You might recall from my last post, my direction to be "In and of the water." I really did love the poetic sound of that statement, which became a mantra in my head that has yet to leave. I love the sound and suggestion of it, reminding me of things both spiritual and elemental, reminding me to be grounded and cool-- a balance definitely needed for my normally up-in-the-air fiery self. I enjoyed the week or so between my first hearing that and my self-imposed Lick Creek baptism, in which I felt an almost physical pull to stop my car at every creek and plunge myself into the babbling water, regardless of how questionably dirty and snake ridden that water might be. By every "eastern medicine" account, I am an earth-fire-air girl, with almost no water in my make-up. This philosophy has born out in real life, as I almost never get thirsty, almost never sweat, and am a little catlike in my avoidance of anything bath or shower related. (Yes, I clean myself, but having to get wet is a battle of will every time). So this new draw to the water was a refreshing shift for me, and the words made it feel like a sacred call, which added an enjoyable tinge of drama to my sudden need for creek dunking.
Certainly, my pull toward this cleansing ritual was born in me for a reason, and answered some need that existed inside myself. I can't tell you the relief I felt when I finally did immerse myself in a naturally flowing waterway, and the one I hold most dear at that! Upon returning 100 miles to home that baptism evening, I pulled out of the closet a painting I'd done years ago, a 5x7 foot watercolor of myself wading into that very same creek, that I had then called "Baptism," and that had been rolled up and collecting dust for some time. I've posted it above so that you can see what I saw. My hair that day was braided just as I'd painted it, and of course I was wearing the same outfit which was nothing at all, the only thing one is expected to wear at Lick Creek :). One could say that my soul foresaw years ago just such a day as the one I'd just had, or that my mind had latched on to something I'd dreamt up as a younger girl and finally acted on it. Either way the result was the same, it was exactly what I needed.
It was also, I think, the least of what I was supposed to get from this new focus on water. The truth is, spiritual enlightenment and satiation aside, I really don't get thirst or sweat, and I am pretty sure that I am walking (or maybe staggaring a little) through my life in a constant state of dehydration. This isn't great on any given day, and it's something I've been aware of but uninterested in for years, but as a woman now growing another human life, I am responsible on a much higher level to nourish myself and this new person, and that includes a lot of water. My doctor has already impressed this upon me, as has my midwife, my husband, and my more persistant friends. In fact my midwife, in growing frustration with my tell-tale dry skin, made me hold a two liter body of water and informed me that this is how much more blood I am going to have to generate out of thin air while pregnant. And what is all that blood made of if not extra water? If I want a healthy, happy pregnancy and home birth, as opposed to a brightly lit unpleasant hospital experience, I'd better start sucking down the water. For that matter, if I want a healthy baby and a happy life of my own, learning to take in liquid is a really good cornerstone to start with.
So, do you think all this logic got me to drink more? Nope. It got me to want to, and to feel guilty about not doing it, but I just wasn't going to think myself into thirst. I tried to drink more but I felt choked up and waterlogged with the effort, which sometimes led to drinking even less! And then the phrase crept back into my consciousness-- "Be in the water, and of the water." I'd checked it off my list after swimming in a creek, as if any command from the Universe might be that easily achieved and dismissed! I may have been told to go into the water, to cleanse and refresh and metaphorically come out new, sure, but the work part of it was just beginning, and I couldn't ignore the message any longer. My big answer that I'd gone seeking from creation was clear: "Hey Jesse. Drink your water."
And since apparently mantras from the sky are much more effective motivators for me than perfectly sensible medical advice, that finally kicked me into gear, and my friends and midwife are happy. I feel better too! Still, drinking is something I have to do consciously, so I've taught myself some helpful "water recipes" to keep my beverages appealing and to keep me coming back for more. For all my friends lectures, I notice that they don't drink much water either, since I'm not counting tea and soda in the water category, and since some good H2O is elementally important to all of us, I'm sharing my water jazzer-uppers with the world! I recommend them all as both healthy and tasty, so feel free to try each one and enjoy-- let's be hydrated, people!
Picture 1: This is perhaps my favorite "enhanced" water. Introduced to me by Ms Marla Bird, though I should have noticed other hippies drinking it for years, it's a sort of home-made vastly superior version of Gatorade. It tastes great, and is super nourishing and extra hydrating, so this is usually the first jar of water I drink in the morning to point the rest of my day in a good direction. In this 2 quart jar that I drink all my water in (reminds and encourages me to keep drinking!) I add:
1 squeezed half lime, 1 pinch of salt, and 1 Tbs of sorghum or real maple syrup. I am currently using syrup tapped from Marla's trees on her farm in the deep Ozark woods, because it is the yummiest stuff ever, and because I love the idea that my grown baby is therefore physically made of my friend's tree sap. :)
Picture 2: Most embarrassing of my water beverages, I'll admit to this one next since it involves actual store-bought Gatorade, which has inferior sweeteners and dye in it, but which I occasionally crave anyway. A friend of mine used to put the Gatorade's at the store next to the toxic products they looked just like (anti-freeze, for example) to point out to shoppers how unnatural the beverage is, so yes, I am aware of the irony here, and yes, I highly recommend the first beverage to this one. That said, I think of this as my junk-food water, and when I want something quick, easy, and appealing, I opt for this. It's basically 1/4 Gatorade (I do at least avoid the ones with the red dye, for what it's worth), and 3/4 filtered water. Always filter your water, avoiding as much of the chemicals, fluoride, chlorine, and other people's prescription drugs as possible!
Picture 3: Keepin' it fresh with Chlorophyll! This one I've done my whole life, since my mom drank it though all her pregnancies on the advice of her midwives, and now I'm drinking it again on the advice of mine. Chlorophyll is a cleanser, keeping your blood happy and healthy. It is also a dark green food, meaning it's high in iron which is great for women in general and extra great for pregnancy, since it is a great support for anemia. And since it's an iron source that comes from food rather than a capsule, it isn't constipating! Plus, it tastes all fresh and green and delicious! This is a jar of water with 2 Tbs. of chlorophyll-- drink one a day!
Picture 4: Coconut-Orange-Shake! So nourishing, so yummy, such a treat. It's 1/4 can of coconut milk, 1 cup of orange juice, and the rest of the jar filled with sparkling water. I never get tired of this one, it's a treat!
Picture 5: Cranberry juice and water, a tart treat for the girl with the questionable urinary tract! This one is more medicinal so I don't drink it all the time, but I do like its tangy zing, so it's nice to add into the mix sometimes. Cranberry is perfect for UTI's, so if you tend toward them, it's great for that, and if you like something slightly sour, its great for that too! Just remember that we're talking pure cranberry juice, fresh or from concentrate (I use a bottle of concentrate that I keep in the fridge), NOT the kind from the store with extra words attached like "drink" or "cocktail." If your cranberry "juice" has other juices or sugar in it, it is doing more harm to your urinary tract than good. This picture is a mix of a full jar of filtered water and 2 Tbs. concentrated cranberry juice.
Picture 6: Emergen-C, my fix-all for draggy days. Feeling tired? Emergen-C. Coming down with something? Emergen-C. Weather changing? Emergen-C. It's 1,000 mg of Vitamin C, coupled with plenty of other nourishing good things, and I swear by it for everything from slow starting mornings to the biggest monster colds. Also, it comes in a cute little convenient package that just pours right into your water jar easy as pie and tastes so good I'd just drink it every day for fun if it didn't have slightly diuretic qualities when consumed that often! This is one jar of water and one packet of Emergen-C. The pictured flavor is citrus, but it comes in all kinds of great flavor variations, so pick the one you like and boost up your immune system-- yum!
Picture 7: Pure indulgence, almost too pricey to justify (but I still manage to do so), super hydrating, and the thing I am currently addicted to-- Coconut Water! Completely different than the coconut milk concoction I was advocating earlier, coconut water is bought by the jar or pop-open can at your local grocery or health food store, and is super hydrating and nourishing. (Try a little googling of the benefits of coconut sometime to see why I tout its goodness so much). If I could afford it I'd suck down one of these per day, but at around 2.50 a can, I try to only give in to my cravings every other day or two. You'll notice that I've selected the kind with the pulp included, this is not a health choice, and the non-pulp kind is always sitting right there on the shelf next to it, but it's really the little bites of coconut that I'm going for. Maybe it's my aversion to drinking rearing its ugly head again, but any drink I can chew on is the best in my opinion! If you've got a little spare change burning a hole in your pocket and want to be nice to your body, skip the Starbucks one morning and pick yourself up a coconut water-- your mouth and your body will thank you!
If we are what we eat, then in creating our own best lives, a conscious effort to build up our bodies with good food and beverages is a great starting point for every hand made life. So as it was put to me I will reflect it outward and say, let's all be in the water and of the water! Yay for H2O!
