I Hope I Don't Fall
Oh, I Hope I Don’t Fall!
Falling in love, falling out of love, falling from grace, falling into bad habits, falling out of favour, falling into negative thoughts - we’ve all been there, and we will most likely end up there again and again.
The fall is one of the most natural experiences for us human beings to have, and it happens to us all. As above, so below. For us to rise, we must fall. When we fall, we rise again. This is a very natural occurrence in nature as well. The moon and the sun, the tides, come rain come shine, cut something down and it will grow back. At its center, we find balance. As a dance with equilibrium.
The way that we human beings approach it though, will be with hesitancy and resistance. Maybe less so with the falling in love part, but for some people that might be truly scary as well. The point is this, we take falling as a massive failure, as if we aren’t worthy, as if we don’t deserve it. But much like the saying ‘we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars,’ when we rise from the fall, not only is it a testament to our own strength, but it inspires others to rise as well. Hardship will come to us all in many forms, many intensities, and the more we endure and rise above, we grow stronger and wiser with time.
Therefore, let the fall be a teacher. A way for you to listen with more attention and awareness, and thus building more experience. It can be in the simplest form - a balancing asana pose. You lose balance and fall out, but you didn’t fail, you learned something new. You found an edge. Try again, find that edge, see and feel what is there. Ah, balance found a way, and you find a new edge, and then the fall. Try again. It is right there, in the simplest ways, a way of listening and learning.
Love is not so much different. We fall in love, we grow, we argue, we make up, we find new depth and grow more, we find dissonance and it might persist until we decide to part ways. The balance was always being danced around and for some time it is there, and for some it changes. It’s not a failure, it ran its course. As long as we feel that we did our best for the sake of growth, we didn’t fail. There is no such thing as a failed relationship, we either grow together or we grow apart. And that is always a beautiful thing.
When it comes to bad habits, let’s be honest, we all have them. Some are quite minuscule and others might be more serious, and it’s not inherently bad if we slip up sometimes. Once again, we might have to go there to realise that, instead of trying to avoid it. If these bad habits causes you to miss a day at the gym or have that delicious dessert a bit more often, let it be so. Laugh about it, let it go, move on. If it’s a more serious habit that causes harm, perhaps sharing this with a trusted friend to find support, and let yourself be held and accountable to rise above it as well. By the way, that goes for the extra pint of ice cream too, you can totally have an accountability pal for that.
Have you ever fallen out of favour with a friend? Something that happened that caused you to drift apart? Let the fall be a reflection of what happened, and if you feel that you did something out of integrity or if you feel that you did everything you could to honour your integrity? Maybe one day you will meet and rise above the situation and enhance your friendship, maybe it wasn’t a good friendship to begin with?
Maybe you are prone to falling into negative thought patterns? Does it feel like a labyrinth in your mind which is hard to get out of? I feel you, this is not an uncommon thing. First off, it’s ok to have these thought patterns. It shows that you care, that you feel, and that you are aware of your inner surroundings and outer surroundings. There is strength in that. Secondly, it doesn’t take a lot for it to change, this is the most important part. And this goes for everything above as well.
Let the fall be a way for your to gain new perspective, to let go of the things you were clinging on to, to make peace with what wasn’t for you. Let the fall be a place of new insight and clarity. Let the fall be a gift that shows you that you did not settle, you did not get compliant, you did not give up. Instead, let the fall be a testament to how you stand back up when you’re down on your knees, how you brush yourself off and try again, how you continuously rise above each time.
If you have a story of falling - in love, out of love, from grace, into negative patterns - or anything else, I’d love to read it, let’s inspire each other by acknowledging that we fall all the time, and that together we can rise again.
Thank you for reading,
Chris Fox
About the Author
Chris Fox is a mobility specialist and movement coach focusing on joint health, body awareness, and how to reduce pain with active bodywork. With the Fox Method, he helps people to get a stronger connection to their body, by isolating joint awareness, activating body control, and integrating healthier movement habits.
If you want to work on your mobility and stability, increase more body awareness and reduce pain to feel more light and alive, you can contact Chris for a session: thisischrisfox@gmail.com
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