The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
Mark Manson
Harper Collins
2016
Ms. Hen does not read self-help books as she said in her
previous blog post when she reviewed Lorrie Moore’s short story collection,
SELF-HELP. But she saw her coworker-hen reading this book, and she was
intrigued by the title, and her hen-sister happened to have a copy hanging
around that she never read, so she borrowed it from her sister, and read it
quickly on the train to work and on her lunch break last week.
Ms. Hen doesn’t think she needs to read this book because
essentially she does not give a fuck about the right things to not give a fuck
about. This book irritated her in places, and she thinks if she met the author,
she would not like him, but she likes the idea of putting our fucks in the
right place and caring about what matters in life. Ms. Hen has her priorities
straight in what she gives a fuck about.
I will write this part from my point of view and not Ms.
Hen’s regarding how my hen purse is an expression of how I do not give a fuck
about what anyone thinks of me. When I bought Ms. Hen in 2013, I carried her
most places I went and photographer her a lot, and posted the pics on social media.
I took her out to eat, and to museums, and eventually I carried her along when
I traveled, and took pictures of her wherever I went. Some people look at
me as if I am strange, but a lot think she’s hilarious. More than
one person has asked to take a photo of her, and some have asked me where I
bought her. I take pictures of her drinking coffee and at other times
margaritas, and I have taken pictures of her in Paris at the Eiffel Tower, and
in Iceland at the Bloody Gate on the Game of Thrones Tour. I took a picture of
her at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and in front of the Golden Gate
Bridge.
Some people who are with me when I take pictures of her are
embarrassed and humiliated, but I honestly don’t give a fuck. If you care what
the world thinks of you when you are carrying a purse shaped like a hen, then
you care too much. We aren’t in high school forever, doomed to
follow our friends, though we might think we are being original, we're followers like everyone else. We can go out
in the world and be true rebellious bohemian punk weirdoes and not give a fuck
that the world might think we’re crazy, but we know the truth ourselves,
that it’s the rest of the world that’s fucked up, and the ones with hen
purses and such are the ones who will survive, the ones who see the world
from a different angle, the ones who can hear the voices of the chickens
speaking to us, even though they don’t use words.
If you have to read one self-help book in your life, this
might not be the one. Ms. Hen recommends mediating on the title and not giving a
fuck about anything that you shouldn’t give a fuck about.
No comments:
Post a Comment