30,00 degrees K and hotter than the surface of the Sun; all channeled through a space no wider than a pencil and faster than a bullet fired out of a revolver. And for many of us growing up, the most terrifying aspect of lightning wasn't the flash of light, but it was its booming thunder. And here's the paradox of the entire phenomena: that overwhelming and scary thunder is Nature's method for managing and diffusing this immense and destructive energy surge.  This heating inside of a lightning channel causes a rapid outward expansion, impacting the surrounding cooler air at a speed faster than sound would otherwise travel. The resultant outward-moving pulse is a shock wave.  I simply share this trivia regarding lightning to remind myself and you of the awe-inspiring grandeur of Nature. Unharnessed, raw, simple, powerful, mysterious Nature.

​

So which comes first?  The lightning or thunder?  It is the lightning that causes the thunder, due to the rapid expansion of air that gets suddenly heated by a bolt of lightning.  Lightning is extremely hot, and it can reach temperatures as high as 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit - again, hotter than the surface of the Sun. In a matter of milliseconds.  And the thunder follows after, with its boisterous announcement of what has already occurred.

​

My friend, how human life seems to follow this same pattern so much of the time.  Painful events in our life that occur in a millisecond, which injure us and scar us, and then all that is left is the "noise" reminding us and others of what has already occurred.  In our own lives, my friend, we may find, when reflecting back, that we focused on, stressed about and were/are scarred more by the "noise" than the initial strike. When our own storms of perceived tragedy and misfortune subside, we often times find that somehow, miraculously and mysteriously, we come through unscathed... We don't understand it all and that's okay - again, its the unharnessed, raw, powerful, mysterious nature of Life.  And did you know only 20% of all lightning victims die from the strike , but 70% of survivors will suffer serious long-term effects?  Very similar to our own lightning strikes of loss and personal pain... and the 'noise" echoes on in our life to remind us of our past losses and pains.

​

Post Note: Lightning never strikes twice in the same place? In reality, the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower get hit thousands of times a year by lightning, as do mountain tops and radio-television antennas.  And just like lightning, so many of us know from personal experience that the lightning strikes of loss and pain happen more than once to the same life.

 

So just in case the clouds roll in and the heavens open up, it's probably still a good idea to seek low ground or indoor shelter... but keep looking to the sky in simple wonder, knowing the thunder and "noise" is relatively harmless.