A Unified Theory of F*cks

The inimitable Mandy Brown reminds us that the f*cks we have to give are a limited resource. Spend them in the right place:

Why love your work? It won���t, of course, love you back.It can���t. Work isn���t a thing that can love. It isn���talive, it isn���t and won���t ever be living. And my answeris: don���t. Don���t give a f*ck about your work.Give all your f*cks to the living. Give a f*ck about thepeople you work with, and the people who receive yourwork���the people who use the tools and products andsystems or, more often than not, are used by them.Give a f*ck about the land and the sea, all the livingthings that are used or used up by the work, that areabandoned or displaced by it, or���if we���re lucky, ifwe���re persistent and brave and willing���are cared forthrough the work. Give a f*ck about yourself, aboutyour own wild and tender spirit, about your peace andespecially about your art. Give every last f*ck youhave to living things with beating hearts and breathinglungs and open eyes, with chloroplasts and myceliaand water-seeking roots, with wings and hands and leaves.Give like every f*ck might be your last.

Because here���s what I���ve learned: if you give yourf*cks to the unliving���if you plant those f*cks in institutionsor systems or platforms or, gods forbid, interest rates���youwill run out of f*cks.

A Unified Theory of F*cks | A Working Library