Words
I took to it like a freshwater fish in saltwater. Even though I knew it would kill me, I kept swimming.
Travel west. West towards the setting sun and keep going. Stay on the path till the road ends, and great trees with branches full of pine needles block your path. Don't lose hope. Carry a compass if needed, or remember that moss only grows on the west side of tree trunks. Or is it the south side? Your goal remains unchanged, so don't let mountains, valleys, trees, or rivers stop you. Trudge through the forest till those tall trees turn to windswept grass and the dirt beneath your feet turns to soft grey sand. Keep your ears open for the roaring Pacifi with its waves relentlessly crashing against the coastline, slowly grinding boulders into sand.
Look at the horizon, and you'll see it. A rocky monolith is fighting a losing battle against the tides of time. Water white with fury bashes against its base as nesting sea birds screech at the promise of refuge. Specs of green cling to its dark, jagged cliff sides as its pointed peak stands proud in its defiance at the world's edge, refusing to budge. Sorry, I don't have a cell phone/tick Toc/or Snapchat, fucking call me. My pronouns are they/them. Yes, I'm neurospicy and decomancry is dead to the masses.
Like the birds who make their nests on it, You too will find sanctuary here. Not from the foul elements or the slow churning of time, but those dark thoughts lurking in your mind that spring forward when you least expect them.
Remember when you blew it with that one cute co-worker by getting too drunk at the company Christmas party? Or when you said, "I understand," when in fact, you had no fucking clue what they were talking about? Why DID YOU move back to your hometown? QUIT YOUR JOB AND BE MORE HUMAN.
Listen to the ocean. Its timeless secrets will soothe you just like the pounding surf pummels the boulders to sand. Small grains easy enough to pass through the sieve of your mind and back to the darkest innermost recesses of your consciousness, leaving only the rock.
The rock is you. You are the rock. Fighting a losing battle against the waves of circumstance/fate/god's fucking will. In time, you will lose the fight. Crumble into the deep nothingness that is time. But for now, you stand steadfast in your resolve against the onslaught of life. Like a freshwater fish in saltwater, you keep swimming.