“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” ~Chief Seattle
I made $200 over the last few days for charity:water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects. Every $1 invested in improved water access and sanitation yields an average of $12 in economic returns. So I improved the economy by helping to generate $2400 by simply playing my guitar and asking my friends to support my dream. I think Dr. King would be pleased to see his dream gaining another dimension.
It occurs to me that some people might consider this venture I’ve set out on as nothing more than a ploy to gain recognition for myself. While I can’t ignore the fact that I have always felt the appeal of the limelight and had visions of myself onstage, it is my hope that my integrity toward the cause and the small changes in the hearts of people I speak with, minds of people who share with me, the provisions for my brothers and sisters, and my continued seeking of connection with the Spirit which gives life to us all will overshadow whatever vanity my ego may entertain.
Although this is not an issue that I have given voice to before, it has been a running theme in much of what I have been writing about and learning to understand about the world. A few years ago, I somewhat inadvertently made a short film called Water, Bird, Plant, and Man. Not long after, on a trip to North Carolina, I felt the urge to start videotaping water. From the top of the mountains, there is a consistent flow that I followed all the way to Greenville, South Carolina. I don’t know why I started filming it other than the fact that I knew one day, I would understand. When I returned to Sarasota, the water was either still or the ocean was breathing, and I guess I started to do the same.
After considering the properties of the film, I realized that the Water, Bird, Plant, and Man was symbolic of the four elements of Nature: Water, Air, Earth, and Fire. I also realized that these elements, which comprise the entirety of the planet in their variations, are mirrored in the construct of every single human being on Earth as we connect with the world around us through Hearts, Minds, Bodies, and Spirits.
I align the spirit of man with fire because we have become consumed, literally, with burning, either the firing of guns, the blazing of trails, the consumption of fossil fuels, or the passion that drives us. I further believe that this year, with its intensity of precipitation in these winter months, is calling us to align these attributes of ourselves with the seasons as they come. I believe that in these seven more weeks of winter, we can focus on the beauty of water instead of the stoking of fires, and look to our hearts to guide us in realizing that the same water which comprises each of our bodies will one day flow to those who now thirst. I believe that we are all breathing the same air. We are all brought forth from the same dust. And we all share the same Spirit.
According to charity:water, 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.
Let us get back to the basics. Let us care for our fellow man. Let us realize the importance of sharing this essential need with those who are thirsty for it so that it can flow through us all, making us all more healthy in heart, mind, body, and spirit.
Photo courtesy of Pixdaus
Steve
Steve McAllister is an actor, musician, accomplished author, filmmaker, and the man behind Your Daily Groove at Modern Hippie Mag. His most recent novel, The McAllister Code is available now as a Limited Edition Advanced Copy paperback. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.
