Author: Chih Sang

Tonight I walked along the beach — barefoot in the sand, the tide rolling in just past the glow of the floodlights. The waves broke white in the dark, like brushstrokes against ink, and the view was quietly beautiful.

I found myself remembering this journey’s beaches and rivers I’ve walked —
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Malaga, Gran Canaria, Barcelona —
stretching into the horizon, different places yet all the same in essence.

Water everywhere. It covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface — oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and more — the majority of what we see when we imagine our “Blue Planet”.

And here’s the thing: it’s not just the Earth that is shaped by water.
Our bodies are too. Even today science tells us that an adult human body is about 55-60% water, with some organs — like the lungs and brain — composed of more than 70% of it.

Standing there at the edge of land and sea, I felt the connection in a way I hadn’t fully seen before. Not a poetic coincidence — a reminder of how intricately we are tied to the world around us.

Water is not just something we walk beside.
It is part of us.

We carry it in cells, in blood, in breath.
We float on it.
We drink it.
We bleed and sweat it.

And across beaches, across continents, across oceans, it flows unbounded.

I thought about Taoist wisdom — be like water.
Water doesn’t fight the stone.
It doesn’t resist the cliff.
It simply finds its path around, through, under, over until it reaches where it was always going.

And maybe that’s a lesson.

Not just about movement — but about being:
• Fluid.
• Resilient.
• Unstoppable in stillness.
• Peaceful in motion.

I could feel the contrast of everything:
The enormous blue beyond the shore,
the softness of sand underfoot,
and the gentle rise and fall of breath as I walked.

Water connects us all physically, materially, and metaphorically.
Its presence doesn’t just make Earth the Blue Planet.
It makes life possible.
It makes us possible.

And right there, under lights and stars, I promised myself to carry that flow forward.

Not rigid —
Not resistant —
But always finding a way.

To move around obstacles.
To stay connected.
To live, not just endure.

Like water.

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don’t compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 8