Promise In The Thunder

"We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thunder-cloud, and the rain." Henry David Thoreau Outside the clouds have darkened the sky. I have purposefully left the lights of my office off, enjoying the afternoon dimmed light ... listening to the thunder off in the distance. Although I am cursed with frosted windows and cannot see out, there is promise in the thunder. It has been so dry here. Although Hurricane Ivan brought torrential floods and storm surges nearby, here it has been dry. It's been a dry summer for the most part. And now that October has arrived, I hope that a passing cool front or two will trigger some afternoon showers. Listening this afternoon, it seems like that's what may be about to happen. At the same time thunder is threatening. I've always been a little frightened of thunderstorms, though I try to hide it. Something about the suddenness of the giant booms makes me jump. The lightning doesn't seem to scare me as much, though it is dangerous element. How often are we frightened by elements of life that cannot harm us ... but foolishly embrace the things that can destroy us? There is both a promise and a warning in the thunder. In what way have we ignored the thunder and risked the fury of the storm? That's what I want to think about today. Thunder only happens when it's raining, Players only love you when they're playing Say women, they will come and they will go When the rain washes you clean you'll know -- Fleetwood Mac, Dreams