“Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are lucky it strikes you right.” ~Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
What is it about lightning that fascinates us?
What is it about love that changes us?
Both are capable of destroying us, but if we’re fortunate enough to survive with our heart intact, which is rarely the case, we’re brave enough to stand out in the rain once again.
The breeze of unforgettable whispers lures us to out into the open.
The comfort of the moment roots us to the spot, despite our instincts screaming at us to run in the opposite direction.
The sun and the moon will be concealed by the clouds, and yet we wish upon a star.
We take that chance, because we love the rain.
We need that kiss from heaven to land on our parched lips and satiate our need to be felt.
We see them fall…the tears from heaven…like everyone else around us who finds the perfect person for them. And we long to fall in love…like the tears from heaven…crashing down without regard for the inevitable pain of hitting rock bottom.
Oh, but for that brief instant when each rain drop forms in the heavens and journeys into the abyss of the end, it lives. That rain drop is part of a storm. One that will change the world forever.
Perhaps, that’s what it’s all about.
We know not how long we’ll live, but we do know that it’s incumbent upon us to live.
On the way down, that rain drop is searching for a place to make a difference.
The raindrop is the person heaven sent for you.
Lightning, however, is the feeling that person inspires in you.
It rarely hits its mark, but when it gets you…you just know.
There’s no second-guessing it.
There’s no wondering if it is real.
When lightning strikes, you know it is lightning.
This is love.
Love will fascinate you.
The prospect of seeing it amid the rage of a storm captivates us like a moth to a flame.
We want that heat.
We need it.
We crave it to such an extent that we risk our lives, or our life as we know it, for the sheer curiosity of what it feels like and the certainty that we’ll survive it.
And even if we don’t, what of it.
They say: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” but even if it does kill you, well, then, at least you’ll know you lived life to the fullest.
Isn’t that the point?
At best, you’ll have a story to tell.
At worst, heaven chose to touch your heart.
Felix Alexander Writer 