Generally speaking, falling is never a good thing. Falling from grace, falling off the wagon, falling up the stairs, these are not things normal individuals aspire to achieve. This had me wondering why so many people are hoping to “fall” in love, and how maybe my reservations in doing so are quite justified.
Let’s start by looking at the word “fall”. Mr. Webster says that “fall” means to descend freely by the force of gravity, to hang freely, to drop oneself to a lower position, to leave an erect position suddenly and involuntarily. Is it just me, or do none of these definitions sound appealing?
So why are we – especially it seems women in my age group- so anxious to fall? It’s freakin scary! Personally when I think of falling, I picture myself tripping off a curb or slipping on ice and landing on my ass. I can’t say that I’ve ever wanted to fall. The thing that sucks about falling is landing. I’ve never had an unexpected fall that has ended pleasantly. I’ve never fallen off a curb into the arms of a handsome stranger; I’ve never slipped and fell on ice only to be rescued by a hot EMT. Nope, I'm found on my backside, sporting a lovely bruise and an embarrassed smile. And to be honest, I haven’t been lucky when “falling” in love either; I’ve only ended up with a broken heart and a bruised ego.
In general, when you leap from a plane or strap yourself into a roller-coaster, you’re not looking forward to the landing; you’re looking forward to the adrenaline rush that accompanies the fall. It’s an intense feeling! Your stomach is in your throat, you’re smiling so hard your face hurts, you’re screaming out in excitement! Doesn’t that sound like more fun than the dull thud you experience when gravity unexpectedly pulls your feet from beneath you?
I think we’ve got it wrong. No one should want to “fall” in love, because falling implies landing, and when you’re with the right person, you want to feel like your head is in the clouds all the time. Yes, it’s realistic to experience ups and downs, but I think as a general rule, if you’re with the “right” person, you should never hit rock bottom.
So I’m giving up on falling in love. I think a better term should be float or fly. OK, I am aware that neither of these sounds nearly as dramatic as “falling” in love, but I’m sick of drama anyway, I think it would be absolutely divine to find someone to hold my hand and fly through life with me. Sure we may have to land a few places in between on our journey, but for most of it we’ll be in the sky, side by side like two happy little love birds. Now I just need to find someone with a really great pair of wings!
