{"sf1_id":1281367,"sf2_id":"ynZ750B1","title":"Recursive Cycles","author":"Marthell","words":742,"posted_at":"2017-12-29T22:14:00.000Z","tags":["Experimental","Flash Fiction","life","postmodern"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1281367-recursive-cycles","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ynZ750B1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/4d/f1/4df1fff4-05fe-40db-92d0-c39319f30357","description":"Note to self and others:","content":"Recursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nPeople like you forgot how to live.\n\nSomewhere along the way you forgot to appreciate how the sky shifts as night falls or day breaks, the sound of rainfall and thunder or another's voice, the smell of freshly cooked pie or wild flowers, the feel of another's arms wrapped around you or how it feels to brush whiskers against a doorway, the taste of fresh water or your own blood.\n\nYou forgot something else too, something more important than any of that:\n\nThis life is all you have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nBut this is something you can change.\n\nSomewhere along the way you forgot to appreciate the sensation of looking into the eyes of another conscious being or the sight of water running downstream, the sound of modern electronics and morning alarms, the smell a new gadget or a new car, the breeze of air in your fur and the feeling of pillows at the back of your head, the sweet taste of chocolate or the sour of lemon.\n\nYou need reminding about something, something very important:\n\nThis life is all you have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nBut these cycles are flawed, you can break them.\n\nSomewhere along the way you forgot to appreciate how lighting shapes a mood or that you used to have a favorite color, the sound of howling wolves or the beauty of great music, the scent of wet fur or the whiff of a fine perfume, how it feels throwing a punch or receiving one, how salt and sugar shape a meal.\n\nRight now I believe the most important thing to remember is:\n\nThis life is all you have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nPain, tragedy, difficulty. These are as much a part of life as anything else. That doesn't mean they are all we have.\n\nSomewhere along the way you forgot to appreciate the breadth of nature and its vast collection of plants and people, the sound of an explosion as it tears apart a thousand lives or a newborn's cries at it comes to terms with existence, the odor of decay or medicine, the rush of sex or the intimacy of a kiss, the taste of another's tongue or their other intimate zones.\n\nI need to make this clear to you:\n\nThis life is all you have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nBut you can break free.\n\nI did.\n\nYou can break free. You. But you have to act. You have to ignore that pessimistic self-destructive voice and do something.\n\nYou are in control of you. Nobody else can change your life for you. It's scary - trust me, I know it's scary - but you can do it.\n\nI'm not an optimist.\n\nI worry and I cry, I'm anxious all the time, I see a rotten world and a broken people and wonder why, but still I know you have to try because this is life and life is quite literally all we have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nPeople like you forgot how to live.\n\nSomewhere along the way you forgot to appreciate the way the sky shifts as night falls or day breaks, the sound of rainfall and thunder or another's voice, the smell of freshly cooked pie or wild flowers, the feel of another's arms wrapped around you or how it feels to brush whiskers against a doorway, the taste of fresh water or your own blood.\n\nYou forgot something else too, something more important than any of that:\n\nThis life is all you have.\n\nIt's all any of us has.\n\nMake the most of it.\n\nRecursive cycles cement their way into secluded lives ceaselessly expanding, enveloping all thought and action.\n\nBut this is something you can change.\n\n"}