Occupy Yourself with a Solution by The Wheelchair Philosopher Michael LaPenna

Know how to read the signs of life.

In this life, we have no storage struggles and disappointments. We lose a job and we gripe. We fail at a sport and we feel like a loser. We fail a test in school and we feel stupid. The economy goes bad and we, the people in New York City Occupy Wall Street and begin complaining about all the many things what we don't have: a job, a house, income to pay that latest student loan. We feel most assuredly like rejecting any optimism at all in these kinds of moments. The hurt is just too piecing, the barriers too mountainous. But there is another view, one that takes takes said job loss as a learning experience. To this way of thinking, if we fail at a sport, we utilize the opportunity to analyze what we did wrong and right. If we fail a test in school, we only study harder and well, if the economy goes Bad News Bears' market on Wall Street or on Main Street, we inevitably run for City Council to BE THE CHANGE WE SEEK as Gandhi so famously proposed.

The Occupy Movement of America in 2011 as with nearly ever protest including "New Coke" in '85 is one of unrest and want of change. It seeks freedom from domination of the Mega-rich, what is thought to be an oppressive system.  It seeks freedom from  job-loss, freedom from lack. It seeks immediate answers to why so many gaps between those who have and those who have not seem so immense and cavernous. The questions circle in our heads and we dwell on them. But the follow-up question is then, "How do we dwell on them?" How do you deal with the them? Occupy-ers invariably see the "system" as favoring those in high-level positions in America's financial and business sectors and part of a system that has failed to hold those institutions accountable for debacles like sub-prime mortgage lending, misguided credit policies and a seemingly unjust consolidation of power and corporate influence over the political landscape in the country. Yet while November 17 has been call a Day of Action in Lower Manhattan, what that action actually is remains ambiguously uncertain and frankly, as of this writing, seems undecided. But mainly and in no uncertain terms, the natural human tendency to blame is central to the theme here.

Blame is a tricky tradesman though. It can act as a prosecutor and hold the accused accountable with the culprit's feet aflame, yet it can also be the scapegoat for our anger that breeds bullying, prejudice, racism and yes --dare it be said--  ill-fated, decade-long wars. The former is usually the mark a protest of large demand such as the Civil Rights rallies of the 1960s and Gay Marriage movements of today which both have had their own specified agendas for equal treatment under the law. But the latter is visceral and unsure -- an  impulsive reaction to an irregular heartbeat so to speak caused by fear of what might happen in an unfair, mean world.

Asking yourself how you see your lot in life is crucial. Do you see yourself as oppressed, disadvantaged and stricken with bad luck? Do you complain and soak into your circumstances, or instead -- and this is equally critical-- do you see yourself  in control of your circumstances despite economic inequality, racism, sexism, disability, abuse, rejection and so forth? These are questions that you may have asked yourself before, or they may have never entered into your consciousness even in the most peaceful of times. Nevertheless, ask. Ask with intention. Ask with purpose. Ask with vision. After asking you will find something remarkable more than likely,  you'll find that you have become what you have focused on most intently. If you're protesting in anger only, if you let yourself become peeved all the time while attempting peace, you'll notice that you never really become at peace.  However, if you turn your rally against what has oppressed you into the inspiration to do better -- to abolish every bad thing by focusing on  positive ideas, positive intention and positive results, you will--in no uncertain terms-- become affected positively. Answers will come and solutions will become clear because you have become occupied with a solution. Try it... if you dare.

My friend, be the change and watch the change be. It really is that simple. We may look outside ourselves for solutions, we may ask others to help our causes, but  as Willy Wonka once said, we are inevitably, for better or worse, the  true makers of our dreams.

Roll on!