{"id":31,"date":"2026-09-30T02:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/?p=31"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:53:31","slug":"the-lightning-and-the-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/?p=31","title":{"rendered":"The Lightning and the Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

A Story About Seeing, Feeling, and Finding Your Way Back to\u00a0Yourself<\/h3>\n

The Gap Between Flash and\u00a0Boom<\/h3>\n

When you were a child, someone probably taught you this trick: Count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. Divide by five. That\u2019s how many miles away the storm is.<\/p>\n

A game. A way to feel safe. A way to measure the distance between you and danger.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s something else there. Something about perception. Something about the space between seeing something and understanding what it means.<\/p>\n

The lightning comes first. Sudden. Unmistakable. It illuminates everything for a split second\u200a\u2014\u200athe sky, the landscape, the shape of things you couldn\u2019t see a moment before. And then it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

The thunder follows later. It rumbles. It shakes. It takes its time arriving.<\/p>\n

That gap\u200a\u2014\u200athat pause\u200a\u2014\u200ais where something important lives.<\/p>\n

Think about it. This is the space between having an experience and knowing what it means. Between feeling something profound and being able to put it into words. Between the moment that changes you and the moment you can explain why.<\/p>\n

The Loneliness of Seeing Things Differently<\/h3>\n

Have you ever had a moment that changed you? A conversation that shifted everything? A realization that hit you like a wave? A quiet morning when something suddenly made sense that never had before?<\/p>\n

What was that? Did that really happen?<\/em><\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t I explain it to anyone?<\/em><\/p>\n

Why does it feel like no one else sees what I see?<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of the loneliest feelings in the world. You\u2019ve been somewhere\u200a\u2014\u200amaybe not physically, but somewhere. You\u2019ve seen something. You\u2019ve felt something. And when you try to share it, the words feel empty. The people you love look at you with concern, or confusion, or patience that feels like pity.<\/p>\n

They haven\u2019t seen what I\u2019ve seen.<\/em><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just about near-death experiences or spiritual awakenings. This is about the quiet moments. The small revelations. The sudden clarity that changes how you see your life, your work, your relationships, yourself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the feeling of being the only one who noticed the lightning.<\/p>\n

Everyone else only heard the thunder.<\/p>\n

The Weight of Quiet\u00a0Nights<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

For years, I struggled with sleep.<\/p>\n

Not because of nightmares. Not because of insomnia. But because of the stillness. Because of what happens when the world goes quiet and you\u2019re left alone with your thoughts.<\/p>\n

There are two versions of this struggle.<\/p>\n

One is the dread. The fear that comes in the dark. The questions that surface when the distractions fade: What am I doing? Why am I here? How much time do I have?<\/em><\/p>\n

The other is the opposite. The refusal to let go. The urge to stay awake because your mind is alive with ideas. Because you\u2019re afraid that if you close your eyes, you\u2019ll lose something precious. The thought that slips away. The insight that fades. The inspiration that might not return.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t sleep. I\u2019ll forget. I\u2019ll lose it. It won\u2019t come back.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the paradox of the creative mind. You dread sleep because you don\u2019t want to face the void. You dread sleep because you don\u2019t want to lose the fire. Both are fears of losing something\u200a\u2014\u200aeither control or inspiration.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned:<\/p>\n

The ideas that matter will find their way back to you.<\/p>\n

The Ocean and the\u00a0Fish<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

Imagine the universe as an ocean. Vast. Deep. Full of life.<\/p>\n

Ideas are like fish swimming in that ocean. They\u2019re everywhere. You can\u2019t see them all, but they\u2019re there. Sometimes they jump out of the water and you catch a glimpse of something extraordinary. Sometimes you sit still and one swims right up to you.<\/p>\n

Silence helps you find these fish. It calms the water. It slows the waves. It creates the stillness where you can see what\u2019s beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, you catch a big one.<\/p>\n

The excitement of a new idea. The thrill of something original. The sense of discovery that makes the world feel fresh and full of possibility.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, you lose it. You forget. You can\u2019t find it again. You search and search and it\u2019s gone. The fish got away.<\/p>\n

Losing an idea can feel devastating. You\u2019re left with the memory of something brilliant that you might never catch again.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned: If an idea is good enough, it will resurface. Maybe not the same fish. But one of equal or greater value.<\/p>\n

The ocean is vast. The fish are plentiful. The universe is abundant. If you caught one once, you can catch another. And if the idea was truly important\u200a\u2014\u200atruly necessary\u200a\u2014\u200ait will find its way back to you.<\/p>\n

You just have to trust the process.<\/p>\n

The Art That Doesn\u2019t Explain\u00a0Itself<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

Have you ever watched a film that didn\u2019t make sense? Read a book that felt like a dream? Walked through an art gallery and felt completely lost?<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I hated art galleries.<\/p>\n

I hated them because anything could mean anything. I would walk through rooms of paintings and sculptures, and I would feel frustrated. What am I supposed to see here? What\u2019s the correct interpretation? What does the artist want me to feel?<\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted answers. I wanted clarity. I wanted to understand.<\/p>\n

And the gallery gave me nothing but questions.<\/p>\n

So I hated it.<\/p>\n

But as an adult, I love art for the exact same reason.<\/p>\n

Now I see the freedom in it. The invitation. The permission to bring yourself to the work and find what you need there. The painting doesn\u2019t tell you what to think. It asks you what you think. It holds up a mirror and lets you see yourself reflected in the colors and shapes and shadows.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a weakness. That\u2019s the whole point.<\/p>\n

The Mystery We\u2019re All Living\u00a0In<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s something about art that operates on a deeper level. Something dreamlike. Something that doesn\u2019t follow the rules of logic or linear storytelling.<\/p>\n

Characters appear and disappear. Reality warps. Things that seem important are never explained. Things that seem irrelevant become central.<\/p>\n

A lot of people don\u2019t get the weird. But that\u2019s half the point.<\/p>\n

The best art\u200a\u2014\u200athe work that stays with you\u200a\u2014\u200adoesn\u2019t offer easy answers. It doesn\u2019t tell you what to think. It invites you to find your own meaning.<\/p>\n

And when the artist explains their work, something is lost. When someone says, \u201cThis is what I meant,\u201d suddenly the possibilities close off. The interpretation becomes limited. Someone else\u2019s understanding becomes more valuable than your own.<\/p>\n

But the truth is, meaning is not in the thing itself. It\u2019s in the space between the thing and the person experiencing it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the gap between the lightning and the thunder. The flash of perception, and the understanding that follows.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, it takes a long time for the thunder to arrive.<\/p>\n

The Vision and the Integration<\/h3>\n

When you have a moment\u200a\u2014\u200aa real moment\u200a\u2014\u200aof clarity, of understanding, of something shifting inside you, it often feels isolating.<\/p>\n

People don\u2019t get me.<\/em><\/p>\n

They haven\u2019t seen what I\u2019ve seen.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the loneliest sentence in the human language. It\u2019s the feeling of being the only one who noticed the lightning\u200a\u2014\u200awhile everyone else only heard the thunder.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s interesting: this can be your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.<\/p>\n

The weakness is obvious. You feel alone. You feel misunderstood. You can\u2019t explain what happened because there aren\u2019t words for it. You can\u2019t make people understand because they haven\u2019t lived it. You start to doubt yourself. Maybe it didn\u2019t happen. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe I\u2019m just crazy.<\/em><\/p>\n

The strength is subtler. The strength is that you\u2019ve seen something. You\u2019ve glimpsed something real. And whether or not anyone else can see it yet, that doesn\u2019t change the truth of what you experienced.<\/p>\n

The lightning struck. The thunder will come later.<\/p>\n

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not in a way that anyone else will ever fully understand.<\/p>\n

But it came. It was real. And it changed you.<\/p>\n

The Gardener\u2019s Patience<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve lost count of the ideas I\u2019ve lost.<\/p>\n

Brilliant concepts that I was certain would change everything. Flashes of insight that felt like lightning in my brain. Dreams that were so vivid, so clear, so full of meaning\u200a\u2014\u200auntil I woke up and they dissolved like morning mist.<\/p>\n

For years, this devastated me. I would lie awake trying to hold onto them, trying to write them down, trying to make them stay. I would feel the loss like a death, like I\u2019d let something precious slip through my fingers.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve learned to trust the process.<\/p>\n

If an idea is good enough, it will resurface. Not the same fish\u200a\u2014\u200athat fish is gone. But another one. One of equal or greater value.<\/p>\n

This is the gardener\u2019s patience. This is the meditator\u2019s calm. This is the artist\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n

The ocean is infinite. The fish are always there. The ideas never stop coming. The lightning never stops striking.<\/p>\n

You just have to be there when it happens. And you have to trust that the thunder will follow.<\/p>\n

The Gallery Is Always\u00a0Open<\/h3>\n

I think the people who create the work we love\u200a\u2014\u200athe art that changes us, the ideas that shift our perspective\u200a\u2014\u200athey understand something fundamental about the human experience.<\/p>\n

They understand that we\u2019re all living in a mystery. That the things that matter most are the things we can\u2019t fully explain. That meaning is not something you find\u200a\u2014\u200ait\u2019s something you create.<\/p>\n

They understand the lightning and the thunder.<\/p>\n

The flash comes first. The meaning comes later. And the gap between them is where we live\u200a\u2014\u200awhere we create, where we struggle, where we grow.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also where we feel alone. Because when the lightning strikes, only you see it. Only you know what you saw.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: the thunder will come. The explanation will follow. The interpretation will find its audience. The vision will eventually make sense to someone else.<\/p>\n

It might not make sense to everyone. It might not make sense in your lifetime. But the fish will return. The idea will resurface. The lightning will strike again.<\/p>\n

And the thunder\u200a\u2014\u200athat rumble that follows\u200a\u2014\u200awill shake the ground for everyone else to feel.<\/p>\n

What This Means for\u00a0You<\/h3>\n

Maybe you\u2019re reading this and thinking, I know exactly what they mean.<\/em><\/p>\n

Or maybe you\u2019re thinking, I don\u2019t get it. I\u2019m not sure what any of this has to do with me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Either way, that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever felt misunderstood. If you\u2019ve ever had an experience you couldn\u2019t explain. If you\u2019ve ever had a dream that felt more real than waking life. If you\u2019ve ever lost an idea and felt like something precious slipped through your fingers.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever looked at a painting and felt something you couldn\u2019t name. If you\u2019ve ever watched a film and felt like it was speaking directly to you, even though you couldn\u2019t explain why. If you\u2019ve ever been afraid of the quiet, or afraid of losing the fire.<\/p>\n

Then you understand. Even if you didn\u2019t have the words for it.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you do have the words for it, and that\u2019s almost crazier from societal perspective. But that\u2019s the point of art. The intention is to connect with the world. Sometimes it\u2019s a perfect storm of exactly how you\u2019re feeling and that\u2019s okay to feel. You\u2019re not crazy for getting emotional from a film, book, or even TV Series. You\u2019re human and that\u2019s the whole point.<\/p>\n

The lightning struck. You saw something. Maybe you can explain it. Maybe you can\u2019t. Maybe you\u2019re still waiting for the thunder.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

The vision was real. The experience happened. The art is alive in you. And whether or not anyone else gets it\u200a\u2014\u200awhether or not you ever fully understand it yourself\u200a\u2014\u200ait changed you.<\/p>\n

And maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n

A Final\u00a0Thought<\/h3>\n

Think of the people you love. The ones who make you feel seen. The ones who don\u2019t need you to explain everything. The ones who sit with you in the gap between the flash and the boom.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t always understand. They don\u2019t always have to.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re just there. Waiting for the thunder. Trusting that it will come.<\/p>\n

The gallery is open. The art is waiting. The meaning is yours to find.<\/p>\n

Count the seconds.<\/p>\n

The thunder is on its way.<\/p>\n

Whenever you feel alone in what you\u2019ve seen, remember: The lightning still struck. The flash was real. And the thunder\u200a\u2014\u200athat rumble that follows\u200a\u2014\u200awill shake the ground for everyone else to feel.<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually.<\/em><\/p>\n

Keep watching. Keep waiting. Keep creating.<\/em><\/p>\n

The fish will return.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Originally published on Medium. It lives here now \u2014 new essays land in the Journal<\/a> first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Story About Seeing, Feeling, and Finding Your Way Back to\u00a0Yourself The Gap Between Flash and\u00a0Boom When you were a child, someone probably taught you this trick: Count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. Divide by five. That\u2019s how many miles away the storm is. A game. A way to feel safe. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[12,9],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-meaning","tag-mind"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamlogiclabs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}