In Praise of a Colorless Liquid

By Patrick Sigler | published July 23, 2013 |
Thursday Review Contributing Writer

Water is an interesting commodity. It is tasteless, colorless, made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. It’s a pretty incredible compound.

Talk about versatile! It can quench your thirst with no aftertaste; it can cleanse you from head to toe; it makes it possible for plants and crops to grow. It allows you to appreciate your surroundings day after day. When I look out and think what it would be like without water, we wouldn’t be enjoying this moment. I forget the impact that this clear liquid has upon our lives.

Just look at the forms it can take: liquid, ice, and vapor. LIV! It’s what allows us to do just that, to live our lives, day after day, week after week, year after year, without a thought to what has allowed us to continue to live our lives.

Have you ever stood out in the rain letting your body get drenched, with not a care in the world? Or, what would iced tea be without ice?

As a kid I remember suffering with chest and nasal congestion and mom placing that machine which emitted water vapor to help clear me up.

Water makes up ¾’s of the earth’s surface, 80% of our body mass, and without it we could not live for more than a week. Well, I guess if there were cactus around and you cut it open and drank the water within, you might be able to last a bit longer. Of course that’s assuming you have cactus around.

Water…H2O…is what keeps us going. It is an essential part of what allows us to live the lives we live. And once in a while we should appreciate that incredible compound known as H2O.