of modern day life, in favor of a rare moment of solitude”.

Moreover, “More recent studies—including those out of a UK-based project called Blue Gym—have found that people who live near the coasts are generally healthier and happier. Other studies find that when shown photographs of natural green spaces, people’s stress levels drop, but the more blue spaces in the photos, the more people prefer them”.

Water is believed to be the most powerful force on earth: either calm or turbulent, its mood swings are something that captures even the most agitated spectator. Water relaxes us. It helps us unravel during our most neurotic of times, it is therapeutic to our moods and, thus, vital to our existence in more ways than we can imagine.

Tracing fire

It all begins at the head. Most things do. It is the source of everything. The thoughts, the images, the fantasies, the emotions. And when something like that sticks to it, especially on a sizzling summer day, everything simply heats up even faster.

It forms on the sidebars of your forehead. It appears without you even knowing it. You never even realise it is there until it starts to move so slowly you can barely feel it. It trickles down your cheek, caressing your neck like a silken scarf. It tickles your shoulders as it continues to seduce its way below, licking every inch of your burning body. It rages on its downward path, tracing fire as your body burns, ready to explode. By the time it embraces your legs it is has almost disappeared, evaporated in the mist of your vigor.

And you are left steaming under the scorching temperatures, wondering how a single drop of water can have such a powerful effect on your entire being. The greatest things, perhaps do indeed come in the smallest packages…

Things to do with a bucket

A bucket is a very useful object to have. Mainly because it is light and very useful for a range of things. Here are some ideas:

1)      You can kick the bucket – but you don’t want to do that metaphorically – literally, however, you may consider it, especially if at the receiving end there is something (or someone) that will help you vent out your anger, given that you still haven’t obtained that punch bag we were talking about.

2)      You can always fill the bucket with water and leave it on the edge of your window/balcony. The ‘woosh’ as it falls and the water splashing out into the air as it hits the ground (hopefully not any passer-by) is priceless.

3)      You can always use it for what it was initially meant to be used for – that is to fill up with water to be used for things such as cleaning. Just don’t forget the mop, otherwise it’s not much use.

4)      You can loan it to a circus. Buckets are a big part of clown acts. You know, one clown steps into the bucket of (usually) paint, and gets stuck, the other climbs a ladder and drops another similar bucket on the head of the other clown, and so forth – you get the picture.

5)      You can use it as a basin to contain the water leaking from a broken pipe or a hole in the ceiling that causes your apartment / house to obtain its own little puddle, as those responsible procrastinate in ever fixing the problem.

6)      You can use it as a prop in an animated version of the catchy-song between Henry and Lisa – but you might want to open a hole in it first, so as to match the theme.

7)      You can use it to create your own “bucket list” – it is simple: create any list and place it inside the bucket. There you go!

There are many things to do with a bucket – some even involve tearing it apart and using the pieces for e.g. ornaments, etc. – all you need is some imagination!

Sparkles and bangs

It is truly surprising how much you can learn of a place from its people’s everyday habits, like their food and drink. In Bavaria in particular, everyone knows that beer is drunk like water. It is like that quote from Cocktail where barman Doug told the inexperienced Brian that “Beer is for breakfast around here, drink or be gone.” That is exactly how a first-timer feels in Bavaria. In fact, in Munich, the beer capital of the world and home of the Oktoberfest, beer often costs less than water. And the smallest beer you can get (at least without being laughed at) is a half-litre glass. Beer here is drunk from the late mornings to the early hours of the next day. It truly is gulped down more easily than water, a liquid which is hard to find in a large bottle and costs up to even twice as much! For some strange and yet to be found reason.

But as the New Year approaches, champagne is in order. The bubbly alcohol is the best way to start the New Year with a bang. And the popping of the cork is an excellent accompaniment to the sparkles and bursts of the fireworks that will fill the night sky.
So raise your glass (whatever it may be filled with) and make a wish that this New Year will be 2014 and more times better than the last!

Happy New Year!

Glückliches Neues Jahr!

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Bonne Année!

Καλή Χρονιά!