My Father's Archives #7

As my father tells me, this woman had to walk miles every day to fetch water at the waterhole. This image hits me like a fist in the stomach every time I see it. It speaks of a human condition that no longer seems to be part of our lives: It speaks of a sense of urgency, of a necessity that is immediate, undeniable and unquestionable. To deny or question it would mean certain death.
The need for water is the most basic and essential needs of all. In a situation like this you just act and do and sacrifice anything to get it.


I admit that I can't even imagine what it means to live under conditions where water or food aren't readily available. I never had to endure longer periods of hunger, never had to experience a life-threatening drought, never had to make unimaginable sacrifices to meet my most basic physical needs.
Yet this image strikes a chord in me. This photograph resonates with me because it reminds me of situations in which I have felt this desperate need on a spiritual or emotional level. There have been moments in my life when spiritual thirst or hunger have been so intense that I simply acted to satisfy it - without questioning it. When you run the risk of dying you don't question death.  You'll do anything to avoid it.
I suspect that all relevant religions, philosophies or ideologies were born out of this sense of urgency. The most obvious example would be the young nation of Israel in the wilderness. When I read Nietzsche's biography, I got that same feeling of inevitability: He had no choice but to move forward and follow the trail of his thoughts. A more recent example from the world of arts would be Leonard Cohen. A line that I will never forget speaks of those cracks in everything where the light gets in.

They all have been waterholes for me in times of extended drought.