‘We lack the wings to fly, but will always have the strength to fall.’

-Paul Claudel, French poet, 1868-1955

I came across this quote while reading Robert Macfarlane’s book Mountains of the Mind, in a passage where Macfarlane is discussing the constant danger of falling whilst climbing a mountain. The quote immediately resonated with me, because it also speaks to a deeper truth about verticality and the duality of flying and falling.

The ever-present force of gravity confines us to the surface of the earth, while simultaneously making flight a tall task to achieve. It also creates the possibility of a fall, which adds an element of danger to the mix. Flight is complex and difficult, and it required centuries of trial and error to achieve. Falling is simple and easy, requiring only a momentary lapse in judgement, a mis-step, or equipment malfunction. This duality of flight and falling, of freedom and confinement, of exhilaration and terror, gets to the core of our need for verticality. We take great risks to achieve it because something deep within us needs to escape our surface-based prison.