All the king’s men and all the king’s horses…

Blast from the past.

Today's reading invokes a lot of nostalgia. I chose to borrow from one of the earliest nursery rhymes we were introduced to as kids, the Humpty Dumpty rhyme.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again

The rhyme’s plot

The rhyme takes place in a fantasy world where humans and animals can easily converse, befriend each other and live in harmony. Well bear in mind this is a nursery rhyme for kids. We never noticed as infants but this was the first lesson we got as children. The first horrific illustration we had on how there are consequences for every action we take. Its a pity we did not really catch the gist of the rhyme, allow me.

The rhyme is a repetition of one verse, said or sung three times. We have Humpty Dumpty, an egg who sat on a wall and had his infamous fall which neither the king’s horses nor the king’s men could save him from.

Gosh, I love literature. Without knowing it at the time, I had been introduced to my first lead in a tragedy, Humpty Dumpty. What's more telling from the rhyme was the hidden lessons it was laced it. Humpty's tragedy can serve as a warning to most us, a lesson in pride.

Humpty Dumpty was picked out as an egg and it was not a coincidence. An egg as a symbol is outstanding in that, its immense value lies in its greatest flaw – being fragile. Besides being the ultimate symbol of fragility an egg also represents, fertility and creation. I am my parent's child, and like any other child out there, I am a symbol of prosperity and regeneration.

It might have taken me longer to realize this but for most of my life I represented hope; the potential to change the fortunes of where I come from, for better or for worse. This applies to any one of us, and the buck never stopped because I grew into a young adult, however the window of opportunity gets smaller and time runs out. It is all dependent on how we handle our business.

In the same vein, Humpty Dumpty was in a special position because he was a beacon in his community. He was a prodigy and because of what an egg symbolizes in potential and also in fragility, big things were always to be expected of such a character. When you are fragile people expect you to preserve yourself – (reflected by the expectations society places on girls and their purity) and when you have potential society expects big things from you. Now all this can garner a lot of attention to an individual and it sure did for Humpty Dumpty. The problem started when it all got to his head.

The wall

A wall is symbolic of a stumbling block or the obstacle that stands between you and your purpose. Humpty Dumpty chose to sit atop of that very wall which can hint at blatant recklessness. As I mentioned earlier on in this post, the egg (you), symbolizes creation and fertility and all the potential your family has for you as the next generation. Sitting on a wall is a display of recklessness on your part of being in a life threatening position (you might fall) which might spell the end of your dreams. Rather Humpty Dumpty opted to sit atop the very wall he was supposed to go over, got everyone’s attention – and fell.

As young impressionable adults we “sit on walls” quite often. Social vices are the walls that threaten to break us once we fall as a result of engaging in dangerous habits. Drug abuse, constant unprotected sex, binge drinking, gambling, pornography addiction and a whole host of social vices are the metaphorical walls we are presently sitting on. The adrenaline rush that comes from the impending danger which can result in our downfall is sadly what gets us hooked and we are usually broken by the time we seek help.

By being the children/young adults that we are, it puts us in a unique position in that, we are fragile and hence because of the potential we carry, we draw loads of attention. It is all fun and games when we are still in our youth, fooled by our quick wit, beauty and charm that we forget to maximize and seize the opportunities we have in front of us. It is pleasurable to be adored when we are sitting on top of the wall until we fall whilst others hatch into the beautiful swans and geese they were always meant to be. I don’t know about you but being known for what “could have been” is not how I want my story to be.

The great fall

The fall was tragic and became an epic tale. Infamous it became, to the point that they made a rhyme about it.

No matter how naïve or young and innocent you are some mistakes you make will change the trajectory of your life and you will have to live with the consequences. The world will not give you a pass because you were or are still young, the world won’t understand because you don’t “know” better. Humpty Dumpty became immortalized because of one mistake he made which broke him. Do the same and the world won’t treat you any better.

You should realize that those who hype you up will be the one’s to write stories on your epic downfall. The disciples got to write about how Jesus was crucified and how John the Baptist was beheaded. We do not have to wait to be in trouble in order to discover who stands with us or against us, that pain I would not wish on any desperate person for it is a tough pill to swallow.

Humpty Dumpty became carefree to the extent of sitting on a wall that when he fell they made a rhyme about it. People will be encouraging you to climb up only to celebrate when you fall. The noble actions of the king to help Humpty Dumpty only added better spice to the rhyme and helped the narrative sell.

When you are earmarked for success, the world will try by all means to turn you into a villain of some sort or to distract you in any way it can and it is incumbent on you to stay away from the limelight where your shortcomings cannot be broadcast. When you suffer a setback of epic proportions and it is broadcast so publicly it becomes harder for people to come to your aid. They might want to help you but the negative connotations that will be associated with aiding you might leave you deprived of the help you needed.

Practicing being discreet helps a lot in doing damage control, it is exponentially easier when you can control the narrative to your own story. No one wants to be associated with misfortune which only adds insult to injury, it is always a better option to practice caution than to try and do damage control. Try as much as you can to not always be the center of attention, having some privacy is peaceful.

Closer

Children can afford to make mistakes, young adults cannot. I am young as well and do not have any authority to lecture my peers on this. However, it does not discredit the message I am putting out.

I believe once you turn 18 whatever decision you make has got a significant impact on how your life turns out and that largely affects those around you. You become a role model to the younger impressionable ones who look at you for inspiration and you start reaping dividends to those who invested on you. Bear in mind this happens without you asking for any of it. So, whilst it is obvious that mistakes are going to be made along the way, you simply cannot play Russian Roulette with your future, sitting on great walls and having subsequent great falls. You would be lucky if you get more than one chance, most people don’t.

It becomes harder when resources and opportunities become stretched in this pandemic climate. Let’s strive to make better choices and judgement, we only have one life to live. This is a rallying cry, we can still save ourselves – there is still time.

Thanks for reading up to this point always a pleasure writing for you. That’s it for this topic.