We are halfway through January, and it has already been a year. Wowza. Much feels uncertain, with the proliferation of tech advancements and social media bans and political unrest and, you know, life. I have been reflecting about this world we live in, and the leverage the systems and people in power have to shape who we are with social media and narrative. I have been thinking about the things I do not want to be shaped by, and the things I want to form me. In my journaling, I’ve come up with a manifesto, of sorts, for the year. Think less 2025 goals, and more guiding principles as I figure out what life looks like for me this year. Read it and steal it if it speaks to you. I’ve also included a formula for writing your own manifesto below. May it inspire you to draw closer to your values in this year.
A Manifesto
I will not be formed by the anger and algorithms of this age, but by gentle presence to the world around me.
It’s my Mary Oliver1 year, a year of noticing how the earth preaches to me in ways far more momentous than the billionaires and oligarchs and dare I say, even pastors2 , do.
I will put my phone down, and ignore it’s dopamine dregs in favour of feeling the air on my skin and watching the birds in the air. Heck, I might stare at the wall. Watch paint dry. Be so bored it hurts. Anything to bring my attention back to the place my feet are.
I will not add to the cacophony, the opera of discord so eminent around me. The world does not need my noise, but my ears and my heart, and that is what I will provide.
I will resist every ploy to accept division and derision, even when I am tempted by the comfortable walls of my own camp. No, I will build shaky bridges on the narrow road, for the narrow road almost always requires a humble inclusion that celebrates the sacred humanity of the people different from me.
And I will not stand for hatred, on any side. I will always fight for the marginalized, even on the bridge.
I will move my body and feed it for the pure sake of being alive, and I will uproot the rhetoric of diet culture that poisons our enjoyment of embodiment. I will dance and eat chips and go to the gym, purely in celebration of the fact my heart beats.
I will reserve my trust for Spirit and science, and take those with platforms and power and something to gain with 77 grains of salt.
I will fight more for what I am for, than what I am against. I will resist the temptation to argue with strangers on the internet (Lord, help me).
And I will daily put my feet on the ground and remember I am here, and God is here, and we are here.
We are human, together. I refuse to forget that.
2025 Manifesto Formula:
A statement about the formative themes in the world, and what you wish the year to be marked by:
I will not be formed by the [blank] of the age, but by [blank].A declaration of the year you aim to foster. This could include inspiration from a person (like Mary Oliver, for me), or could be a quality (like underconsumption, peace, compassion, or embodiment, for example):
It’s my [blank] year, a year of [blank].4-5 statements communicating the values you will adhere to, and any necessary statements of resistance that will guide you.
Conclude with a broad statement that encapsulates your values overall.
Hey, you. Yeah, you. Thank you for reading this. I don’t know where you are right now. Maybe you’re in a grocery store line-up, maybe you’re on the couch. But wherever you are, know I’m sending care to you right now. From my human heart, right to yours. The world keeps turning, and I’m glad you’re in it.
Mary Oliver’s poetry is heavily informed by nature. She used to go for walks with a notebook and pen, and would write inspired by the things she saw. I love this idea.
FOR THE RECORD, I adore my pastors. Some of them will read this (hey pastors, I love you and am grateful for you). But what I am getting at is a desire for presence and connection to the world around me, more than ideas shared from a pulpit or platform. I still appreciate those ideas. They are good. You get the gist.
I’m going to join you in the noticing, the practice of presence, the slowing and the resistance. I want to be more easily pleased, and embrace wonder and whimsy this year. This is beautiful.