The Art of Falling

What is it about falling down that makes you forget the actual fall? One minute you’re standing up and the next you’re on the floor. I never remember what leads to a fall. I feel like I black out from the moment it happens to right before I hit the floor. And then, no matter how hard I try, it never comes back to me. 

Ever had one of those dreams where you are falling from a height and you suddenly wake up? According to psychologists, these are classified as one of the most common dreams. The others are being chased, naked in public and flying. But what happens when these dreams become a reality? 

I was never the one to fall but that changed the day I fell through an open door. Yes! An OPEN door! There was nothing to trip on. All I remember is being on the ground and people rushing towards me to help me up, while my friends stood in one corner and laughed their heads off. Another time, I fell in the gym. What do I remember from that fall? Hands reaching down to me, concerned faces asking if I was okay. I felt like crying, and I had no idea why.

And again, I was walking on the road, and the next thing I know, I am lying face down on the asphalt. As always, there was nothing in my way to aid the fall and I didn’t slip either. Moreover, I didn’t have my friends to make fun of me and I wished I did; someone to make light of the situation. There was a lone stranger standing on the pavement lazily taking in, what must have seemed to him, a tragic fall. 

It seemed like eternity as I picked myself up and dusted myself off. Why does time stretch itself out in embarrassing situations? Good lessons do seem to come out of terrible situations though, because I realized that the best thing to do to recover from a fall is to laugh it off, otherwise, it’s just sad.

P.S. I am not clumsy at all, just in case you're wondering! 


To read a slightly different version of this same article, click here.