MA mandate
Marco Alessio principles

The other day we received this email from artist Siobhan Humston:

On the theme of New Year & lists, I thought you may enjoy this list from a former school mate of mine, Mark Alessio. He was killed in Africa a few years ago and on the Facebook memorial page, a friend of his posted a page from his at-the-time current resume.

I adopted it as my email signature for a long time and posted it often…the poignancy of his succinct mandate and his death is something that always seemed to touch a cord with people, even those who knew nothing of his brilliant, full but short life.

It makes us think about what list we’d make…as we come across potent principles, we’re going to make a practice of writing them down: ‘proceed with gratitude’ to start. Got any we should know about?

Thanks a million Siobhan!

Related posts: reflecting on 2012: the lists, images, video
tattoo’d words of wisdom + hope
thelonious monk’s notes on life and music
remarkable to-do lists

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

3 replies on “‘proceed from gratitude’: personal lists and principles

  1. I’ve been keeping a small book of quotes that resonate with me. One of my favorites is from Gandhi: (I’ve seen slight variations, too)
    There are seven sins in the world: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and politics without principles.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *