Dear Friend,
Have you ever sat and observed the power of nature as manifested in a thunderstorm? I love how the storms can approach in the evenings, when all is dark, the flashes getting a bit brighter and more frequent with time. What most stirs me, however, is the distant rumble of thunder.
Thunder in the night sounds to me like the ultimate communication of power. Great power. And when I listen in the darkness I feel like a small mouse, hiding in the grass, waiting for the elephant to pass by.
I think I am well safe, so I allow myself to indulge in the awe of the vision. Something so large, and so powerful, and potentially so dangerous is in my midst. I can fear it and admire it at the same time. It exists to fulfill its purpose, and then dies.
I can do nothing to interfere. And if I could interfere, would I? Should I? Should I fear something simply because it is more powerful than I? Must I destroy anything that might possibly threaten me at some moment in the future? Or can I learn to live in a universe where I truly am just a mouse in the grass, watching in perceived safety, admiring the greatness that surrounds me, and then going about my small, simple, and relatively insignificant life?
Doesn’t this describe the true nature of humanity, on a tiny planet, in an insignificant corner of the universe? And are you and I any less important, than any other thing in the universe, simply because we lack the power to destroy most of what surrounds us? Simply because we have far less control over the physical universe that we desire?
I enjoy the distant thunder, so I now return to it’s solemn symphony. I hope you have a great day!
All the best,
Hugh
