Thunder is the loudest part of the storm and the one that can’t touch you.

Noise and danger are not the same thing, and they rarely arrive in the same proportion. A rumble is only the sound of something that already happened somewhere else. Most of what frightens you works like that, loud enough to fill a room and unable to do a single thing to you. The actual risks tend to be quieter and more specific.

When something has your stomach in knots, try naming what could physically happen next. Usually you are left with a short list you can prepare for and a lot of volume you can let roll past.