The Magic Powers of Water
By Jeffrey M. Bowen
The final test for beginning swimmers at Opechee Park was to
jump off the raft into deep water and then to swim over to me as I treaded
water about 10 feet away. All went well
until the last child, a five-year-old boy, jumped in and just disappeared. In a panic, I dove to the bottom and started
feeling around in the murkiness. No
luck. After a moment I glimpsed a shimmering
shadow suspended halfway between me and the surface. There he was! Still under water when I reached him, this
beginner seemed to be calmly looking all around.
Back on the raft, I blurted, “Are you OK? Why didn’t you swim to me?” Never will I forget what he said: “Oh I was just
looking at everything. It was really beautiful!”
This long-ago event reminds me how the neurological imprint
of certain emotions can last a lifetime.
I am not sure my brain chemicals ever returned to normal, but this
child’s simple observation left a profoundly positive mark on my psyche. It is all about water.
Step back and consider a much bigger picture. From millions of miles away, the world looks
like a big blue marble. It has been said
that instead of being called “earth”, our planet really should be named “ocean”
because the surface is at least 70 percent water. On a more personal level, our bodies are
about 60 percent water, and our brains are about 20 percent more than that, so
I guess we are fairly close to becoming watermelons! All that liquid is a tonic that courses
through every aspect of our lives.
I grew up around beautiful lakes and streams, and spent
every summer on the ocean. After years
of sometimes stressful city living, we purchased a rural New York home that
features a big pond we just love to look at.
Fortuitously, we are never far
from showers, a swimming pool, a hot tub, Lake Erie and many trout
streams. I am inspired by what I can do
with this ubiquitous substance – drink, wash, hear, smell, play, walk, swim, fish,
write about and photograph it.
Marine biologist and best-selling author Wallace Nichols has
summarized much of the research cited here.
He tells us what novelists, poets, painters, sailors, and, nowadays
cognitive neurologists, have understood all along. We adore water, not just because we must
swallow it to live, not just because the sound of it helps us sleep, but
because it makes us feel good. Nichols
calls this the Blue Mind – the title of his recent book.
Why do you suppose
about 80 percent of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of coastlines
of some kind? Why do at least 500
million people depend on water for their livelihood, while well over half the
world’s economy involves water? By no
coincidence, most communities find some way to connect themselves to water,
often a river, but maybe just fountains.
Waterfront property is disproportionately expensive because it is in
such high demand. Eons ago humans
evolved their way into existence by emerging from water. When we explore other planets, before all else
we look for water.
Neuroscientists confirm that certain parts of the brain
resonate to the emotional and physical magic of water. Whether found in lakes, streams, or the
ocean, usually it has a calming effect. As
a result, we tend to become happier, peaceful, more focused, less anxious and
more reflective than in virtually any other setting. The presence of water even surpasses the
calming effect of rural greenery.
Admittedly, fear of
water from a negative experience can override its many benefits. One shark attack can cause widespread
panic. It is scary that 95 percent of
the ocean bottoms remain unexplored. At
least half of our population never learns to swim, so understandably they shy
away from dipping into most bodies of water. Ruinous floods are unavoidable, and drought
confronts us as well. Climatically,
water or the lack thereof can spawn fear, chaos, and death.
Fortunately, water is
my friend. As a youngster, I spent hours
fishing with my dad on the lakes of New Hampshire. Later on, as a teenager, I lifeguarded and
taught swimming, including beginners. To
this day I enjoy swimming laps. Every
part of the body benefits from this exercise, yet it also works on the mind and
mood. The sight, smell, hearing, and
touch of immersion in a pool make floating or paddling around almost
meditative.
All those years ago,
a little beginner at Opechee Park instinctively knew this. When he told me what he saw, I never forgot.
