I Learned To Walk The Clumsy Way
But I had fun doing it while sustaining many life lessons, and lovely scars in the process.
Childhood seems to usher a fantastic spread of memories for me, as perhaps I have fallen more than anyone I have ever known. Right smack at the ground, many jeans have been ripped apart as I fell on the ground sometimes at swooping speeds, and some were torn apart completely.
As a kid, I would often drop on the ground while walking. It was hard at times, maintaining my balance and thus I found it really hard to run as well. Though I was not a flat foot, I found it hard to maintain my posture while walking and at times while catching the ball, I would dive thus ripping my pants from the knees.
“All of us are products of our childhood.” ― Michael Jackson
I’m sure it looked really funny, like one of those anime archetypes — the clutz who keep on falling awkwardly, yes that was me as a kid. I know the feeling of getting hurt more than anyone around me as a kid. Every other day, my pants would get ripped apart as I would fall on the ground injuring myself.
My mother even took me to a doctor once and told him about this problem he said, He has perfectly strong legs and children fall. Though he hit the hammer on the leg, it felt like a tickle. I even got an X-ray, and found nothing except really good bone structure, the doctor told 12 years told me as he gave me a lollipop.
Ah, that lollipop was really nice, I still remember the flavor — blueberries.
Afterward, I came back home and then went to see my friends. Thus life continued onward. I would get really ashamed when I would just fall and my pants would get torn apart. My mother would sew those pants up so that I might wear them and they would get torn apart again the next day. I think I gave myself and my mother a hard time, though she says she’d do it again in a heartbeat as she’d caress and hug me.
After some while, I learned to dissipate my weight and energy excessively while learning martial arts, I learned amateur parkour as a kid. Instead of walking, I ran. Instead of crossing the gates, I would instead jump from it. I learned to do it the other way by dissipating my hyperactivity to good use.
“Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.” ― Pablo Neruda
Sometimes, I would start run controlling my breathing — a trick I learned by myself I would be aware of my surroundings more, and by doing that my senses and body would remain relaxed. I think after that I stopped falling.
It helped me to become more agile, and furthermore improved my durability as a teenager. I think I could easily jump over by running and Tip Toeing it. I even learned wall climbing, the hard way without harnesses. I think it gave me a lot of endurance. By doing this, I was able to strengthen my muscles — it helped me with my walking. I paid more attention to my surroundings and myself and as a kid, I became more self-aware.
“To fall down is never fatal. Find the force within to rise up.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita
In the beginning, it would really hurt. As I would get wounds on my arms as well as my legs. I have perhaps a lot of scars on my body, most of my own causing — good memories. Some were accidents, while others were some of my own fooleries. Overall, I learned to walk the clumsy way.
As a clutz, it’s hard because you might fall. And one thing I have seen that It wasn’t in my control. When I started to pay attention to myself and my surroundings more, it stopped. I am happy though, without those tripping on the ground, I would never have learned life’s harshest lessons.
Sometimes, life will push you down. It will hurt, wounds will burn, scars will eventually fade but there will come a time when you will become strong.
I think it was harder for me to maintain balance as well when I bought my mountain bicycle as well. But then I learned by falling and failing as well. Failure has taught me a lot in life. I saw it as an opportunity to stand back up and go play again. I just applied dirt and some leaves on the wound. And then stopped it from bleeding and then kept running.
Sometimes, I would smile and most times I would laugh when I would come back home screaming,
Mama, I ripped my pants — again.
She would come running anxiously and hit me on the head and then say “does it hurt?”
I would reply “it does.”
Then she would hit me on the head again, and say “It’s supposed to dummy.”
Then she would kiss me on the forehead, and then apply ointment and bandage with care and love. She would give me a sweet or two, and tell me to be careful next time.
Now run along, she would say tapping my back.
And I would go back outside, straggling while having a smile on my face and tears in my eyes, meanwhile, my friends laughing come quickly, we gotta run it will be evening soon, everybody is waiting… I would start to walk calmly, shifting my pace as it would hurt, but it wouldn’t matter because I had the resolve to run with all my heart, towards my friends in joy to play again.
My childhood perhaps made into someone that can truly appreciate life and all the opportunities it presents, It has served me well towards the children I have met and taught. It was given me memories to reminisce upon and to acknowledge that it is all right to be different. We are all having specific childhoods, we all have been hurt. I learned to walk the hard way, It was perhaps really tough for me to maintain my balance.
But the children with a high affinity at childhood take a lot of time to bloom.
My time came, at the right time. If someone else who has experienced such a scenario in their life, their time will come as well. I learned from failing to stand, and run. Falling was perhaps something I thrive in, falling twice in the same place is something I have never done. Never Fall in the same place, twice. Always make a change. Every fall teaches you something new, and it taught me to stand with strength and gusto.
I am happy that I was able to walk, run, and play. I’m grateful for my beautiful mother and people in my life who treated me like me as a child, not someone who is a troublemaker. All that love shaped me into the man, I am today. Though I did experience hardship and really hard difficulties I always knew to stand back again, and run with all my joy.
At times, when I am at my limit — there is always a small window for me to break my limit, and that runner’s high where I’m running Like the flash is something that I love about the feeling of running. The surge of joy that livens my body and soul which came from the hardships of clumsiness are something that came as a bonus — a party trick that always works.
Thank you so much for reading.
Stay Blessed and Stay Safe!
With Love ❤️
