Another cyclone approaches ... it's been an incredible spring so far. Strong winds from the south, followed by strong winds from the north. Reverting to south winds, to be followed by north winds once again. A cycle of monumental proportions. Thunderstorms are the result of these titanic forces at play. A feast of sensual pleaure. An awe-inspiring display of forces beyond our human comprehension.
Tonight ... lightning and thunder in a situation with little chance for severe. But I have a deep resonance with lightning and thunder, whatever the result. How do I express that feeling in my soul, when thunder crashes around me and rumbles on ... A beautiful sound that somehow connects to something deep within me. The total effect is awe-inspiring and readily penetrates into my psyche. If you don't find the experience of a thunderstorm to be special ... well, we're not going to be soulmates. My senses are full of the passage of cyclones. Whatever they do or do not produce, if they generate that sonic boom that reaches to the core of your being and you can't respond with awe and wonder ... well, perhaps you have a dead soul. We have no point of contact. You're somehow immune to the forces that shape our world. These forces are indifferent to human concerns, but have shaped us nevertheless. I feel my ancestors, cringing in the dark, shuddering in fear as the atmosphere responds to those unseen forces - the show goes on whether we observe or not. I love it so. The more massive the processes, the more awestruck I am. Imagine being at the nexus of a tornadic supercell. Words fail me. Such an experience is beyond verbal description ... it is a glimpse into the infinite. Religious without any deity.
If you're indifferent to such a message, then I feel sorry for you. It's a chance to be viscerally related to the processes around us that have shaped our world. Be indifferent to these forces at your peril. I'm awestruck in the face of them. I delight in their dance and feel connected to the infinite in their presence. It's a connection to the infinite that surpasses by far the mere religious.
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3 comments:
Chuck,
You just described perfectly what I have struggled for years to relate to others about how I feel about chasing active weather! Your writing here has encapsulated it perfectly!
Last time I experienced that, I was sitting, alone, on the stoop of the commander's quarters at Fort Davis NHS last summer. Words cannot describe the peace. Well, the warm, peaty essence of a fine single malt, savored slowly, might come close.
That's quite poetic. I took comfort in reading this piece. The weather is truly a dynamic exhibit of limitless complexity. Amazing...
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