#6 - The Way of Water Part II

David: I wonder what water will say if it went to therapy.

Tyler: So Watah! How are you feeling today?

Nina: Really. You can just call me Water, That's OK.

Tyler: OK, All right, I I apologize. I'm a little goofy sometimes. All right, so all right, I'll just compose myself. So, water, this is your first session today. Tell me, how are you feeling?

Nina: Drained.

Tyler: MMM drained. I see water. Can you elaborate more about that? What do you mean by drained?

Nina: I mean, I don't know. I feel like everybody just wants a piece of me. I already do so much. I hydrate people, I power entire industries. I even cool AI data centers so all you guys listening to the podcast can even listen. And do I ever get a thank you ever? No, you know what you guys do? You guys pollute me, bottle me and sell me for 399.

Tyler: That sounds quite heavy, water. Very heavy.

Nina: Heavy. Really. I'm weightless, I carry the world's problem and still stay in the flow. Why don't you try that sometime?

Tyler: You know, given your very strong emotions, I feel a good way for you to channel your emotions is to put it on to a journal. Have you ever tried journaling before?

Nina: You know, I've never thought of that before, but but maybe I'll give it a try. Thank you. I'll consider it.

David: Maybe if water could talk, it will tell us to slow down and listen before it evaporates on us.

Tyler: Hey everyone, welcome to Ancient Wisdom Modern Voices, the podcast where timeless knowledge meets contemporary insight. Each episode, we bridge the gap between the past and present, bringing ancient insights to examine today's most pressing issues. Join us on a journey as we explore how the old can't illuminate the new. Hey, welcome back everyone to ancient wisdom. Modern voices Warrior Host. I'm Tyler.

Nina: I'm Nina.

David: I'm David

Tyler: And today, we're going to continue the discussion about the Way of Water for my previous episode. Hey, do us a quick favor and give this podcast a five star review and subscribe here on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Your support means the world to us.

In our last episode, we explored the wisdom of water, how something so soft and fluid can shape landscapes, knowledge life and teach us how to live with grace and adaptability. And we discuss how waters flow reminds us to let go, move forward, and find strength in humility and change. And the more we looked at water through an Eastern lens, we also realized something very interesting, that history's greatest thinkers from across the world were also staring at the same rivers, the same oceans, and drawing their own lessons from them. And I feel that one of the few that captured this sense of awe really well was the Stoic philosopher Seneca.

Thanks, Tyler. I think that is so true. The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote about how humans instinctively review water because we recognize its power and mystery. He said we worship the sources of mighty rivers. We erect our terms at places where great streams burst suddenly from hidden sources.

We adore springs of hot water as divine and consecrate certain pools because their dark waters or their immeasurable death. There's something almost instinctive about our awe of water. Even today, people travel across the world to see waterfalls, Hot Springs, and sacred rivers. It connects us to something bigger than ourselves, and I find that to be so poetic, but also so true. There's just something almost sacred about water.

Even today, people would travel, download the miles to see a waterfall, to sit quietly by a lake, or soak in a hot spring. It's not just about the physical experience, it's also about the sense of connection in awe it awakens in US. Yet I totally relate to that, Nina, and I think Seneca's point is that our reverence is in misplace. There's a reason water feels sacred, because it is the source of life. It nourishes us, it sustains us, and it also cleanses us.

So it's both gentle and powerful, nurturing and destructive. And in that duality, it reflects the nature of existence itself. Water is just not a poetic idea or a spiritual lesson. It's also the most practical and urgent necessity we have. Because while we've been talking about water as this powerful teacher and guy, we also have to remember that it's literally the foundation of life.

Every sip we take, every meal we grow, every ecosystem on this planet, all of it depends on water. And yet we often forget just how precious and limited it really is. Which bring us to our first question for discussion. Water is ordinary, yet essential. In your own life, where do you see small, humble things carrying the greatest importance the way water does?

I can take a go at this. For me, one of the small things, at least in my life, that carries the greatest importance is remembering people's name. It's something that's very simple, but it's actually very, very powerful. And I'm not sure if everyone is familiar with this book. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Really, really great book. And one of the things that he talked about was saying people's name. And he mentioned that saying people's name, saying is sincerely in a conversation is actually the most important sound in any language to that individual. The simple action of saying someone's name, it makes the other person on the other side feel important, feel seen, feel valued. And it's the beginning point to create a personal connection with the other individual.

And by myself, I can relate to this because I was at a newest party, a New Year's Eve party last year and I met someone that I haven't seen in a whole year. The last time I saw this individual was at the same party the year prior. And when I when I saw him, I remember his name. So I said, oh, hey, so. And so it's, it's, it's been a while.

How you been and the individual, he was very surprised. He says, oh wow, I'm surprised you remember who I am. We I haven't seen you in the whole year and you actually Remember Me. Wow, that's, that's really good. So he was actually genuinely impressed.

And then from there we, we just had a short conversation just catching up how things, how life was for for the both of us. And he says it's so great to see you again. I hope to see you around more often. So just something like that. It's it's really powerful.

Just saying someone's name and it really can spark conversation, spark connection and it's it can really go a long way. Yeah, I can attest that Tyler is very good at remembering people's names. Is something that I am still struggling with, but I do understand its value and something that I'm learning is to remembers people's names. But on a similar thread, this reminded me about a class that I'm taking this past semester called Interpersonal Dynamics. Thing that I learned from this class is just how much of a positive effect that little things that other people do have on me.

So for instance, sometimes I may feel a little shy about bringing up a certain topic or changing a certain topic, but whenever I see, you know, someone in the room giving me like a nod or a smile, it helps validate what I'm saying and it also helped me being reassured. And so saying just that small, like nod of agreement makes a big difference for me, you know, thinking for other people, we can also provide that same like small nod of encouragement or that smile to make people feel more comfortable in those spaces. And on that same subject, it also reminded me of a time in middle school on this topic. And I remember being at an assembly in middle school on the topic of bullying. And I remember the last message that the speaker wanted to share was this story.

It was a story about a person who was contemplating to commit suicide and unfortunately ended up committing suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge. But when the investigators went and searched his room, they found that he left a suicide note before he left. And the note said that if one person, just one person smiled to him that day, he won't take his life. And the take away that I got from the assembly is that the smallest actions can make a big difference. Just a smile to a stranger or just being kind to others can really make a big difference in their lives because we don't know what they're going through.

And so I need to take away from from here is that, you know, the small things such as even just smiling at someone or saying hi can go a long way. Yeah, I totally agree, Nina. Like it's this concept of paying attention to the small things and noticing others and and kind of like caring for each other. But that reminds me also, like I think the example you you share was more of a like how we can be more kind to each other, something like we can receive from outside, but we can also be kind to ourselves and notice things within us and notice things, notice small things within our life or within ourselves. And that will naturally will bring this sense of like, like fulfillment or a completeness or a stillness.

So that that's something I reflected recently, this concept of paying attention to what we have versus what, what we're missing. Sometimes we seek and chase external validations or recognitions, you know, whether it's at work or whether it's at school or college, we always are seeking for that a or seeking for that recognition from our manager or seeking from like, Hey, you did great at XY and Z. And we feel good when we hear those words. And we, we kind of feel like, it's like sort of seeking that to feel like that inner hole sometimes that we have, like if we don't receive it, we feel this sense of lack of attention or, or lack of love. But in actuality, what we don't realize is that we are putting our peace and, and sense of fulfillment or completeness outside of us when it's already on us.

So once we stop to paying attention to that and cherish what we already is within us, this concept of like feeling enough, only feeling enough and that I am enough, regardless of where I am in my journey and seeing what you have already like your friendships, like this concept of like chasing new friendships versus appreciating the, the current friends you have. And, and those kind of things like just appreciating life more in general. Those are small things that we tend to neglect because we're always chasing for more and more versus stopping and pausing and see what we have. It's more than enough and it's already, and even within us, it's already enough. Yeah.

It's about asking is there something we need or is it just just something we want? And when you bought at the point of seeking for external validation from others, that reminded me of a core theme. And and this isn't Buddhism, but also just in any other place in where if the things that you're doing is for external validation, that you're not really doing it sincerely, right? It doesn't, it doesn't count at the at the merit per SE, right. So that's that's whatever mind is be of like the days that we should be doing is because we generally care, we want to do it.

But the moment we start seeking for that external validation or that recognition, then then there's, there's no like true sincerity to it, to what we're doing. Yeah, absolutely. And I really feel that's that's really the heart of it, right? Realizing that what we chase out there is really often something we already have within us or around us. And if we just take a minute to just slow down long enough to just notice it, whether it's feeling enough, appreciating the friendships we already have instead of running after new ones, or even just recognizing the quiet blessings that are day-to-day.

All these small ships, they carry huge weight. And it's with that idea, appreciating what sustains us doesn't just apply to our inner lives. It also applies to the world that we live in. And nowhere is that more true than with water. And I feel that somewhere along the line that we just lost that we changed our mindset from worshipping water to becoming active consumers of it.

We stopped seeing water as a living force to live with and we started treating it as just another product that you see on the shelf. This actually reminds me, I don't know about who has seen this movie called The Big Short. It came out many years ago. I actually haven't, but it is on my bucket list. You should definitely watch the movie, I highly recommend it.

I haven't either, yeah. Highly recommend. SO at the very end of the movie, there were several title cards that was explaining the aftermath and what happened to all the major characters in the movie. And one of the title cards in particular was focusing on the investor Michael Berry, who was one of the major players in the movie. And for those of you who don't know Michael Berry, he's an American investor who famously predicted the subprime mortgage crisis.

Now, the title card at the very end of the film said this about him. The small investing he still does is all focused on one commodity, water. And at that time, I didn't really put much thought into it. But just having this conversation now and revisiting this quote, I'm just sitting there and I'm thinking to myself, I'm picturing water as if it's in the corner. And it's just saying like.

Yeah, I'm tired. Stop joking me like I'm bottomless. But jokes aside, just think about that for a second. If someone like Michael Bury, an individual who spent his entire career spotting cracks in our financial system, he even he saw that the most valuable resource was not gold. It wasn't oil.

It's something that we see in our everyday life. We're right now in our modern day society, we're treating water as if it's something that's very cheap and replaceable, that there's an unlimited resource of it. What is actually the most irreplaceable thing that we have? Because we starting to treat water more as a commodity instead of a companion, something to extract, to trade, rather than something that is sacred to protect, right? And we build systems and whole economies that prizes profits over people.

So even when it means drying up the very important resource that sustains life on Earth. Yeah. Now with the rest of AI, that disconnection is growing in in new ways. Tyler, I think like every data center we build consumes a lot of lot of water to stay cool. So it's that quiet.

Yeah. So it's that quiet cost of progress. I think there was a report that came out from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sustainable society. It says that large data centers can consume up to 5,000,000 gallons per day, which is equivalent to the water use of a town populated by 10 to 50,000 people. So just think about those numbers.

I think those are huge numbers, but I think it comes down to like this concept of sustainability and social responsibility. I think we can make progress, we can innovate while having this mindset of not putting profits over people, but rather like protecting what we have and building, building with that social responsibility in mind versus just putting profits over people. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, ABS, absolutely. And I feel that that really goes to this point about reciprocity.

It's this ancient understanding that to take must also means to give back, right? And I feel that certain, certain societies, certain groups such as indigenous cultures and spiritual traditions, they are, they're really good at this, right? So they, they see water as a living relative, not just another resource. And you don't own a relative, right? You, you honor them.

You listen to them. You, you give thanks to them. Yeah, exactly. It's if you mentioned David, at the end of the day, the comp like one of the company's stakeholders is going to be for society and for the people. And so when we do innovate and make this progress, it's ultimately it's it's to help all of us.

And on the subject of water, I remember like looking at a fact that was saying that out of all the water on Earth, only 3% of that water is fresh water and less than 1% is accessible for human use because some of them are like locked the rain and glaciers. And I think that just really goes to the point of the importance of valuing this, this resource because it's so scarce. And if you think about it every day, that will depend on how our cities are run, our agriculture, almost everything in our lives uses that that 3% of water. And when you realize that, I think it changes your perspective a lot, just like everything from a dripping faucet to a major drought. And we have been already seeing when that balance is getting pushed too far from the droughts in California that's been happening to water shortages in parts of Africa and South Asia.

These are just signs of a larger global challenge that we have at hand. And on the subject of global challenges, I know that the United Nations have made water one of its top priorities. Within the Sustainable Development Goals, water shows up in two places. One is goal number six, which is clean water and sanitation, and goal #14 which is like below water. And I think these goals really show that how we manage water will define not just our environment, but our future as a species.

Yeah, and what's even more encouraging is that people and governments around the world are starting to rethink their relationship with water, not something that just as a resource, but something that's sacred, that deserves our respect and protection. And we actually been seeing some innovative approaches that combined ancient wisdom with modern science. And I feel like a really great example, a recent example is in New Zealand where the majority people, they view water, or as they call it, why, as something that's deeply sacred both spiritually and socially, because for them water isn't something that. Is it a commodity to be owned? It's a living ancestor, a a being with spiritual power and social responsibility.

It's actually recently, back in 2017 that there was a river in New Zealand that was granted the same legal rights as a human being. So it's a major development. So what happened with the story behind is that a Maori tribe, they were trying to fight for recognition for this particular river as an ancestor for 140 years. And yeah, so with this new status, it what it means is that this river, if someone were to abuse the river or to harm it, the law sees no differentiation between harming the tribe or harming the river because they're one in the same is actually a major, major breakthrough. Yeah, I remember that.

Yeah, when I was looking into this, Tyler, I also found that it's, it's pretty, pretty shocking to see like how in the other side of the world similar things are happening. So what I found is that Ecuador is also another country which actually became the first country to include the the rights for Mother Nature, which they call Pachamama. So it's a ancient Indian native, you know, word for, for Mother Nature. And they include that in their constitution. So that means rivers, water systems, ecosystems are recognized the same way as having legal rights to exist and to be protected.

It's a completely different way of thinking, right? If you guys think about it, one that blends philosophy that we from our previous discussions is spirituality and ecology into a single unified vision. It's incredible when you think about it. From ancient sages to modern day societies, we're rediscovering the same truth. Water isn't just something we use, is something we owe our lives to and something we have a duty to protect.

So I think there's a lot to learn here from countries like New Zealand and Ecuador. Hopefully more countries join that list. Yeah, yeah. Which bring us to our next question for discussion. If water or Pachamama, which we learned that is Mother Nature, had a voice in your daily life, what might it ask of you?

How might your choices, your habits, or even your mindset change if you truly recognize the rights of nature as secret? Yeah, definitely. So for myself, it's definitely to be be more mindful and not being wasteful, not just with water, but with any resources as well. So such as paper towels, right? So for example, instead of at work or wherever I travel, instead of using the paper towel to go dry my hands, I would use the, the hand dryer to, to dry my hands because all those paper towels, they have to come from somewhere.

So that means that's a lot of trees being cut down. And if you ever notice the trash can, there's a lot of paper towel that's being drowned in there every day, full to the rim. So think of all the trees as being cut down, right? Yeah, right. And at least for myself personally, there's something I need to work on.

I have a really bad habit that when I'm brushing my teeth, I turn the tap water on because I'm thinking that, well, if I have the water running and I'm brushing my teeth, it's convenience. You just rinse my toothbrush. Oh no. Oh no. I'm just.

Kidding. So that's some so far, at least for me, it's like at least turn off get in the better habit of turning up the tap water when I'm brushing my teeth. So because that that's a lot of water being being wasted there. So I'm guilty of that. So I'm going to turn off the tap water when I'm I'm brushing my teeth.

OK, Tal, I'm gonna keep you accountable for that. I'm gonna check in on you to save you during that. I think for me when I'm thinking about this question, I think every day that you said talent really resonates with me. One thing that I also been thinking about, it's just like not just when we like use the water physically, but thinking about the objects that we used and like how much water was used to to make those objects right. Starting with food, we know that meat takes up a lot more water like in terms of resources compared to like a plant based diet.

That's one thing they suggest our clothing takes a lot lot of water to produce clothing. I've been stretching out, you know, my laundry detergent with like non water based or like my shampoo, the conditioner with like bar soap instead other way to like reduce my my water consumption. And that's something that I've been in the practice of thinking about and something that I've learned to be more conscious of because we don't really realize how much water it takes to like produce these things because we just see the thing at this. But it's very hard to see the supply chains that came before it. And just like how much resources what used to make the objects that we see today?

Yeah, when I think of this question, something that came up for me was a documentary I recently watched. It's called The Blue Songs. It's on Netflix and they talk about different communities in the world that have that live the longest and the different habits and and different things they do. One of the things that they talked about is this community Okinawa in Japan, where before every meal, what they do is they say this words called hatahachi on me. I'm not, I'm not sure if I'm saying it right, but it meant to be Japanese.

But the meaning behind it is like the Billy, it's 80% full, meaning that they don't eat until they're full. They only eat enough. And, and so it's a practice to be mindful while eating and paying attention to our body versus mindlessly eating. Like, like we here in the States, we, we go like, we go to eat pizza, we go to and we, we feel like we're always have to like eat more than what we really need. So that is something I look forward to, like practicing more, more mindfully, like whenever I'm eating or drinking, just this concept of like practicing gratitude but also mindfulness and just just use what I need basically, yeah.

So, so true. I remember hearing that. I remember mom used to mention this to me too. Like just eat like up to 80%. So totally, totally read the name with Dad.

Yeah, just being grateful for our food and our water is is so true. Yeah. And I just want to chime in to and and make mention to David your point and also to nearest points as well. Yes, I definitely for eating to like your belly's 80% full. I can definitely relate to this because before I used to have a tendency to eat a lot that pretty much at the point of my stomach hurt because in my head I'm thinking to myself, well, I'm only going to eat this probably this time.

And often times this happens during events when we have a potluck and people bring a lot of yummy, delicious food. And I look at all these food and I'm like, wow, I want to try all these food. And in my mind, my mind, I, I think to myself, wow, this food, these food is so yummy. I have to eat as much as I can because this is probably going to be the first and only time where the individual is going to bring this particular dish, right? So in my mind, I have this scarcity mindset that well, if this is going to be the last time this person brings this particular dish, then I need to eat as much of this as I can.

But a lot of time that leads to my stomach having like a lot of discomfort and all that. So lately I have been knowing how to have more self-control when I'm eating. So like knowing my limits and knowing what to like put a hard, hard stop on it right? To not over stuff myself. So it was really great that you mentioned them.

And then also to Ninas point, Nina is really good at recommending those environmentally sustainable products. She actually introduced our family to this. What's it called? A Swedish dishcloth? Is that how you say it?

Yeah, I I think so. It supposed to be like a better like paper towel and a better cloth. Kind of like a duo between the two. Yeah, and it's and it's great. I mean, I use it everyday when I clean the countertop at in our kitchen and it saves so much paper towel.

I mean, it's you just rinse it with water and then, you know like just just let it dry and then you can just use it again. You keep reusing it. So it's it's been really, it's been really great. And she need also introduced us to these, these laundry detergent sheets, which is really, really great because you just take these sheets and you don't even need to use like you can only just use like half of it and you put it in the in the laundry and it gets the job done. So and it saves a lot of water too, a lot of saves a lot of water.

So just want. To make space, yeah. Space, you got to send me that info, guys. And Tyler, we need to practice how to Hachi Bunmi together, OK? OK, David, sounds like a plan.

You know, looking back at all of this, I I find it humbling to realize that something so ordinary like water that we come across every day. You know, the water in our sink, water bottles and your morning coffee. It is also the same force that has shaped whole civilization and inspired entire philosophy that we talked about in the last episode and also this episode. Yeah, and if Seneca, Laudsen, the Maiori elders, and even modern scientists that they all can agree on one get one thing, it's going to be this. Water teaches us how to live, but only if we're willing to listen.

Yeah, true that, Tyler, True that. And, and 1 of this lessons I think that we can take away is that it just slow down and pause, you know, before we do anything. You know, take a moment today or this week and simply pay attention to how water moves through your life. Where when you're drinking water, when you're taking a cup of tea or taking a shower, or maybe it's just a rainy day and you're looking outside your window. Just pausing and slowing down during those tiny moments to practice gratitude.

Or be simply more mindful and using water as our teacher. And maybe that could be the beginning of a cleaner and kinder future. Because how we do anything is how we do everything. Well said, David, well said. Thank you everyone for sharing.

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