Tayo's Ten

“Manifesto: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer. A public declaration of policy and aims.”

1.        “Grossest Groceries”: first read these words in Thoreau’s Walden. This is the intention to explore and differentiate between needs and wants, and this leads into #2.

2.        Hardy Habits plus Few Wants equals Maximal Freedom: comes from Emerson’s essay about Thoreau. I aim to review my habits for softness, imbalances, and dependencies (like with emotional eating or alcohol use) and undertake active redress so as not to be constrained or imprisoned by mistaking wants for needs, trading my time for money, or by failures to leave my comfort zone.

3.        F#@k plastic and the petroleum industry. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of plastic waste, plastic’s permeation of air-water-bodies-EVERYTHING, and by the futility of trying to escape its tentacles. And yet, in so far as it depends on me and is within my control or choice, I aim to eliminate plastic in my life or at least reduce it. I also aim to return to my bicycle and walking as transportation and drastically reduce my reliance on my car which is still of the gas-guzzling variety.

4.        Mental Clarity not Clutter. Singular focus (not multitasking); endeavoring difficult learning challenges; elimination of distracting influences and flow disruptors—goodbye notifications, bells, badges et al, checking email more than once a day, scrolling.

5.        DIY and Self-reliance. Sew-mend-repair-build-repurpose-scavenge-trade. Make buying the last resort.

6.        Contribution. Through teaching, advocacy, volunteering, communication/blogging, etc. spread alternative ways of doing/being. I’ve learned from and been inspired by others who have offered classes, made videos, wrote books, built stuff, and blogged; time for me to contribute to that wealth of resources for others to use.

7.        Body well-being. I’m aging and need to be more intentional about caring for my body. I’m carrying around an extra 30 pounds, eating too much every day, suffering from a variety of joint and tendon issues due to overuse and misuse, and not attending to the critical mitigation of decreased mobility and muscle strength as I age.  

8.        Guard and Train my Attention. Practice attention. Reflect on influences and the subtle incursions of deleterious influences in this area; be intentional about what gets in and eliminating what isn't helpful.

9.        Connection. I want to keep working on building new friendships but also to attend well to the friends I already have. As far as it depends upon me, make phone calls, write letters, check-in, do not let time or distance or life changes tank the friendship.

10.  Production over Consumption. I love reading, watching videos/films, standup comedy, bingeing tv shows, listening to music, i.e., I consume these things other people have made. I intend to flip this relation around and be the person who produces. I will still enjoy these things others have made, but the idea is to up my own production, to be part of the group of makers and creators coming up with all this good shit others enjoy.

By posting this manifesto on my blog, I’m setting myself a public accountability of sorts, to be living according to my own manifesto. I will no doubt make posts about my efforts on each of these items and hope that readers will benefit or be inspired to generate their own manifesto for living. I also hope some of you might ask me about these things or share your own experiences if you’ve tried anything similar. I know I could combine some of these under more generalized categories because they share affinities, and get this list down to three points or maybe a pithy mission statement. Afterall, attention is a hardy habit, so is what I’ve described under body well-being. DIY and self-reliance fits with “production over consumption.” Whatever. My process benefits from the longer elaboration, considering what each might entail in terms of action/practice, and trying to pinpoint what most energizes me. Quite some time ago, I used to be in daily alignment with many of the items I've enumerated on my manifesto, but I slowly slipped into a stupor, some kind of flabby existence or inertia. Lately, thanks in large part to my deep reading and attention practices, I’ve been experiencing a great “waking up," what feels like a descent from the death zone where the oxygen was thin back down into a thicker, earthier, and grounded being. I’m breathing easier, and I’m also grateful and very much looking forward to manifesting my manifesto.