| The first flash caught me by surprise.
The streak of blue-white electricity flew across
the distant sky. It lit up the dark overcast day. Like a marauding army
on the march, the lightning streaks fell
The lightning flashed again. The all too familiar rain started to pour and I turned my wipers on. I was driving into a thunderstorm. The lightning lit up the sky every now and then as day turned into night. I looked up and smiled towards the bolts of energy flashing across the sky, magnificent and yet so distant. I think that life is like a highway.
Sometimes the weather is fine and the drive is good. But at other
times the rain pours in and obscures my view. It makes driving hard and
strenous. But once in a while I can find time to look up for those guiding
flashes of pure energy that light up the skies. Their beauty gives
me pause, and I instantly relax
In many respects, there is always some lightning crashing down in our lives. It happens to coincide with the rainy part, unsurprisingly. In trying times, I look for the lightning that flashes above my head. Sometimes I am too busy with my own life that I forget to look up. It is when I pay attention to the lightning that I can see the path ahead of me clearly in the dark. I pulled up at the highway stop. I got out of my car and ran towards shelter, my hands shielding my head. I got wet anyway. As I stepped inside the store, my hair dripping wet, I noticed a group of people just standing around silently staring at the storm outside. It seemed that they preferred to wait the storm out rather than continue in such horrendous conditions. I smiled at the clerk minding the counter and apologised for wetting his floor. We shared a laugh. As he gave me my change the man standing next to me told me his wife would be thinking he was having an affair, and we laughed again. More people joined in the conversation. Sharing our jokes and stories made passing the time so easy. Soon enough the storm had moved on. We said our goodbyes and went on our way. As I drove off, I could hear the lightning rolling about in the distance |