epiphany . POWER . illumination
“A dazzling flash of lightning in a dark night, bringing the landscape which had been hidden into clear view.”
– Richard Maurice Bucke
a whole world, instantly
Some people are like lightning and live in the now. “I have only to do with the present,” said Catherine in Wuthering Heights. But lightning never comes alone…
consequences . future . time
Thunder brings time, as well as space. “Thunder puts a roof over my head, a very high, vaulted ceiling of rumbling sound.”
– John M. Hull
Peoples of the world have heard thunderbirds clapping their wings, snakes rattling their tails, hoofed animals galloping, sometimes carrying gods with them. The Vedas describe what happened when unhappy beings asked their father for help. Thunder, his divine voice, answered:
DA!
all creatures heard what they needed to hear
dāmyata . datta . bayadhvam:
restrain . share . be compassionate
In 1900, artists in Paris imagined an electric future. Scientists inspired Mary Shelley to spark Frankenstein to life. Indeed, today we shock people back to life, as well as to death. Currents through the brain can heal and torture us. Lightning bolts scare us, but also charge our phones.
We now feel electric: we are shocked, electrified, we feel a spark
after lightning, there is fire and rain
before lightning, there is friction, tension
opposites attract
positive . negative
fire . rain
terrifying . beauty
life . death