I Love The Water Bearer Poem ❤️🪣

Learning that charity is both giving AND receiving.

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There is a woman that I know

I see her often at the well,

Filling cups and buckets,

so the people can work and sell.

Drip by drip. Day by day.

The Water Bearer fills the pool,

The husbands go to work,

and the children go to school.

One day I asked the water bearer,

does she ever pour her own?

Does she ever take the gift of life,

and use it to shape her home?

“The water is not mine” she said

“I distribute it far and wide...

...It wouldn’t be right to take from here”

she continued and somewhat sighed.

I looked at the cup I was holding,

and I gave it to her with love.

“For you” I said. “And all you do…

“I want you to know this:

You’re just as worthy as everyone else, to also receive this gift.”

Do you know who the woman at the well is? Not that it matters.

Because, this poem is a gift.

Not a lesson.

Not a lecture.

Not a list of things that need to be done differently.

Just a cup, offered with love, from me to you.

You can frame this poem if you like. Forget about it also if you prefer. You could pin it somewhere on pinterest.

Or you could let it sit in a drawer for <however long> until you’re ready to read it again in a different light. The poem asks nothing of you.

But if you want to sit with it a little longer .... if you want to unravel what it might mean ...the pages that follow come next.

Just remember…

poems are subjective. Take or leave whatever you choose.

In the opening lines, we become acquainted with a woman. She's at the well — at the source of plenty.

We learn very quickly that she has access to the thing everyone needs. But notice: she's filling cups for others "so the people can work and sell."

Her labour enables the economy. Without her, nothing moves. But she herself? She doesn't seem to be part of the economy.

She's invisible infrastructure.

And every cup she fills is a gift — not a duty, not an obligation, a choice. She just doesn't know it yet. Or maybe she does, and here's what makes the poem even more powerful: she still chooses to do it anyway.

"Drip by drip. Day by day."

This is tiny choices stacking up.

The water bearer isn't making grand gestures. There's no shouting from the rooftops, no demanding to be seen. She's just showing up, day after day, doing the invisible work.

And what happens? Everyone else gets to have a life. The husbands go to work. The children go to school.

The pool fills. But who filled it? Who remembers? And does it matter who does it, so long as it gets done?

Here's the first question the poem asks: does the Water Bearer ever pour for herself?

Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't.

But more importantly than just pouring water, does she use what flows through her to shape her own life? Here the invisible becomes visible, and we recognise the metaphor. "The gift of life" — water — is life. Money is life. Time is life. Energy is life.

All of it flows through her. But does any of it stay? And "shape her home" — not just survive, but shape, create, build something that's hers?

Now we start to see. The Water Bearer has a belief that keeps her stuck: "The water is not mine." She has access to the source. She does the labour. She fills the cups so husbands can go to work and children can go to school. But she doesn't believe she's allowed access to it too. "It wouldn't be right to take from here." She has internalised the rule: this isn't for me, I'm the distributor, not the recipient, I give, I don't receive. And the sigh — she knows. Somewhere in her, she knows this isn't right. But she doesn't know how to break the pattern.

The narrator does something radical.

She doesn't tell the Water Bearer to take water for herself.

She doesn't lecture her. She doesn't give her a five-step plan.

She gives her a cup — freely, and with love.

This is the moment of interruption. Someone from outside the pattern breaks it.

Not with advice.

With a gift. 

And now the poem closes with its most powerful message.

Not "you should take more" or "you deserve better," but something simpler and more profound:

You're just as worthy as everyone else.

Not more worthy, not more special ... just “as worthy”.

Equal.

Included.

Allowed.

"To also receive this gift."

That word "also" is doing everything ...everyone else has been receiving, and now the Water Bearer is included too.

Not charity, not expectation, not entitlement.

Just a gift, freely given, full of worth, asking nothing in return. 

Because here's something we often overlook: the whole world runs on gift-giving, when you see it clearly.

Every dollar you spend is a gift — an act of faith in someone else's worth.

Every hour you give is a gift.

Every cup you fill is a gift, given freely.

The Water Bearer has been generous to everyone. And the strange thing about gifts is that you choose how much to give, when to give, when not to give, and to whom to give.

The Water Bearer has more power than she realises. Not once in the poem does anyone tell her who is or isn't worthy of her gifts, and not once does she discriminate.

You know...

Someone gave me a cup once.

At the time it made me feel quite awkward... like someone was giving me charity that  I didn't want to receive.

In that mindset, it seemed like it was about me, the receiver, and someone taking pity on me...not realising it was the opposite.

It wasn't about the charity of receiving; it was about the gift of giving.

At the time I didn't quite realise the power in that tiny gesture. But it didn't matter anyway, because like most people who receive gifts, I stammered and shuffled awkwardly, then accepted it with grace.

And then I discovered what everyone else already knew:

When I received the cup, it didn't take away from the person who gave it to me.

They simply went and got another cup, and went and asked the Water Bearer for more. 

Because here's something us Water Bearer’s sometimes forget: you can always go back to the well. You can always fill your cup again, and again, and again.

Because the water has always been for everyone. The water is always for everyone. Including me. And including you. This poem, and this project, is my cup, offered to you. Please take it if you want it, and if you like, use it to shape your own home too.

Taking from me doesn't take away from me, because I can get another cup any time I choose, and always go back to the well.

Just like you can too.

With Love, Always

Dear Reader,

In October 2025 I turned 48 years old.

My 4 children (which I’d been raising for 24 years at that time) were growing quickly, and on the days before my birthday, I sat down and wrote a letter to my future self that would go on to change the direction of my life in so many wonderful ways. Part of the new direction, was looking at the situation I was in, for the reality of what it was, and deciding to create a new path moving forward. One where I had financial independence and the ability to care for myself and our family over the coming years, even though I had spent more of the last 25 years out of the workforce, rather than it. And with that, Choose A Life You Love was born.

Creating projects is a luxury I understand not everyone has. Projects are not business’s....ask anyone decorating cakes, making quilts, building furniture the slow way, or any other “project” and most times you will hear the time and labour do not make them profitable at all. Of course, in some way I think we secretly hope or want them to make money, but that alone is not the sole reason we undertake them. Projects allow new skills to be built, old beliefs to be torn down, new thoughts and feelings to take shape, and can be a wonderful way to build a portfolio of work, whilst also falling in love with both yourself and the process at the same time.

In saying all this however, projects also take a great deal of time and resources…to think… to meander…. to explore and to <what?> get through” is probably the best explanation I can think of right now.

And in a world where parents are often pushed to the brink of exhaustion most days, I understand squishing projects into those precious hours is not always possible. And yet, in the position I was in at the time, I did have that ability to create this project, and so decided to do so. If you have ever made a creative project before- maybe a sewing project, a piece of arts or craft, or a building of any sorts of thing, you will know that the end product doesn’t always turn out the way you think it will at the start, and I want to be completely honest….although The Water Bearer Series looks like a somewhat cohesive body of work today- it very much so didn’t feel like it at the time even though I did feel like I had lots of loose threads that I was blessed to be weaving together Yet there were often times too, when I was completely lost- or “stuck”- and it was only by continuing to push through and document what I was “feeling” at the time, that created the philosophy you have in your hands today.

Now, why am I telling you all of this? The reason Dear Reader is this:

Please understand that the Water Bearer is not a “wellness” book, a “spiritual” book, a “philosophy” book or a “healing” book. It is simply a chapter of work from a creative project I made at the time. And also a chapter of work I created with the help of Ai (claude), it wasn’t done with the help of a licensed therapist, or wellness practitioner, and I want to be very clear and open about that.

Today, as I publish The Water Bearer series (and the same thing happened with the story of The Drip and Driven too), I’m no longer sure how I feel about this part of the project.

I can honestly say that working my way through the project helped me process my thoughts… untangle my beliefs…. feel my sadness and heartache, and come out the other side happier and healthier because of it. Is that true? Yes…it is 100% true. There were things (apparently lol!) I needed to process that I wasn’t even aware of at the time….things I felt wounded or hurt about (women, wealth, and work clearly lol!) that this project helped me work through

But could I say that the same experience will happen for you? No. I can’t. And that’s because we all have our own:

• thoughts,
• feelings,
• experiences,
• and beliefs
• to untangle, which could be completely different to anyone else.

And yet here I am…still publishing the work…still sharing this series….as part of my “shelving” experience. And whilst it is wonderful if it *does* help someone else out there process and move through what they needed to move through too… this is not what it is intended for. I’m not a therapist, or a wellness coach..I’m simply one ordinary Mum.

Now we both understand that, please let me explain this:

The chapters in this magazine were initially released individually, and are now being collectively shared as one.

The reason they were done individually is because that’s the way my journey of discovery, healing, and moving on unfolded for me. From first writing the poem, to eventually my beautifully handmade cup cracking, and untangling what it meant (nothing! I threw it out when it happened and moved on) each piece in The Water Bearer is designed to simply allow you to hold space for the concept it explores for it as long you need it to, before moving onto the next.

The practices for Calculate Your Worth, and the Daily Drip, again~ if you choose to do them~ are not time based. This is not a 12 week plan, or a 7 days to a better you lol! You may do it a week or a month, or 3 months. You may pick it up and put it down, and think it is done, and then go back to it all over again (which is what I did lol!)…please don’t think there is a particular rhythm or cycle to it.

It’s just something that you simply hold space for as long as the practice serves you….because honestly, I found that was the biggest lesson for me. Allowing those thoughts, feelings and beliefs to surface~ even though at times they felt absurd, ridiculous, entitled, and even sometimes “just”…..in the end I realised those thoughts, feelings and beliefs just needed to be seen and heard…and once I did the work..the writing…the feeling…and the seeing…they kind of “passed through me”, and moved on.

And so Dear Reader, that’s probably the only thing I can say about what I went through creating The Water Bearer series. There was no time line…. no particular path to closure… not even a pride or achievement or kind of anything once it’s over. You will know when you “grow out of whatever stage it is” because one day you will realise whatever particular thought, feeling, or belief has “moved through you” and you may find (like I did) it’s just no longer necessary to carry those feelings of sadness, despair, empowerment, or entitlement….or even anything really…. around any longer.

And I want to say this too even though it may seem a paradox, but I suppose somewhere in all of my work I really would like to say this out loud just once...and then never again.

I no longer feel the need to justify or explain myself.

I know the truth of my experience. Not someone else’s version of events, or their perception or their calculations.

I know my own truth. This project and my experience working through life to get here, was my own journey- it isn’t a prescription for yours- just more so a collection of field notes from the journey along the way.

Creating this project has been a blessing I am very grateful for, and I feel incredibly privileged to be able to share it publicly, whilst also shelving the project as an act of closure, so that I may move onto the next chapter in my life. Thank you so much for being here, and for your ongoing support.

AFFILIATE LINK

A CHOICE TO CONSIDER: Many of us have been taught to see charity as a one-way street: those who have, give to those who don't. The gift givers feel virtuous. The receiver feels grateful (or ashamed). But this framing on charity misses the entire point.

Real charity isn't about having more to give—it's about recognizing we're all in this together. It dissolves the illusion that there are "helpers" and "the helped." The truth is messier and more beautiful.

We're all both....all of the time.

Always giving, and always receiving. Charity is part of the constant flow of life.

The paradox of charity is that giving without receiving creates hierarchy, not connection. And receiving without ever giving creates dependence, not dignity.

True charity requires both—an open heart that knows when to extend a hand and also when to receive one.

In The Water Bearer Poem, we see what this looks like in practice when The Water Bearer is offered one small gift (a cup) freely and with love, and remembers that the water has always been for her too.❤️ 🪣 🫶

Buy The Choose A Life You Love Charity Journal Via Affiliate Link Here

In recognition of The Water Bearer Poem, today's journal prompt is taken from the Choose A Life You Love Charity Journal. You can buy it on Amazon via our affiliate link here: Please note if you choose to buy via our Amazon link, CALYL may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, this helps us continue finding, making and sharing the things we love too! ❤️

What I loved most about the Water Bearer was the quiet acknowledgement that charity is both giving AND receiving, and in a quiet gentle way, the poem challenges the stereotype that can sometimes be attached.

The Water Bearer Poem is the first essay (number 1) of 14 different parts that were created for CALYL.

On a scale out of 10~ I gave the Water Bearer Poem a total: 10/10~ I Loved creating this poem ~ and the other 13 related pieces that go with it too!!!

But what about you and your experience as the reader?

What did you think? 

Did you like the Water Bearer Poem?

Feel free to leave a comment and share with my both myself, and our readers below ❤️

With Love, Always

Nina xo