falling

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Sunday, April 20, 2008 1:40:54 PM


water is my favorite natural symbol and teacher. i hesitate to say so, because it is a killer as well. people i know have probably lost loved ones in lakes or oceans or floods. it happens every day. but then, i guess death is a teacher too to those living.

i have leapt from high places just to feel the wind on my face. i have a thing for speed. the adrenaline is fantastic, and the feeling of cutting air is like triumph. i regard the breaking of all barriers with esteem. the sudden change in sound alone from thrashing motion to a sharp placated landing into water invites important thinking. the world turns in an instant, and finally you are fully alert. when else does this happen?

i have heard that still water is like glass from high places. there is some formula for which moment to drop your shoe into the water to break the surface before your body hits. can you imagine? the thinnest layer of liquid binds together at some invisible molecular level. fluid, but defined. i am jealous.

i dream about falling, and water. and gravity. apparently, this is quite common. conventional interpretations associate falling dreams with insecurity, instability, anxiety. i suppose it’s obvious. losing a foothold, grasping in the air, lack of control, all of them “shortfalls”. falling dreams usually occur during the first stage of sleep, which is accompanied by muscle spasms and minor tremors in the body. when bottom hits, we jerk ourselves awake, startled and relieved. it is thought that this is part of an arousal mechanism that allows the sleeper to become instantly defensive to threats in the waking environment. i don’t think of myself as the cautious type, but i won’t rule it out.

i can’t remember the last time i dreamed of flying, but those are my favorite kind.


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