Bodies Of Water

My first step toward making waves of transformation was a scary one. I listened to my heart pound every night like the rhythm of the waves crashing violently on the beach as I lay in bed anticipating my new life adventure and leaving behind my old life as a carpenter and a painter. I began to recognize through the years, that this feeling was my aliveness coming to get me like a swinging trapeze bar, according to Danaan Parry in Warriors of the Heart.

I had never been whitewater rafting before or been camping longer than a weekend but I loved nature. Now I was about to become a river guide and live out of my tent for the summer. Little did I know that I was about to take a huge vote for mother earth and myself. To the average person, I may seem like a ski bum, a river bum or the crazy water lady telling everyone to "hydrate your brain". Little did I know that one day I would be rowing my own 18ft raft down the heart of the Grand Canyon and navigating class five rapids. I am beginning to see that this wave I am making is building into a massive title wave.

Every time I washed a paint brush in the sink or I witnessed fellow workers pounding energy drinks as we all piled up unnecessary waste into the trash, I knew we were way out of alignment. I was often teased for eating carrots, picking the recycling and hardwoods out of the garbage bags or listening to audiobooks on personal development and health all day long. I felt that even if it took longer, when I could cut perfect paint lines and roll all of the walls there would be less plastic going in the landfills.

Fast forward 7 years, I have witnessed water transform through it’s many stages while operating chair lifts in the winter and navigating the snow runoff in the summers. In one day the snow can transform many times from fluffy powder during a blizzard to icy moguls and then to buttery sugar snow on a sunny day. The river can be raging in the valley flushing out trees and everything in its path while kayakers dance like butterflies on the crest of the waves. Later in the season she becomes playful, peaceful, technical and vibrating with energy nourishing all life she touches.

To really excel in these sports, I believe you must become an athlete. Otherwise your performance will suffer and our "bodies of water" will start to decline because you are either in growth or decay, which is what I believe we are witnessing on a widespread scale. Many of our inner and outer "bodies of water" have become polluted, overtaxed, stagnant and dehydrated. Our rivers are just as threatened as our health because we as a population have become disconnected.

Everything we put into our bodies goes down the drain and eventually ends up in the rivers which lead to the ocean. This is where it all begins. With each one of us. Much of the world has replaced water with soda, energy drinks, soda water, coffee, alcohol, etc. As a result of this, prescription drugs and disease are on the rise. Big companies go into small towns and take over the serene virgin streams. The rivers are prisoned and pinched off by dams and the water is pumped into plastic bottles being shipped around the world creating mass pollution. Factories take this living water and add corn syrup, sugar, carbonation and other chemicals to it. Then they sell it back to the population as we pump these acidic beverages into our water based organs and cells on a daily basis, creating an internal acidic environment which eventually ends up in the drains along with all of the cleaning chemicals, prescription drugs and even paint.

Years ago I chose to invest in a device to produce my own "living water" from my sink and become an ambassador for water on many levels. I educate others on and off the river about the value of water, health and nature. If people do not understand the extreme value of water in their own internal world, why would they care much about the external world?

These habits create havoc on our internal environment thus decreasing our ability to perform, think, feel and respond at an optimal level. As a result, these aluminum and plastic containers end up in our landfills and oceans, the world is sick and our drinking water has become polluted, dead water. Our rivers become prisoners and fatigue, depression and anxiety are on the rise which is a number one symptom of dehydration. Our bodies are begging for living water.

I personally have eliminated bottled water and greatly reduced my purchase of other bottled beverages. Through my water business and the families I have helped by teaching them to create clean, living water from their sink as well as my own, I have significantly reduced the amount of plastic bottles being purchased.

Based on the recommended daily water intake in 12months, 2 adults would throw away about 5,760 bottles and spend $4,320 if they are buying the cheapest cases of water from big box stores. Those numbers increase as the perceived quality of water increases. In the past 4 years doing this business I have helped educate well over 30 people who have replaced bottled water and reduced other bottled beverages. As a result in one year alone, 30 people would have used 172,800 bottles of water. In six years that would be 1,036,800 bottles of water more or less based on one gallon of water per day per person. For the average adult body weight, if they are not drinking that amount of water the body and organs are dehydrated resulting in a large list of symptoms. My numbers increase as I reach more people and teach my team to educate more people. Even pets are benefiting from this because most people will purchase expensive bottled water and give their pets polluted tap water. As a result, disease and medication in pets is also on the rise. How many wild animals in nature need to take medication? None that I know of. Now the whole family can drink clean, living water from the sink and eliminate the need to purchase bottles and cans from the store. And, I believe the more educated we are the more concious decisions we make about what we put down the drain and in our brain.

I have also been making my own disinfectant with this machine so I have eliminated 98% of cleaning products in my home. I use this water to make my own deodorant and mouthwash so there is even less containers I need to purchase. I read the labels on EVERYTHING I purchase and as a result I am not consuming artificial sweeteners, chemicals, dye and other additives in my body and my products which all eventually end up in the drain, drinking water and oceans. Whales, dolphins and fish cannot thrive on prescription drugs and caffeine.

I also purchase recycled or toilet paper alternative to trees. I carry my own large basket into the grocery store and as much as possible buy in organic bulk so I reduce the need and use of plastic bags and packaging. I recycle as much as I possibly can and the ski resort I work for ranked at 90% landfill free last year.

I am encouraging the outdoor adventure companies to apply these practices to their business as many adventure guide companies create mass waste after BBQ's, events, weddings and river trips. This often does not get recycled based on my experience and we are supposed to be advocates for the wild.

These are just a few of the ways I am making waves on our planet and it starts with my internal body of water. Because our external world is a reflection of our internal world.