Manifesto

This is my life manifesto, or an attempt at it. I found out the idea through Lana's page, and it seems like some popular spaces that propagate the idea are Evy's and Omar's pages.

My life manifesto is rooted to a fault in my experience as the daughter of my mother, a woman who my therapist once described as someone who doesn't get carried away by beauty and isn't scared of ugly. It carries three core values: truth, simplicity and optimization; and a couple more core principles: affection, curiosity, skepticism, independence.

Best practices:

Anticipate: Learn and be curious. Try to imagine what can happen next, and work with it. Always consider the reality and its worst-case scenarios and try to work (optimistically) for a good outcome.

Travel: Leave your shell and go find things. Be an explorer, be curious, collect things and use them, adapt them to your life.

Learn: more is more. Knowledge won't stuff you up. Observe, ask, collect, reproduce, think. It's also free.

DIY: not because they say to do so or because it's aesthetic, but because it's fun, keeps you creative and most of the time it's useful: teaches you new abilities, generates authentic things that are truly connected to your lifestyle, it's usually cheaper.

Value: Be grateful. Recognize whatever it took for you to have something, be it an opportunity, an object, a service. Recognize that some of the things have even more value. Be mindful, be grateful.

Add music: It's not going to solve things or make it easier but it will be less stressful at least. Sing - loudly, whenever you can - and dance, even when you don't know how to.

Sow good deeds: if it's not going to hurt you or the others, do it. If it does not require more commitment than you are willing to make, do it - there's nothing to lose and a lot to win

Function over form: Things (objects, relationships, projects) have to exist for a functional purpose. 

Beauty is function: If you can have an amazing fancy appliance that comes in iridescent finish and you are sure you love it and won't want it replaced for the next couple years, get it. Does it spark joy?

Loss is inevitable: anticipate, prepare, don't fight it too much.

Optimistic nihilism: We were born with no purpose and we are all going to die, happiness is not forever, but there are some realistically good opportunities for us while we live.

Mind each one's space: No one owes you anything, so be grateful when they share something and be mindful when they don't.

Be authentic: because there is no miracle formula to save all things, go find your own. Be proud of it, but not arrogant: you found your solution through hard work, but it's as good as anyone else's.

Be healthy: eat organic whenever you can. Make your food from scratch. Get your medicine from nature if you can. Do medical checkups. Exercise.

Trust no magic: there is good, but there is suffering. Don't believe in flashy promises, esoterism, people who claim to know a shortcut to the truth.