Sometimes the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day align so perfectly, it feels like they planned it behind my back. June 25 is one of those days. Between Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetic description of calm resilience and a simple question about thunderstorms, we’re asked to examine what stillness looks like in the middle of disruption, and how we really feel when the sky breaks open.
Let’s dig in.
Thought of the Day
“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
There’s something undeniably soothing about this metaphor. A clock doesn’t argue with the storm. It doesn’t speed up to match the lightning or stop to take cover. It just ticks. And that’s the goal, right? To keep showing up. Not frantically, not fearfully, just steadily.
I’ll be honest, though: my mind isn’t naturally quiet. It’s more like a group chat that never silences. But I’ve noticed that when I am able to quiet the noise—usually early in the morning, before the house wakes up, I find a kind of peace that’s not dependent on anything going “right.” It’s not just the absence of stress; it’s the presence of calm. A confidence that says, “Whatever comes next, I’m not going to lose my rhythm.”
I wrote something similar in being still enough to hear the rain. It’s about pulling back from the chaos and choosing the kind of steady that doesn’t chase storms, it lets them pass.
And that’s the kind of person I want to be. Clock energy. Quietly faithful. Still ticking—even when thunder shakes the walls.
Question of the Day
How do you feel about thunderstorms?
I love them. Always have. Not just the sound of the rain or the flash of lightning, but the way a thunderstorm demands your attention. It shakes the air. It makes you pause. You can’t out-talk a thunderclap.
Growing up, I used to sit by the window during storms—not scared, but fascinated. There was something both powerful and peaceful about watching the world get washed clean in one noisy, dramatic act. I still feel that way. A thunderstorm is one of the few natural events that can override our distraction and remind us, “Hey, look up. Something bigger than you is happening.”
That said, not everyone feels that way. Some people hear thunder and immediately think of everything that could go wrong, power outages, falling trees, flooded basements. I get that too. Thunderstorms can shake things loose. They remind us we’re not in control.
But maybe that’s the point.
In “There Comes a Point Where We Need to Go Upstream”, I wrote about seeing the bigger picture. Storms do that. They zoom us out. They remind us how temporary our plans are and how little control we actually have—and if we’re paying attention, they also remind us how strong we really are when things start shaking.
So… how do you feel about thunderstorms? Do they terrify you, or do they leave you feeling oddly comforted? Because either way, the answer probably says something about your relationship with control, chaos, and maybe even yourself.
Want to explore your own storm-weathering mindset?
Leave a comment below—do you love the rumble, or does it shake you to your core? And if you want a daily prompt to reflect on (or rant about), I’d love to send one to your inbox each morning.