Dreams Of Flying and Fear of Falling

We have these dreams of flying and a fear of falling. It probably goes back to some far distant monkey-like ancestor who lived in the trees and leapt from branch to branch, flying between them, but always keenly aware of that long fall into oblivion that lay below. Then there is the struggling through limbs, branches and the over-arching canopy to reach the light above and the sun-ripened fruit that is a taste of heaven.

Of course, there are snakes too that live in trees, winding their sinuous forms around those self-same branches that long distant ancestor reached out for to pluck that tempting fruit. Humans have an instinctive fear of snakes and spiders, the dangerous ones that live in trees.

There are also all those dangerous creatures that lurk on the forest floor, far below, vague creeping forms that can reach up and grab the careless or leap on those that fall and savage and torture all those that do – indeed – fall into their sharp-clawed grasp.

Then there is the ever-present danger of the forest fire. A fear of fire is also another of those primal fears that haunt our nightmares.

Then we hear those ancient myths that talk of the heavens above and of the damnation of hells below and realise why they can still reach out and touch some deeper part of ourselves we barely even acknowledge. It is then we know why there are some - who have never stepped out of that unthinking unawareness - who still feel such places are real.