22nd March was designated World Water Day by the UN General Assembly over 20 years ago. Just a quick look at www.unwater.org will give you all manner of water-related information and statistics, particularly relating to the developing areas of the world.
So why am I writing a Thought for the Week about water? I think there is much to reflect on if only we stopped to realise how fortunate we are in the so-called developed world. Here are three examples:
Gratitude – yes, regular readers might think you’ve heard this before, and you’d be right. We so easily take water for granted, and we do the same in many other areas of our lives.
Expectations – you turn on the tap and expect water to come out. This happens to such an extent that we either get angry if no water comes out, or we find ourselves in a state of helplessness.
Life – water is central to life itself. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede was in the news recently because the Hubble space telescope detected an ocean of water beneath the moon’s surface. Questions about life on Ganymede immediately followed.
So take a moment to reflect when you turn on a tap today. But not for too long – you wouldn’t want to waste water!