Freshwater regions include ponds, lakes, and rivers. Each has been endowed by people with their own particular meanings. People are purified in the River Jordan (Jordan) and the River Ganges (India). Springs have healing properties that people seek. Monsters live at the bottom of lakes ready to frighten people.
Rivers are water in motion. They start in mountains and flow to the seas. Since human commerce moves with rivers, people’s lives are closely tied to them. Human civilizations first rose along the banks of rivers.
In literature, rivers stood for the flow of time, ebbing, and flowing, but constantly moving. An animal metaphor for the river would be salmon. These fish swim from small pools to their rivers to the seas. When it comes time for salmon to spawn, they fight the river current to return to their home pools upstream.
Deep in many lakes are cold-loving fish that took refuge in the cold waters, when the glaciers receded. Birds may live on the banks and fish for the many frogs and insects, but refugees from previous ice ages live near the bottoms. The subjects of legends, prehistoric monsters are reputed to be dwelling in the bottom of deep water lakes.
Lakes are mirrors into the other world. Ladies of Lakes beckon people to dive deeper for enlightenment. A lake may seem inert, but power lies just underneath the still waters. Dive in and encounter a magical world.
Life is lived small in ponds. They provide breeding spots for small animals like salamanders and frogs. Ponds attract a unique collection of animals to their shallow fresh waters from dragonflies and water snakes. Ponds are friendly places for people to enjoy nature.
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If you want to know more about your nature guides, I can help you.
Inner Journeys: Nature Journeys:
("Jackson Creek" by Mary Ann Sterling)
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