RECONDITE…?
The word and title of this blog is pronounced WRECK-CON-DITE. According to the Miriam Webster Dictionary here are the definitions
1: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : DEEP
a recondite subject
2 : of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure
recondite fact about the origin of the holiday—Floyd Dell
3 : hidden from sight : CONCEALED
reconditely adverb
reconditeness noun
I came across the word recondite used in an article in a magazine and of course, had to look it up immediately. Who knew? Apparently not myself and I'd hazard a guess that the majority of the people who also read the article were not so familiar with it either. I suppose that is an assumption on my part but chances are...
Were you familiar with the word? Have you seen or heard it used in a sentence of late or ever, either spoken or written? The word got me to thinking about how many other things this word recondite could apply to. I obviously can’t begin to write about them all but here are a few examples that are in the news of late.
Let’s start with the British Royal Family. King Charles was recently diagnosed with cancer. The newly crowned King and the Royal Press, in a press release, told us of his hospital visit for benign prostate enlargement and that it was found, upon investigation, that he has a cancer, of some sort, but it's not his prostate. Strangely, they did not expound on the type of cancer he has, the type of treatments he is undergoing nor his prognosis.
Does that not seem somewhat recondite to you? I mean, if you are going to tell us that King Charles is happy to share the information about his prostate with the intention of helping the general masses garner an education from his experience, then why wouldn't you educate us on the entire cancer situation, for the sake of your royal subjects?
Clearly, it is the same thought process when it comes to Princess Kate's abdominal surgery. We were told it wasn't cancer...they requested privacy in the matter...we were given an occasional update on her recovery and now the infamous photo-shopped family photo appeared, creating another round of conspiracy theories replete with speculation on adultery, plastic surgery, reports of real live sightings and Royalists wringing their hands in anticipation of a palace proclamation. Reconditeness indeed!
Now, I'm no Royal Press expert and yet I can't help thinking there seems to be a disconnect between what has come before and the disastrous outcomes here to with, (forgive me for I know not what I write in old English) and that keeping information from the seething populations, especially the media, is akin to giving their hunting dogs the scent of a fox, setting them free to hunt said fox down, expose said fox and then devour it. Sound familiar?
Hasn't that been the same behaviour, replayed ad nauseam, since the marriage of Charles and Diana? The Royals have been fraught with dark, nasty, naughty, criminal, sad and deadly secrets that led to dark, nasty, naughty, criminal, sad and deadly outcomes and yet, here we are to for, with royal games still being played.
I get it, they are people who some say should have a right to their privacy and yes, to a point I suppose they should. Having said that, they are the most public figures in the world and the shenanigans that played out in the days of old will no longer be tolerated. There will always be a macabre thirst to know the most intimate moments of their lives whether it’s anyone’s business or not and nowadays, they will be caught out, it’s only a matter of time and a slew of hackers to make it thus.
I would have thought that the Royals and the minions that work to keep their crowns from precariously tilting would have learned that pulling up the drawbridge and concealing the truth behind their castle walls is only opening themselves up to exactly what they are trying to avoid. Of course, you can hide away and be divested of your robes, medals and titles, as is the case for the not so princely Prince Andrew or, you can film a serial documentary, start a podcast, write a book and attend interviews, all in the name of emphasizing your need for more privacy! Harry and Meghan just seem confused don’t they? I know I am.
But alas, let us move past the colonizing royals and move onto the social media royals. You know, the influencers, the beautiful people, the people that make or break a brand, a product, a look, a saying. One flick of a false eyelash, one Tik Tok tummy tucking pair of undies, one instagram overnight healthy oatmeal jar and boom, you've got ten million followers and are set for life.
I have an online store and Meta shows me all the accounts I need to follow so I can learn how to leverage every available app, course, program and drink the secret sauce that no one else knows about. This will garner me a gazillion followers and likes in just a few days and I will earn tens of millions of dollars as well, just by joining the “FREE” course and downloading the “FREE” cheat sheet as a thank you for signing up.
I did that, a few times, shame on me, and then I learned that it just isn’t FREE if you want the real information. Every one of them eventually gets to the end of the program or the video and then tells you they can’t give you the real answers until you invest in their no fail coaching program on SEO and algorithms and all manner of things that take so much time and effort you need to hire people to set them up for you and boom, there it is. Then, and only then will you have time, financial freedom and success beyond anything you could have imagined. They have learned the art of reconditeness.
Even our well loved and revered favourite entertainers seem to have jumped on the recondite band wagon. Please, you cannot tell me that every one of our beloved actors, singers, sports figures and models that needed or wanted to lose weight all managed to make and achieve the exact same commitment to stick to a healthy program, all at the same time.
Did they all call each other and say ok, let’s get healthy and lose weight now? Naw, they made the decision to use weight loss medications because they saw results that were working for others. That’s completely fine, you do you and then own it. It is truly a mystery to me as to why so many will show and tell us how they’ve changed their lives through their dogged determination in living well yet conveniently leave out the fact that it wasn’t just their AHA moment and a few months of being on track that helped them to shed the pounds and inches.
Again, you do you but please, don’t underestimate those watching you. We get AHA moments too and what was not being said has been glaringly obvious. In that vain I’d like to be the opposite of recondite here and acknowledge the fact that there have been many public figures that have been completely open about their semaglutide journeys, of which I appreciate and respect. (I still love you O but you ticked me off this week and I’ll need a moment or two.)
Most people are not public figures and privacy is something we cherish for ourselves and hopefully respect in each other as well. Nevertheless, when one becomes a household name let’s face it, there is an expectation of transparency and if something is being concealed those same dogs that were let loose on the fox will be unleashed, the truth will be uncovered and the repercussions may come back to bite even harder than those dogs do.
We are not the uninformed, uneducated folk that followed blindly from days of yore of whence we came. I’m assuming that most people are able to put two and two together and figure out when something isn’t quite right, (although there is an argument against assumption and how many truly understand basic math) and when the answers aren’t reconciling, they are definitely recondite.
I’m not saying you HAVE to tell us if you wear boxers or briefs to hide the crown jewels and cover your royal butts. However, in the end, you should probably expect a bit of a butt kicking if you don’t…just sayin’.
Love, Kiki
Xoxo
“There are no secrets in life; just hidden truths that lie beneath the surface.”
— Michael C. Hall
Photograph from Google. Photographer Unknown