I had something else all planned out for today’s post (I was going to break down the enduring myth of the Bad Boy), but I got sidetracked by an impressive lightning storm. What is it about the lightning storm? How did it make the leap from source of childhood terror to preferred backdrop for lovemaking?
1. The Power of Anticipation. The lightning flash tells us to wait for thunder. Even the length of the wait tells us how far away we are from the center of the storm – the good part. While we wait for the inevitable – while we hold our breath and count to see just how inevitable it is – we will wonder: Will we have to use the candles? Will we get to use the candles?
I say put the lights out. Go ahead and light the candles. Seriously, whenever I am at someone’s house, I check to see if the candles have ever been lit. What are you waiting for?
2. Getting Unplugged. You’re not really supposed to have things on during a lightning storm. I fried a TV like that once (I was housesitting for a very uptight person when this happened, and I caught hell for that, among other things). It makes sense to go ahead and cut the power to everything now, right? Leave the AC on if you must. I must; it’s oppressive here.
What to do now, in the dark with the candles lit? Do you really need guidance, or are you being coy?
You really need guidance? That’s fine – it’s okay to say you really need guidance.
If you are with friends, you are now in the perfect setting to have That Conversation. Go get the bottle of wine and tell secrets. Share embarrassing stories from The Dark Days of High School. Theorize about Things Yet to Come. Debate the Oxford Comma. I like to start with the comma and move backwards through this list to the secrets, but not everyone is all that interested in the comma. It’s the rare man who has a position on the Oxford Comma and is willing to share that position with a woman. I think that’s a sad state of affairs.
If you are with a Special Person, trade secrets. One for one. You’d be surprised by how quickly you will find yourself wishing for the storm to last longer.
If you’re by yourself, daydream. Self-examine (but don’t make yourself the Bad Guy, that’s a drag). Be grateful. Get resolute about Things Yet to Come.
3. The Sexy. Thunder and lightning are caused by proximity, and that should make them sexy all by itself. This is the kind of thing that can be created – that can be manifested – when two things are too close to each other.
Lightning flirts with our most dominant sense in a powerful way. The brilliant flash will show you every angle, every curve, every contour – but only for a second. After that, the space feels darker, but still highly charged with electricity, that feeling of proximity, and that effect can put the best of us a little off balance. Prize that moment of uncertainty. How far away is the storm? How far away is your partner?
By its nature, the lightning storm will tell you how much time you have before it’s over. It’s not easy to get in sync with it, and I would never tell you to try. But feeling at one with nature, moving in time with that immense, raw, elemental force – that is a high that has to be experienced to be believed.
Definitely something to talk about the next time you put out the lights and use the candles.
What is it about the lightning storm for you? Do tell ….
Alexa J. Day 
I love lightning storms. I’m from the Central Jersey Shore where summer lightning storms are common. When I was a kid, our house had no air conditioning, but it did have a screened porch, When storms blew through, I’d run out to the porch to get relief from the oppressive heat, even for those few minutes. Nighttime storms were my favorites. I’d sit in the pitch dark and wait for the wind gusts to blast through and lift my hair from my neck. Sometimes the rain would slant right through the screening, and I’d position myself close enough to the edge to take advantage of the impromptu shower — but not so close that I’d put myself in the lightning’s line of fire.. I’m still that way, and I usually throw the windows open when a storm approaches. By contrast, my hubby, a mountain boy from the Poconos (where apparently the storms are a bit more tame), tends to hide at the first thunder-boom. 🙂
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Leah, you make it sound so exciting! Have you convinced your hubby to get up close and personal with nature yet?
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I love storms too, something about the blue light flashing and rain pouring down, wind howling. Shiver.
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There’s so much to love about it, right? Nothing else is quite the same color as the lightning flash. Then there’s that sound of rain being flung against the windows, and the knowledge that you’re not going anywhere for a while…
Yeah. It’s nice. 🙂
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