WATER AND WELLBEING
“When I am near water I want to peer over it and drop a small rock so it makes concentric circles that expand away while looking at my reflection and enjoying the nice relaxing sound of water” Sapphire, Global Gneration Fellow
“A Woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretence and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself.” - Maya Angelou
Water is life for humans, animals and plants. Without it we can’t live. Over 70% of water runs through the earth and 60% of water runs through our bodies. Water is not only necessary for our physical health and the physical health of the planet, but also for our minds and wellbeing. Water is healing.
Since the beginning of time, water has symbolised regeneration, fertility, purification, and transformation. Across the globe, people have revered water and used it in rituals of purification, blessing, and connection to nature. Ancient Egyptians and the Greeks used bathing rituals to help cure physical ailments, while Native American tribes believe in the purifying power of sweat lodges. Ritual washing is important across most religious traditions, such as Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and more. We all know and can feel that just spending time around rivers, lakes, and ocean banks has a relaxing effect on our mind and body.
As part of our Voices of the Water project, we have worked with people of all backgrounds and ages to explore the healing benefits of water, alongside and interconnected with the cultural stories and importance of water in our climate changed world. Local children who came to the garden as part of our summer club took part in water moon rituals with intentions for the world, young fellows recorded the sounds of water from the canal and created ceramic bird feeders based on the sounds and with a group of women through Hopscotch, we explored memories of water from their homeland of Bangladesh, which led to stories told and songs sung, tapestries weaved and swimming trips to the Hampstead swimming ponds to immerse ourselves in water.
Notes from the Garden
I wake to a bright crisp winter’s day. Finally … after weeks of storms ravaging the country.
As the year ends we are reminded of the magic and beauty that our gardens bring, as places to come together and celebrate, even in difficult times. This year it has been challenging not to be taken over by fear and despair, with extreme weather events being mirrored in different ways across the world, from floods to droughts; with the most recent political events; with wars destroying land and displacing entire populations; and with the constant increase in the cost of living creating ever more inequalities between those that have and those that do not.