The Occupy Movement–I'm in the middle %

This car belongs to the middle %!

There are many resources for the homeless.
For example, Ontario Resources, or The Ottawa Mission.
"The Ottawa Mission has 223 beds for the homeless and provides more than 1,100 nutritious meals each day to those who stay here and to individuals in the community who are facing hunger."
For those who choose the streets, and cannot live in a shelter, or a building, we must respect their choices and keep them warm and feed them.
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Excellent article on the Occupy Movement. I don't really understand Occupy, though. They tried free love communes, they tried communism (can you spell USSR?), and they didn't work very well. Capitalism is how it works in a democracy.

We know what started this recently: The reality is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac are the real disgrace
 -- the two US government-sponsored mortgage underwriting agencies -- walked away with paying minor fines. Its impact on the world has been tremendous, but the fault is not capitalism, Obama, or the wealthy.

Ian Millar's farm - 1%?
A national treasure - hard-working owner of 600 acres.

This is a democratic country. There are many things that can be improved in this society. But this is Canada.

We believe that all should have access to healthcare, all should be able to live and work in safety, freedom, without fear. We have supports and infrastructure, and access to soup kitchens, home care, long-term care.
Yes, there are people who live without the necessities.
Many photos have been taken of Occupy Ottawa. From TopHat, Aritapiero (both of these are professional photographers–interesting!), and some photos from folks just popping by on the way to work.

It would seem that those still occupying are those who are victims, homeless, out of work, and able to sit in a park 24/7. The rest of us have jobs, work, debts, and commitments. We are far from the so-called 1%, although the 1% at the other end of the spectrum are the ones still in the park.
I resent those who are shoving their protest in my face.
Most of us get up every day, find work, and contribute to society.
Most of us put one foot forward every day. Some go to jobs they don't like. Many (60%) don't have pensions, or healthcare plans that pay for drugs, or dental work.


A poster at Occupy Ottawa says:

IF YOU HAVE DEBT–

IF YOU ARE HOMELESS–(300,000 in Haiti)

IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET–

IF YOU CAN'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME WITH YOUR KIDS–

IF YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED–(7.3 % in Canada)

IF YOU ARE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR CHILDCARE–

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN'T AFFORD RETIREMENT–

IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR JOB–(Whistleblowers)

IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD HEALTHY FOOD–

IF YOU FEEL TARGETED, PROFILED OR OPPRESSED–

IF YOU ARE A STRUGGLING SMALL BUSINESS OWNER–

IF YOU DON'T TRUST MAINSTREAM MEDIA–

IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF POLICE BRUTALITY–

IF YOU DON'T HAVE CLEAN WATER–

IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY YOUR BILLS–

IF THIS ISN'T THE CANADA YOU CAME HERE FOR–

IF YOU OPPOSE WAR–

IF YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T VOTE FOR REAL CHANGE–

IF YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT

YOU SHOULD

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

This pup looks a bit fearful
–we all have to take risks! 

Now, really. I joined the movement a long time ago. I dug myself out of debt as a single parent, a girlfriend brought me groceries one Christmas. I found a home, held tight to family, and took charge of my life. Then my parents became ill, but that is another story!

I refuse to be a victim, and it is my attitude that will change me. It is all about how you frame it. Your ATTITUDE. You cannot let others take your power from you, whether you've been hit with illness, hard times, or simple fate. Take your power back from the bullies. Honour the rights of those to make a fortune, respect yourself for earning a living. Now some are victims of police brutality, this is a different kettle of fish, and not something one can blame on the 1% who are rich. This is power and control, not wealth.

Sunset on the trees

I watched a fabulous Oprah show in which she said she stopped feeling guilty about lifting herself up, since someone else pointed out that when she lifts herself up, she is lifting others up to a higher place. She brings up the rest of us, and provides the world view I admire. Many philanthropists are doing the same.

Oprah reviewed an interview she did (1997-ish?) with a young woman whose heart was broken as their family house was in foreclosure, and her husband had left her, and her three children.
Suze Orman made a great point; an AHA moment. The young mother felt she'd failed her kids by not having a 4-bedroom house anymore. A house does not a home make. A FAMILY, that is what is important. You are not your job, your house, your car or your income.

"You get in life what you have the courage to ask for." says Orman. The mom needed to change her attitude. Her family is where her heart should lie, not in the things she has lost. Her grief overwhelmed her. Her perceived curse, losing a house and husband, is her blessing. The young woman turned her life around and realised how little material things matter.

The road rises up to meet me

Oprah spoke of Jeanette Walls, who lived on Park Ave., while working as a gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, despite having been homeless as a child with 3 siblings. The teasing, the bullying of school-peers was merciless. She rose above it. The guilt this woman felt, seeing her still homeless mother on New York city streets, picking through garbage, was an embarrassment to Walls. She had offered to help her parents, but they didn't want her help. There are some who cannot live indoors. There are some whose choices we must respect.

Those of us in the middle class, with mortgages, children to support, send our tax dollars to CBC Radio, and support radio shows, like Q, that feature too many Americans, to my listening ear.
However, I believe in the power of working together. Very few seem to be speaking out against Occupy. I think these misguided people need to get a grip.

And all is not well at Occupy...

AndrewBreitbart AndrewBreitbart 

#OccupyOttawa: Violent & Sexual Assaults Should Not Be Reported To Police: bit.ly/s0DYgw Seeing a trend, anyone?!

Framing happiness: our attitude

My blogger buddy just responded to a tag-you're-it post. The prompt is to reply to 6 Things That Make Me Happy. I think that happiness is far less something you depend upon from external forces, than a choice to appreciate what is in the here and now. What is... simply is. We must accept it deal with it, and no longer hunger for the past, or for the what ifs, if onlys, or the things that add little to our lives.
Hope: framing it
As we age, the things we hope for change. 
It used to be:

Something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.

Perceptions: Framing a Painting
Attitudes: they frame your perspective. *Doidge (2007) examined the plasticity
of the brain and, through psychotherapy we can change the flow of blood in the
brain and rewire the prefrontal cortex (where thinking occurs). He advocates for the counsellor to help the client reframe her thinking to move forward. Attitude and perception is formed in early years, but can be changed in adulthood. The brain is wired to react in certain ways, but that thinking can be reframed.
Certainly, the reverse is true, too.
I know that we frame our thinking based on what is going on, past or present, in our lives. The amygdala is the emotional centre of the brain. It holds memories and connects them to the emotions of the time. This is one of the factors in PTSD. When you see an image that reminds you of the time, or place of an emotional incident it takes you back to that place and time.
My mom's cancer framed her life in the last few years. She fought it viciously. She could not act as she had: with unconditional love for family, thinking only of others, and learned to fight for herself. She withdrew. She lost her perspective. She lost her focus. She went inward. It was a tough time in our relationship. I am only beginning to understand it.
This painting, by Ygartua, is a favourite of mine. I reframed it, to demonstrate how we can reframe our thinking.


“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

--Charles R. Swindoll (American Writer and Clergyman)

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*Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. New York: Penguin.