Finding Together

These powerful storms are capable of producing flash floods and downing trees, along with very dramatic displays of lightning.

But with all that violence comes precious rain; without these seasonal rains, the desert would perish....

I think what fascinates me about lighting is the way it combines beauty with violence, two things you wouldn't instinctively expect to find together. Describing it that way, lightning seems an apt metaphor for life itself. We live out our lives amidst beauty and violence. We both love and hurt those close to us. We strive for peace but scream obscenities at those who stand in our way. We practice compassion and kindness with those we know while ignoring the misery of strangers.

The entire history of humanity has been thus, and though I believe with all of my heart in the importance of building a world that lives at peace, we never seem to get there, do we?

[via AnotherThink]