Photo by Zuza Gałczyńska on Unsplash

I jump on that lightning bolt

The Retune Blog - 16th June 2023

Let’s go back to the hazy summer of 2012 and the London Olympics. For me, going to the Olympics in Stratford, where my Mum had come from and I had spent so much time visiting my Nan and Grandad when growing up, was emotional and special. And then, of course, there were the olympians.

Who can forget the magical Usain Bolt? Today’s song, Jake Bugg’s Lightning Bolt, became the backing track to Bolt’s 100 metre sprint. A great athlete, Bolt was also an entertainer, but like all the greats, there is always that something extra. When there is a challenge, for someone like Bolt, they see an opportunity to take a chance and succeed.

This idea about the nature of life being challenging, often mundane, sometimes horrid, is well versed in Bugg’s Lightning Bolt song. But in the midst of all the less than glamorous experiences of life, there is one lyric in the song which gives us a hint of how people like Usain Bolt succeed:

But when I see the signs, I jump on that lightning bolt.

A lightning bolt is a powerful and perhaps even scary and dangerous act of nature. Yet, the encouragement here is to jump on it, welcome it and go with it. Now that really is risk taking!

But when we look at people who are successful there are patterns that begin to emerge. Sure, they work hard, and may have a natural ability or inclination, but they are always willing to take a chance and back themselves.

This idea of taking a chance may seem counter-cultural in society which is risk averse and encourages us to insure ourselves against risk and change. Yet, risk is an innate feature of all life and experiences. There is no way we can avoid risk, indeed avoiding risk itself creates other risks. So, the question this song poses to us today is what lightning bolts are around us which we should take a risk and jump upon?