Love

We fall metaphorically. The weightless feeling remembered from dreams, the sense of flying with no control, the hollow in the pit of the stomach are all associated with that falling sensation in our minds. Falling is terrible with its promise of impending impact, momentary but devastating with nothing to hold onto. But it can also be exhilarating- the sky dive, the bungee jump, the fairground attraction. Falling in love has that exhilaration but not always with the attendant parachute, ankle cord or seatbelt. The French call this l’amor fou, or mad love, a complete letting go, a free fall into an emotional abyss. Then there is the catcher, into whose arms we fall in all the best stories. Once safely enfolded in those arms the exhilaration of the fall fades. Then we change roles and the catcher falls and the faller catches over and over and we discover that we are IN love.