APRIL

April is when we celebrate Mother Nature, Mother Earth and all Her creations and creatures. It is all about green growth and the April showers that nourishes it. 

When people think of the earth and of the terrestrial environment, they invariably associate it with the color green. But, as that famous photo of Plant Earth taken from space shows, this is a blue planet.

Earth is the only planet known to have water. It is, in fact, covered with water over nearly three-fourths of its surface. Oceans and rivers, ponds and streams, lakes and falls, glaciers and seas run like veins through a living body, carrying refreshment and nutrients to all its parts.

Water is widely seen as the bearer and preserver of life, coursing through all of nature as river, as rain, as dew, as sap, as blood, as sweat, as tears, as milk. Because water is such an essential element, it has come to stand for the origin of all life and its sacred renewal, the original sea at the beginning of time from which the whole world emerged.

We, being the children of this earth who is our mother, mimic its makeup in our own bodies, which are also comprised of close to three-fourths water. Before we are born, we are cradled in the belly of our creator for the better part of three-fourths of a year, suspended safely in an ocean-sac of fluid. Tethered like embryonic astronauts, tied to the source of our sustenance, each in our own saline universe. We even had gills like any other aquatic creatures.

Once we are born, and for as long as we shall live, we need to consume quantities of fresh water daily in order to maintain smooth functioning of our systems. Deprived of adequate water, we quickly become dehydrated — a state which we can survive for only a very few days. Without water, we die. We depend on it directly, drinking it for life. As do all other beings. Hence, our indirect dependence on the presence of water for the health, well being and abundance of the animals and plants, which we eat and wear— without which we could not live.

Despite the fact that our planet is awash in water, usable water is not necessarily readily available. A staggering 97% of Earth’s water is in the seas and marshes — way too salty to be potable. Or it is frozen solid, locked in ice. Fresh surface and ground water, replaceable only by rain, represents a tiny fraction, 2.5% of the world’s total water supply! It was not much of an exaggeration for Coleridge to write “Water, water, everywhere. Nor any drop to drink.”

If all the world’s water fit into a gallon jug, fresh water for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon. And that miniscule supply gets dirtier and more polluted every day. More than 2 billion people have no access to clean drinking water.

There comes a time when all good sons and daughters are called upon to care for their ailing Mother. Now is our time. Mother Earth, Mother Water are depending on our family of Humanity to come to the aid of our planet.
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Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.