The Gift of Water

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Gift of Water

In the previous 46 days leading up to Easter--more commonly known as Lent--I elected to drink nothing but water.  That is to say I DRANK nothing but water--I ate normally.  This was not exactly a way to improve my health, though I am sure skipping coffee, alcoholic beverages, sugar free sodas, etc. probably had a net positive effect on my health.  (I won't argue that there aren't health benefits to coffee and wine--they have been documented.)  My motivation was something much simpler and profound.

For years I have followed the music career of Christian rock/alternative band "Jars of Clay."  I was privileged and delighted to see them live and in person at the Alaska State Fair a few years ago.  It was there I learned of "Blood/Water Mission"  http://www.bloodwatermission.com/.  Basically it is a grass roots organization that helps some of the poorest villages in Africa provide clean drinking water in an effort to stem the tide of AIDS, as well as improve the health of the people.  Mostly they dig wells, but also provide small water pumps, and I imagine other services.  A startling fact that $1.00 will provide clean water for an African for one year inspired me to do presentations to the kids at my church about how a very small thing can make a very big difference in at least some parts of the world.

Last year my daughter and I gave up every beverage but water for two weeks--we drank nothing but TAP water.  (Bottled water takes a terrible toll on the environment.)  The money we saved from not purchasing other beverages we sent to the organization, which I will do with the money saved this year.  During the course of the 46 days of the "Forty Days of Water" fast this year I chose not to drink other beverages on the Sundays of Lent, which is technically allowed, since Sundays are not technically Lent.  It just seemed easier not to drink them but not because I am either righteous or stoic.  Honestly, it wasn't that difficult, though there were countless opportunities to turn down offers for other beverages, and most of the people around me simply forgot I was doing this.

While the initial intent was to raise money for Blood/Water Mission, what resulted for me was a keener awareness and appreciation for the gift of water, and how blessed we are in the United States to have clean, safe water literally at our fingertips when we turn on our kitchen or bathroom taps.  1 in 7 people throughout the world do not have this luxury.  In Alaska there seems to be an abundance of water as the state sports over a million lakes, thousands of glaciers, and a reliable snowpack that feeds countless mountain streams.  Anchorage's water has often won awards for the best tasting water in the country.

Interestingly enough, because I wasn't drinking any other beverages, I sometimes became dehydrated and failing to heed the sage advice to consume 8 glasses of water daily, would result in headaches which would most often be remedied by simply turning on the faucet.  It is something we take for granted, and so, by extension, we tend to waste this resource which will become more precious as the earth warms and population increases.  Wars for oil may one day become wars for water--a truly frightening thought.

In the recent past I usually took a daily shower.  Now, I try to take one every other day.  On cold Alaskan mornings I would often stay in the shower to warm and wake myself up.  Now, I usually play a short song on an ipod dock in my bathroom and try to finish before the song ends--which keeps the shower to about three minutes.  I have short hair so rinsing out shampoos and conditioners isn't much of a problem.  I also live in a small industrial type warehouse with excellent water pressure. The biggest use of water however is not baths or showers, but flush toilets.  A couple years ago our leaking toilet had to be replaced and we chose a low flow type which uses significantly less water.  While it has been difficult to implement the rule "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down", doing so even once in awhile can add up to significant water savings (and money saving as well!)  Another benefit of drinking lots of water--besides the obvious health benefits is that urine, being less concentrated, hardly colors the toilet bowl water at all, making it easier to allow it to "mellow."

So, will conserving water in a water abundant state like Alaska make any real difference in the world? I have to believe it will.  I learned from my husband  that we actually sell water to India, though I never found out in what form.  At one time our former governor Wally Hickel proposed floating large chunks of glaciers to California to provide that state with more water, though I don't think we are currently floating glaciers to India.  The day may come when we actually do so, but if the glaciers continue to melt, who knows.

As a person who has tried to lose weight in the past I am finding that simply not buying food I will not consume (despite my best intentions), such as large Costco sized quantities of fresh vegetables, saves me both money and the shame of throwing them away when they go uneaten.  Having a large freezer has been an excuse to hoard excess food, which too often goes to waste because of freezer burn or the unappetizing prospect of having to eat large quantities of one food because buying 10 boxes or bags of it on a "clearance price" was such a deal.  My goal is to eliminate the use of my freezer, or at least keep it unused and unplugged unless an abundant harvest at dipnetting time yields pounds and pounds of fresh salmon.

Becoming water aware during the "Forty Days of Water" campaign has increased my awareness of the overabundance of many things in my life--a closet crammed with excess clothing, a sewing trailer bulging with fabric, craft items, things too numerous to count or even acknowledge.  And so, as part of my S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H initiatives I have begun a slow and steady process to lessen not just my body clutter, but the clutter all around me.  Sometimes I dream of having the "Clean House" folks descend on my place and help me achieve this task in a week or so.  I know that isn't going to happen, but each day I strive to "lighten my load."  Today I am taking a few bags of gently used clothing to a resale shop and a few more to a thrift store.

And this all started with a simple glass of water.....

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Screw Guilt

It has been incredibly freeing to wake up in the morning and not have the anxiety of wondering how I am going to do, or not do, on my diet.  For years and years, I would wake up with a half-hearted prayer that I would eat sensibly, exercise, and stop snacking.  I generally went to bed at night berating myself for failing to do any of those things.  Once in a great while I was actually able to succeed with such goals but those days were rare.  While I may not have overeaten, I didn't often eat healthfully.

Today I had two meals at restaurants.  The first was at a burger place (Kriner's) and I ordered a cheeseburger with onion rings.  I ate exactly half of the burger because it is large and generally half is just about the right amount for me.  I left a few onion rings on the plate.  I was with my fifteen year old daughter who ordered the same burger with fries, and ate almost all of it.  She then went home and went to bed for a few hours.  By 6:00 I was just beginning to get hungry again and it was my oldest daughter's birthday.  She wanted a halibut sandwich from Captain Chuck's, which also happens to have the best onion rings in Anchorage.  So, I ate exactly one half of that sandwich, a few of the fries that came with it, and of course, those awesome onion rings.  I wasn't expecting to go out to dinner, as I was scheduled to lector at Holy Thursday mass, but I called the other lector and asked if she could do my part as it wasn't really necessary to have two lectors.

We came home and had a banana cream pie from Peggy's--a request for the birthday girl.  I ate a small piece and didn't eat the parts I don't like, the crust and most of the whipped cream.  I am full, satisfied, and not feeling a lick of guilt.  I am still drinking only water as part of my Lenten sacrifices and my original plan was to break my fast on Holy Thursday, but as I missed mass, I decided to wait until Easter Vigil.  I have even given up drinking Communion wine, and it is the thing with which I will break my fast.  This is important to me, and two more days of water will not be much of a sacrifice as tomorrow is Good Friday and we will be fasting (not eating between meals) anyway.  Saturday night is the Vigil, and I am looking forward to it.

I haven't been on the scale all week.  I generally weigh myself on Wednesday as I am part of an on-line weight loss group, but the scale is gathering dust, and I am thrilled about that. 

At this point I don't care if I lose any weight or not.  I just feel a little more sane because I am not beating myself up about every little bite of the "wrong food" that goes into my mouth.   All food is sacred, all is a gift of our Creator.  My abuse of it is nothing more than sin, and sin is "missing the mark."  I have been wondering--and this will sound silly--if Jesus ever had "food issues."  The very thought seems absurd, and the fact that it does is very telling.  I will share more of my musings on this at another time.  For now, it feels so wonderful just to feel peace abuot eating.  It's been a long time since that was so.

The Distraction of Busyness

One way to keep myself from overindulging in food is to keep busy.  Today, besides the general housework that is required daily, I chipped away at the excess clothes in my very large closet.  I decided to get my skirts out where I could see them as they are hidden behind other clothes.  I was amazed by how many I had, so I got rid of about half of them.  I kept wondering, what was I thinking when I bought these, these long, flowing, shapeless things, some of which were too small or too ugly to consider wearing. 

I imagine I am like a lot of women who have clothing ranging from the size they were several years ago, (or back in high school or college) to the size they are now.  I have a bad habit of buying clothes thinking I will lose weight and fit into them one day.  Even if I lost all the weight I have put on since those college days I still don't think I would wear much of what I thought I would "shrink" into.

It was hard to get started and even harder to look at the price tags still attached to several of them thinking how I could have put that money to better use.  So, for the time being, I am not buying any new clothes.  Frankly I don't need any, and when I have lost a few to several pounds I still have more than enough clothing in smaller sizes. 

I realize that the sheer volume of what I own necessitates a longer process than a couple of hours.  It will take a concerted, focused effort to get the closet to a manageable state, but today was just another of the first steps.  Last week I weeded out the dresses that I won't wear.  It feels good to get them out and to find things I thought were lost, things I do want to wear and can wear now.  Tomorrow I am off to the second hand consignment store to see if I can salvage a few dollars from the hundreds that I originally spent.  Of course some of the things will just go to a church run store because the consignment shops are a little pickier than "Goodwill" 

There have been books written about the clutter in our homes being related to the "clutter" on our bodies.  I am a firm believer that there is some kind of correlation, and if thinning out a closet leads to a thinning of my body, then I am all for it.

Explanations

The S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H. Initiatives are my continuing attempt to sanely address my ongoing issues of trying to attain a manageable state of optimum health through conscientious eating and regular exercise.  As a dropout from many, too many,  attempts to "lose weight" I have come to the conclusion that what supposedly "works" for others, is not going to work for me.  I have tried to keep food diaries, exercise logs, carb and fat counts, and have read book upon book about how best to do those things with little or no success.  I give up!

S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H. of course, is an acronym for Simple Tactics to Release Energy Needed for Gaining Total Health. and I am trademarking this right now, so that when I am successful (which I will be!) I can market this strategy, make millions and pay someone to cook for me, clean for me, and keep my newly toned body in shape, while I jet off to speaking engagements all over the world.

The emphasis is on simple.  What has always derailed me is the tediousness of keeping track of every bite that went into my mouth, every minute on the treadmill, the number of reps of any particular exercise and the constant fixation with the desire (and the continual failure) to lose weight--as if that had become one of my most important challenges in life.  My most important challenge in life is to live it with a new and deepened awareness, but that does not mean keeping records or measurements or searching for the next new thing that will promise me what has eluded me for so long.

So, out go the "diet" books, the food and body scales, the tape measures, the food diaries, the programs that probably would work if I would just follow them.  What comes in is my drawing from my own STRENGTH, my writing, my creative pursuits, my faith, my attention and my effort to live not just conscientiously, but consciously.

I know all I need to know to bring my body back to the state of harmony it was in when it wasn't forced to adapt to all the crazy things I put it through.  I will be guided by hunger, by fullness, by a need to move in ways that are enjoyable, by a need to eat foods that are tasty and good for me--not just physically, but emotionally (and so "forbidden" foods will be a small part of my diet--my true "diet" and not just some weight-loss plan)  I will be inspired by a promise to honor the body that produced and nourished five children, that continues to serve me in ways I could never count and which, amazingly, has not let me down in any way, but has worked more or less perfectly for 53 years.

So, don't expect recipes, strategies, ways to increase calorie burn, or to "cheat" on your diets with food substitutes, etc.  There are places ad nauseum you can go for such information.  But do expect some thoughtful reflection on how to live and eat consciously, with greater awareness and enjoyment.  I won't promise you anything, except to keep the posts as interesting as possible and to write daily.