Falling, flying, failing.

When my dad was young, he raised monarch butterflies. One time, one hatched and its hind wings never expanded fully. He removed part of the wings and glued on wings of a tiger swallowtail to help it fly.

The monarch did fly away a little haphazardly. But it could still fly.

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Sometimes I wonder if not being able to fly is genetic. Like being able to curl your tongue or having green eyes or depression.

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People can be addicted to alcohol or drugs or nicotine.

Others are sometimes  addicted to sadness and all of the above.

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When I was younger, I'd take newly-hatched monarchs I had raised and throw them into the air. I was disappointed when they didn't fly right away and just fell to the ground.

Dad explained that it takes some time for their wings to expand and dry fully before they're ready to fly.

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It's the same with people.  Sometimes their wings take a long time to grow. Sometimes they don't grow at all, and people fall right away.

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People out there spend their whole lives falling and breaking and failing but never flying. Sometimes we try to help them, but they're too broken and don't want to try anymore.

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People aren't necessarily born broken into hundreds of little pieces. Sometimes they break themselves, and when they do, they break everyone around them.