Flowing like Water

Hi all:

Today was a day replete with water.

In honor of her 50^th birthday, my friend Rachel, invited some of her friends on a field trip to Mayyim Hayyim, a traditional (yet progressive) mikveh, in Newton, MA. A mikveh in the Jewish tradition is a ritual cleansing bath typically used by women prior to a marriage ceremony or after a menstrual cycle. In this current era, however, an immersion in the mikveh can symbolize a transition of any kind or a recognition of a life shift, including a gender transition milestone. When we entered Mayyim Hayyim, Carol, a volunteer, greeted us with warmth and enthusiasm. Upon hearing that it was Rachel’s 50^th birthday celebration, she laughed, saying it was also her 50^th wedding anniversary and even though she’d been divorced for years, she was going to call her ex-husband (she speaks with him almost every day) to remind him of that. Carol led us all through a hand-washing blessing and then explained to Rachel the immersion process. It turned out that the morning was a quiet one and she had the space and time if others wanted a turn in the mikveh. Well, I certainly did.

I leafed through the binder full of blessings and prayers, trying to decide what I wanted for myself as I immersed in the sacred bath. I almost chose the prayer, “Following the End of a Relationship,” but my divorce happened more than two years ago and that struck a note of looking backward, and not forward. Instead, I chose the ceremony, “In Gratitude.”

The mikveh ritual is comprised of a full bodily cleansing before entering the water (including cleaning out your bellybutton!) and then a series of prayers and three submersions, taking a contemplative moment, and then walking back up the stairs to exit the bath. One of the prayers I recited read:

O Source of Life,

Keep me in awe of sunrise and sunset.

Keep me in wonder of things as grand as mountain and oceans.

Let me find joy in ordinary days.

Let me embrace happiness, celebrate life, praise You.

I didn’t expect this experience today and it was a surprising gift.

On the drive home, I chatted with a friend about her summer plans — one thing she mentioned was floating down the Presumpscot River after work on a summer afternoon. I’ve never done that even though I’ve talked about it for a few summers now. This is the summer that I’ll take a lazy float in an inner tube, keeping an eye open for osprey and eagles, as I sip my beer and dip my toes in the cool flowing water.

My last water experience today was an Epsom salt bath after a neighborhood run/walk. Bill had both dogs with him and was out for the entire day so when I returned home from Newton, there was not a dog or a person who needed me for one thing. Amazing. I exercised, enjoyed the very recently bloomed peonies in my garden, drew a bath, brought up Hacks on my computer and soaked while watching great female characters navigate friendship, aging, fear, and success.

So today was a day of water, blessings, friendship, and just enough solo time.

Happy adventuring,

Gillian