Hey everyone,

I love this question. The first thing that popped into my head is a song by Ani DiFranco (the most righteous babe I know…and my favorite artist). I've included the song below. I think that our view of love as falling has seriously created some problems within our society. I know that this has affected me. I have always idealized romantic love and viewed it as an uncontrollable feeling that will someday completely engulf me. However, I think that this isn't always necessarily the case. First of all, romantic love doesn't last forever…not the form that we see in films and novels, anyway. Eventually you have to acknowledge that you both poop, fart, and a bunch of other unlikable things, and I know that I've never read anything like that in a novel. Also, the metaphor of falling assumes that it is uncontrollable and that we will crash eventually (as Ani mentions). This is a long shot, but it could partially explain our high rate of divorce. Many people nowadays assume that love will not last forever, and when romantic love ends, they end the relationship. Or if they (naively) believe that romantic love will last forever, the crash surprises them and they get out of the relationship (metaphor: relationship as a container). Obviously these are big assumptions, but I'm just pondering. The idea of falling also assumes a kind of reckless abandon. Since one is out of control when falling, then one isn't necessarily responsible for actions taken while falling.

I'm really pumped to hear everyone's responses.
Erin

Falling is like this
~by Ani DiFranco~

you give me that look that's like laughing
with liquid in your mouth
like you're choosing between choking
and spitting it all out
like you're trying to fight gravity
on a planet that insists
that love is like falling
and falling is like this

feels like reckless driving when we're talking
it's fun while it lasts, and it's faster than walking
but no one's going to sympathize when we crash
they'll say "you hit what you head for, you get what you ask"
and we'll say we didn't know, we didn't even try
one minute there was road beneath us, the next just sky
i'm sorry i can't help you, i cannot keep you safe
i'm sorry i can't help myself, so don't look at me that way
we can't fight gravity on a planet that insists
that love is like falling
and falling is like this