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
Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme
I’ve been reading Louise Penny’s book A Trick of the Light and her conversation about Humpty Dumpty really got me thinking.
Even with the help of all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, Humpty Dumpty wasn’t put back together again, nor was he ever the same.
The question Louise Penny poses is this: what if the King’s men and horses had succeeded in their quest to put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Would he have just fallen off the wall again?
To quote Myrna, “even if they succeeded, he’d just fall again. … The same person will just keep doing the same stupid thing, over and over. So if you put all the pieces back exactly as they were, why would you expect your life to be different?”[1]
Perhaps that was the point. “He wasn’t meant to be put together again. He was meant to be different. After all, an egg on a wall would always be in peril. Maybe Humpty Dumpty had to fail. And maybe all the King’s men had to fail.”
I know that when we lose someone close to us, there are times, especially in the early days of loss, that we long for the way things were, and we wonder if we’ll ever be the same again. As time progresses, we realize that we are just like Humpty Dumpty, we will never be the same again.
This presents us with an opportunity. A choice. Do we embrace the opportunity and change and grow into a newer version of ourselves, or do we lie on the floor and let life pass us by? I’m choosing to embrace the opportunity, as scary and as difficult as it is proving to be. There are times, especially those days when I’m tired and scared, that I want to retreat. But at the end of the day, there is only one way, and that’s forward. We cannot go back. We can never go back.
Embrace the opportunity. And remember, your light shines through the cracks. Be like the priceless vase mended with gold becoming a new priceless work of art. Allow God to put you back together and allow His light to shine through you.
[1] A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Voyage through Life 
This really got me thinking too…hmm. An egg on a wall, not a smart idea, eh? Thought about how God has a purpose/plan for us, and how we don’t always hear him, and how we tend to take control and end up someplace we should never of been.
Thank you Kate for your post and your reflections, it’s has changed my attitude for the day ahead.
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