If I were a moviemaker, I would make a movie about water. Humans are fascinated with water. We can sit on a beach, in a boat or a bathtub or by a swimming pool or stream for hours, letting the sound, smell and feeling of the water flow around and through us. This is true for most humans from any culture or at any time in history. Could a movie capture that fascination?

I think of this movie while traveling in a plane high over the clouds. The movie begins with a view of a deep blue ocean and the empty blue sky above; then misty clouds roll into the scene. The clouds transform from white to light gray to a menacing dark purple; lightning flashes and thunder rumbles.

The camera angle lowers to the ocean, where huge waves are now pushing large ships like toys in a bathtub. On the nearby shore, trees twist and leaves blow; in the distance, lights suddenly turn on to illuminate city skyscrapers and busy streets. On the ground, umbrellas open, people on the streets and animals outside the city run for shelter.

The rain begins, and nature’s dark mood changes to one of relief. The long-awaited rain works like soothing medicine on a dry, parched landscape. The brown land celebrates the gift of rain from faraway regions. Trees, animals and even the fish in the water dance and enjoy the rain and the life that it sustains. The clean rainwater picks up dust from the air and dirt from the ground, and the muddy water that is not absorbed by the land flows into streams and rivers, becoming clear and clean again.

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