“What if water wasn’t just a chemical substance, but alive, a being with agency in its own right? Surely an absurd proposition from the perspective of materialism, which believes only those with big brains can feel and think – but many cultural traditions and even some researchers suggest otherwise.”
This past week has been a meteorological roller coaster... a sunny, blue bird, 71° F Wednesday quickly transformed to 28° F Thursday morning with wildly blowing snow. Unstable spring weather is expected, of course, but this seems extreme even for Central NY.
So I've been thinking about the seasons changing, about climate changing, about snow melting and water flowing and mud and soil and vegetation and infiltration...
All this thinking might also be due in part because I hosted an online screening of the film, Water Is Love: Ripples of Regeneration. The film tells inspiring stories about the transformative power of ecological regeneration from around the world, showing why we need to focus on restoring water cycles as we respond to climate change. March 22 happens to be World Water Day and the filmmakers have made it available to stream here. Feel free to share.
For all the landscape architecture folks that are looking for more tech, I suggest additionally checking out this Kongian Yu talk which serendipitously has the same underlying message as the film.
He recently was awarded the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize for his "Sponge Cities." The talk is offered on demand (through PlayCore) and you have to register, but it's worth the hassle and you can get free PDH credits.
So all this has got me thinking…
How we relate to Earth is a reflection of how we relate to ourselves, our bodies and one another. What if water’s flows could communicate wisdom and offer us guidance? Maybe we should be asking, “What does water want?”