Water and Spirituality: Why We Are Drawn to the In-Between

There is something profoundly healing about water, something that reaches beyond the physical world and touches the spiritual. The sound of waves crashing against the shore slows the mind in ways almost nothing else can. In a life filled with noise and pressure, water interrupts the rush. It gives us permission to breathe again.

If you have ever dipped your head beneath the surface, you know the kind of silence only water can create. Beneath the noise of the world, a different quiet emerges. A quiet that brings your heartbeat into focus and lifts your awareness. It is a reminder that something greater, older, and more powerful than yourself exists. This is where water and spirituality meet for me. In the stillness, in the surrender, in the moment, the world finally stops spinning.

Water as a Liminal Space

Furthermore, water has always represented the in-between for me. It is neither solid nor air. It constantly shifts, expands, transforms, and teaches us to embrace change. Symbolically, it sits in the space between life and death, the waking mind and the dreaming mind, the physical and the spiritual. Cultures around the world recognize this, linking water to birth, cleansing, baptism, and renewal. It is the element that begins life, sustains life, purifies life, and gently ushers us into new seasons.

When I have a stressful day, water pulls me back to center. The warmth of a long bath, the quiet presence of a lake, or the rhythmic pull of the ocean all bring me into a place of deep calm. That warm, enveloping sense of release feels almost sacred. In a way, that peaceful warmth is how I imagine the moment of leaving this world, a gentle return to the Creator who formed us.

Water Reveals What We Feel

Moreover, one of the extraordinary qualities of water is its ability to make emotion visible. Still water becomes peace and contemplation. Flowing water becomes movement and healing. Stormy water becomes awe and power. Reflections become identity, memory, and self examination. No other element captures the invisible parts of the human experience this clearly.

As a photographer, I return to water again and again. Frozen water or mist rising off a lake shows the quiet I seek within myself. Photographing an approaching storm becomes cathartic and cleansing. Storms remind me that creation is so much greater than my worries or expectations. They humble me in the best possible way and give my emotions a place to go.

Water in Scripture and Creation

There is a passage in the Bible that has always stayed with me. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Genesis 1:2). Before anything else existed, water was already present. It represents primordial life, creative power, and the raw material from which God shaped beauty, order, and blessing.

I think of that often when I stand beside a glacial lake or watch the tide roll in. Without water, nothing survives. It was integral at the beginning of creation, and it remains woven into every part of life. Perhaps this is why I am so drawn to water as a photographer. It speaks a universal language of both life and spirit.

Water also cleanses in a physical and emotional way. It washes away heaviness. It softens stress. It restores the body and refreshes the soul. And of course, it also brings joy. Swimming, splashing, floating, or simply watching the waves on a hot day is one of life’s simplest and most honest pleasures.

Watching Water, Capturing Time

Artistically, water is a beautiful challenge. It has no fixed form. It changes with light, angle, movement, and weather. It reflects, absorbs, and refracts in ways that turn a single scene into endless creative possibilities. You can photograph the same lake a thousand times and never capture the same image twice. Water captures time itself. It becomes a metaphor for memory, transformation, and the passing of moments.

The next time you find yourself near water, whether a glacier-fed lake, a quiet pond, a stormy sea, or even your bathtub, pause for just a moment. Notice what you feel. Listen to what it stirs inside you. Water reveals truth, invites calm, and reconnects us to something deeper. It reflects our humanity while reminding us of the sacred.

And that is the spiritual gift of water. It is always moving, always speaking, always inviting us back to ourselves and to something greater.

To see some of my art featuring water, I invite you to visit my Beach Gallery.