Poet Dmitry Vodennikov on why it is so important to repeat this phrase to yourself from time to time.
“There was such a film “The Woman Who Sings”1. There, the young Pugacheva played herself, but under the name of Anna Sergeevna Streltsova. And the artist Alexander Khochinsky played her husband, Yuri Vladimirovich.
And there is a passing scene in this film. Alla Pugacheva and Yuri Vladimirovich are sitting in the plane. And Pugacheva asks her husband: “If I kiss you now, will we be condemned?” “They will condemn,” Yuri Vladimirovich smiles. “What if our plane crashes? And my goodbye kiss? “Then forgive me!”
«We’re falling!» — ABP says in a weak voice and kisses her husband. At this moment, the passenger sitting in the front seat turns and says: “We haven’t even taken off yet!”
Let’s say right away. So-so reprise. For three.
But I often repeat this two-part nonsense, like the wings of a butterfly.
It always seems to a person that his losses were the most terrible and his ups were the most dizzying. But someone else’s terrible misfortune bypassed us. We did not lose our family, home and homeland. A huge cloud of glory passed us by, swept overhead, but spilled onto others.
We lived as best we could, punched through our walls as best we could, lost according to our strength, and our victories were to our rank. So we don’t have to complain.
Just repeat sometimes when you feel like you’re falling: «We haven’t even taken off yet.» And amazingly next time you will be able to fly. I don’t promise though.
1 «The Woman Who Sings» (dir. Alexander Orlov, 1978).