E=MC what hell?!

I think for today, I am going to give you, my wonderful readers, a lesson in physics. I propose the following:

An object is travelling on a track, and its velocity steadily increases. The object continues down the track (an object in motion tends to stay in motion) until a brick wall is placed in its path. the object, having reached an 80mph velocity, crashes.

Granted, my physics knowledge leaves a lot to be desired. However, one could take this same scenario and apply it to romantic relationships.

Object: Individual stupid enough to get involved.

Velocity: speed (at which relationship progresses - frequency of phone calls, extent of feelings involved, trust, etc.)

Brick wall: the inevitable end of it all.

The whole idea of a car on a track within an enclosed environment, where no one gets hurt, isn't all that frightening. When the experiment is over, you simply pick up the pieces and move on. No harm, no foul. This is not the way it happens with relationships, quasi or full-blown.

The person riding the car (unless they are incredibly astute at managing hormonal attachment to another human being) has no control over how quickly the car picks up speed. More often than not, the once level track becomes steeper and steeper as we fight to maintain our grip on a heavily greased steering wheel. We grit our teeth and brace ourselves because we know that the wall is right up ahead, and it's going to hurt like hell once we hit it...

Once we do, how we choose to pick up the pieces is a completely different story. Some of us opt to wallow in our own self-pity; some of us take up arts and crafts; while others (specifically, me), continue to toy with the idea of screwing the steering wheel back on, backing away from the wall, and trying to drive around it. Ahem...this never works. An object in motion does tend to stay in motion, but a car without wheels and with an emotionally unstable driver never gets very far.

The lesson to be learned - by the time a relationship ends, it has achieved its terminal velocity (the maximum speed at which it will travel) and it's just waiting to hit that wall. When this terminal velocity is reached varies - 3 dates in, 5 years in - it all depends on the couple driving.

Ironically, when put into these terms, a relationship is just like physics - it sucks.