Most of us grew up with some sort of knowledge of the Original Seven Wonders of the World: The Colossus of Rhodes, The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Lighthouse of Alexandria, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, and The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Since then others have been added; The New 7 Wonders of the World: Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra, Taj Mahal, and Colosseum and The Seven Wonders of the Modern World: Channel Tunnel, CN Tower, Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Itaipu Dam, Netherlands North Sea Protection Works, and the Panama Canal.
Then there are the 7 Wonders of Nature: Mount Everest, The Grand Canyon, The Northern Lights, The Harbour at Rio de Janeiro, The Great Barrier Reef, Paricutin: The Volcano in a Cornfield, and Victoria Falls and most recently the New 7 Wonders of Nature: The Amazon rainforest and River, Hạ Long Bay, Iguazu/Iguaçu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo Island, Puerto Princesa Underground River, and Table Mountain.
Now I have no doubt that all of those are wonders, but I still think that somewhere along the line we have all missed the most glorious wonder of all – water!
Nothing on earth, including us humans, would exist were it not for fresh water which our bodies need to survive and thrive, our industries need, our agriculture sector needs, animals need, plants need… need I go on?
Water is Life, yet we are constantly wasting it and using it as though it is just something that will always be there. Those in water scarce countries and those who know drought would beg to differ – they know what it is like to go thirsty, to struggle to grow veggies, to keep poultry or livestock for food, to be unable to bathe, to watch their children die from lack of clean water.
Why is it then that we honour all of these other things but do not honour something that is integral to our very existence? Why do we think nothing of turning on a tap and letting the water run down the drain until it is cool enough to drink, or of not fixing leaky taps and water pipes?
Water is precious; water is life, so start treating it as such by saving water wherever and whenever you can. Recycle your bathing and dishwashing water; take shorter showers; fix leaky taps, and invest in a home water cooler or an office water cooler so that you always have access to clean, crisp, healthy and chilled drinking water.
