Back in the late 80s, a restaurant near the campus of the University of Pennsylvania featured a fountain in the middle of the dining room. I wrote–in longhand–most of my Master’s thesis there.

I’d wait until the lunch rush was over, then get a table near the fountain, order black coffee and maybe a snack to justify my presence, then sit and write–for hours, until the dinner rush began. I’m still grateful that I was never made to feel like a nuisance. The wait staff cheerfully refilled my cup and management left me alone.

The sound of tumbling water was the perfect backdrop. It soothed my spirit, enlivened my intellect, and focused my mind for the task at hand. Maybe, in addition to our need for water to drink, those qualities are why humans seem so attracted to running and tumbling water. Certainly, near rivers and streams is where many, many human settlements have been established over the centuries.

Maybe those qualities of moving water also inspired the prophet Amos.

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

–Amos 5:24