Lightning Fuse. Powercut. Scatterbrain.
A selection of lines from T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land"
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday had all the makings of a wonderful day. Blue skies, sunshine, chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. It was the first time in weeks that i turned on my fan. At about 3:30 in the afternoon I heard some grey clouds in the distance. I got a little frantic and excited. I thought to myself, "finally, im gonna get a good storm." I watched as the clouds got nearer and the sky got greyer. Pretty soon the sound of thunder was getting more and more frequent. The sky wasnt just a dull grey, but it was radiating. The glowing sky brought me close to my window, and i decided to actively watch for a while. The sky was angry. It was a beautiful colour, so i then decided to pull out my camera. I was going to try and get a lightning bolt on video. I fumbled with my camera to get it out of the case, turned on the camera. I was half looking outside and just about to take off the lens cap.
I dont know how to articulate the impact of this story, but i was on the brink of death. A lightning bolt had literally struck our building. In that instant i saw nothing but great light and felt the immense heat of the lightning bolt. It couldnt have struck more than 15 feet away from me. I tossed my camera up in the air (luckily it landed on my bed), and i ran out into the hallway of my flat where i was greeted by my also startled flatmate. She was about to go into the shower, and was startled by the loud sound of thunder. I dont even remember the sound, i was completely put in shock by the infinite colours that filled my eyes. I dont remember the thunder at all, but the colours were like nothing i've ever seen before.
I was buzzing. I honestly thought for a second that maybe i'd been struck, and still was considering it as i ran into the hallway. I was completely charged. Buzzing.
Im still buzzing from it.
You feel the most alive when you're on the brink of death.
It's what T.S. Eliot was talking about in this part of "The Waste Land". We fill our lives with such inane and dull activity, that when something shakes our very existence, we realize what it's like to be a human. A human the way that nature intended.
There was something very human about my reaction. Without thinking, i reacted to the lightning bolt. I ran. Instinctively. Without thinking.
In the mountains, going down on a sled, holding on tight, there you feel free. It brings you to your most natural and human element.
I hope you can understand what im trying to say.
Lovely, the sky is turning grey again.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday had all the makings of a wonderful day. Blue skies, sunshine, chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. It was the first time in weeks that i turned on my fan. At about 3:30 in the afternoon I heard some grey clouds in the distance. I got a little frantic and excited. I thought to myself, "finally, im gonna get a good storm." I watched as the clouds got nearer and the sky got greyer. Pretty soon the sound of thunder was getting more and more frequent. The sky wasnt just a dull grey, but it was radiating. The glowing sky brought me close to my window, and i decided to actively watch for a while. The sky was angry. It was a beautiful colour, so i then decided to pull out my camera. I was going to try and get a lightning bolt on video. I fumbled with my camera to get it out of the case, turned on the camera. I was half looking outside and just about to take off the lens cap.
I dont know how to articulate the impact of this story, but i was on the brink of death. A lightning bolt had literally struck our building. In that instant i saw nothing but great light and felt the immense heat of the lightning bolt. It couldnt have struck more than 15 feet away from me. I tossed my camera up in the air (luckily it landed on my bed), and i ran out into the hallway of my flat where i was greeted by my also startled flatmate. She was about to go into the shower, and was startled by the loud sound of thunder. I dont even remember the sound, i was completely put in shock by the infinite colours that filled my eyes. I dont remember the thunder at all, but the colours were like nothing i've ever seen before.
I was buzzing. I honestly thought for a second that maybe i'd been struck, and still was considering it as i ran into the hallway. I was completely charged. Buzzing.
Im still buzzing from it.
You feel the most alive when you're on the brink of death.
It's what T.S. Eliot was talking about in this part of "The Waste Land". We fill our lives with such inane and dull activity, that when something shakes our very existence, we realize what it's like to be a human. A human the way that nature intended.
There was something very human about my reaction. Without thinking, i reacted to the lightning bolt. I ran. Instinctively. Without thinking.
In the mountains, going down on a sled, holding on tight, there you feel free. It brings you to your most natural and human element.
I hope you can understand what im trying to say.
Lovely, the sky is turning grey again.
posted by zubin at 6:45 PM
2 Comments:
It certainly puts you into the present moment. A deer in headlights would have had a similar look to you on tuesday. Eyes wide, adrenaline surfing through your bloodstream, and no recollection of past and future events, the absense of ego... living in the present moment. It's all we ever have...
...i personally was caught in that storm outside, walking home from school...the thunder was impressive, a low bellowing and crackling of energy.
I hope you kept the video of your reaction to the lighting, if the camera was even on! cheers bro
that's nuts Z! yet the entire time all i can think about is you and me sitting in the living room watching the weather network and talking about the weather haha!
anyways it always seems to be events of near catastrophe that bring people back to realize just how good they have it, and it definately caught your attention. Hopefully you were able to channel that stuff, maybe some song inspiration or something of the sort
ok enough ranting for me, it's 2am time for bed
Peace
Post a Comment
<< Home