The Weight of Water

We are taught that water is a mirror. We look into it to see ourselves, to check the lines on our faces, to confirm that we are still there. But water is not a mirror; it is a witness. It takes the shape of whatever it touches, then lets it go. It does not hold onto the past. It does not worry about the shape it will take tomorrow. There is a lightness in this, a way of existing that we have forgotten. We carry our histories like heavy coats, even in the heat, even when we are running. We are afraid that if we let go, we will disappear. Yet, look at the spray. It is only for a second, a scattering of diamonds against the gray, and then it is gone. It does not ask to be remembered. It only asks to be felt. What would happen if we stopped trying to catch the light and simply let it pass through us?

Prasanta Singha has taken this beautiful image titled Joy in Every Drops. It captures the moment before the water returns to the river, silent and whole again. Can you hear the sound of that laughter?