wretched

we all come into this world wretched, and spend the rest of our lives trying to escape that wretchedness.

it is probably true that each of us has the latent ability to redeem ourselves already within us, and yet we are unable to do so.

---

the greatest gift that can be given to another is the gift of understanding.

function 1:
let the water go.
it cannot be grasped
between your fingertips.
it is destined to flow
ever downwards,
back to the earth
from which it came.

function 2:
sing a song for every animal
that saw you and died.
if you were afraid,
that fear was only
magnitudes greater
for that creature.

function 3:
stop blocking out the light.
it may blind and burn you but
that is just a part of
being purified.

function 4:
take your time with everything.
life is not something
that you should rush to finish.
unless of course,
you want to be done.

function 5:
run.
whatever is chasing you
will not waste a moment.
but it is only as fast
as you are.

function 6:
look at their eyes.
they're looking into yours.
what do you see?
that's right,
yourself, reflected in the other.

function 7:
luck is not a finite resource.
so feel free to be as lucky as you want.
only a fool refuses to use their luck.

function 8:
misfortune is as inevitable
as injury and death.
embrace it.
it only exists as much as
you allow yourself to miss.

function 9:
cry until you can't anymore,
then laugh until you have to catch
your breath, then sleep until
you have to wake, and at last
see the world with clarity.

function 10:
calculate the trajectory
of this sentence;
no cheating!
there are only ten
marbles in this bag because
one melted away and
the other was swallowed
by The Albatross.

function 11:
there is only so much
you can pretend to know
before it becomes clear
that you know just as much
about nothing as nobody
never knew.

function 12:
the black keys
on the piano
are meant to be
pressed only
in case of emergencies.
don't break the glass,
but do play
Étude Op. 10, No. 5
by Chopin.