I have been toying with the idea of a Manifesto for The New Normal.
As we slog through the implications of The Plague of 2020 and the outcome of the continuing economic ruin caused by actions taken to halt its spread, what I think should be obvious to anyone is that 2020 is going to represent a seismic shift in the way we live, the way we do business, the way we interact with each other, the way we live (To be clear: Yes it exists, Yes many people recover from it, No we do not know the long term health implications from it or what and how it will mutate during the "High Sick Season" of Winter. Color me "talk to me in three years when the data is in".) The more I read and ponder, the more I believe this will ultimately be as seismic a shift in either of the Two World Wars of the last century.
Having said that, I have to also note that this is not always a bad thing; things are usually all not one sided in that respect. But it can take a lot longer for those things to make themselves evident: deaths and job losses are easily seen and quickly felt. Shoots of new ways of living or new economic changes are much slower to manifest themselves.
But I want to capture these changes now, as I see them coming, and embed them in my life rather than quickly gloss over them into the areas of The New Normal.
Before it is determined how we should act and react.
Well, I decided to look up the word "manifesto" to make sure I knew what it meant. There are a lot of words that I think I know the meaning of, but later discover I only had an assumption which wasn't entirely correct. I like your definition, "a declaration of my views of the world and how I intend to live in it," and also your rationale, "without a conscious decision on my part, others will make that decision for me." It seems to me this is something everyone ought to do. Perhaps it should be a requirement for graduating high school!
ReplyDeleteActually, writing a manifesto seems a daunting task. At least it would be for me, but I think you're just the person to do it. But I do understand the absolute necessity of living intentionally. My understanding manifests itself as Master Plans, goal lists, and sharing how I'm learning to prioritize.
Okay, I'll stop babbling about myself (it just seems a babble-worth topic). I'll be very interested in how you approach this and what you come up with.
You do not babble, Leigh...
DeleteLeigh, it is a funny thing that you mention definitions: I initially had the same thought. Part of this, of course, is association: The most widely known manifesto is, of course, The Communist Manifesto (and we all know how that went). Francis Schaeffer (the theologian, not a Communist) wrote A Christian Manifesto in the early 1970's so the connotations cannot be all bad. I had to go back and check the definition myself just to make sure I was on target.
DeleteI do think that manifestos do not always manifest themselves (sorry, could not avoid the joke)as something labeled a manifesto. It is simply a written statement declaring the intentions, motives, or views of the author. I would argue through your plans, as they exist and are published, are your manifesto: it contains the intentions and plans of how you will live your life and the methodology whereby you will accomplish it.
I have to admit that this has become a very interesting thought process exercise. I am, for myself, doing it the very old fashioned way: first in my journal, then typed onto my computer, and perhaps then drafted into the blog. I am looking forward to it!
Glen - Agreed, Leigh does not babble.
DeleteIt’s real. But it IS only the flu. The only data we can rely on is the empirical data we get with our own eyes and ears. Everything else is politicalized background noise.
ReplyDeleteWe will never see hard data on the plague any more than we will see impartial data about global warming.
I will be interested in reading your manifesto 😊
Glen - Empirical data is good (and useful). I think the other data points will fall into two categories: the scientific data and the policy data. The actual scientific data will, at some point, out: it always does. The policy data may never be so as it is subject to "interpretation".
DeleteI will look forward to your input.
Although I haven't called it a manifesto, I do use my blog from time to time as a springboard into how I live my future. Something about the act of writing something down that is somewhat permanent in nature is a powerful incentive to continue on. Likewise, writing about things that have already have happened in my life help me process things in a way that lets me sleep better at night.
ReplyDeleteEd, agreed that this is the way of things. I have done the same thing from time time and I personally believe that in many ways, this outlet serves to allow me to process the world around me and the experiences in it - a sort of online journal as it were.
DeleteAt least for me, the difference and point of writing this now as a manifesto is that (at least to me) I see 2020 as a clear distinctive point between a "then" and and a "future", much the way as 9/11 was. I did not think as clearly last time - perhaps I instinctively thought things would change but did not give a formal thought process to it - but am now at a time and space where being deliberate about things is necessary.