Occupy Church

So, the Occupy movement has now become worldwide…

Little do people know that it did not start in the U.S.

I know when I was in Madrid earlier this summer, they were having the same concerns there. And similar protests.

The media can’t seem to define what the occupy movement is about. Is it about being mad at the government, or big business? Well, yes, but … at its core it is about wanting more out of life.

There is not enough money to go around. But then, do we need money? Sadly, in this country and cultural structure, we do. But does this really give us more in life? Does money make life more fulfilling?

Down deep the answer is, No. What makes life better is being part of a family unit. How you define this “Family Unit” is up to you. It could be your friends, your actual family, or even for some people, their pets.

The part of the occupy movement that concerns me is the direction or location that these protesters are placing blame. I'm not going to be like some people and say that these protesters just need to get a job, because that's not really the issue. The issue is money.

Let me put this in different terms. I was watching a movie called El Norte recently. It was a movie that was shown to me years ago in Spanish class. If you haven't had the chance to, see this movie.

The plot of the movie is a brother and sister trying to go from Ecuador to the United States. In Ecuador their life is simple - they have family, they have friends, and they have basically everything they need. However, there is not much money, but at the same time, there is not much need for money. Spoiler alert - in the end of the movie, they are in the United States working, making money, however they realize that their life is so much harder because all of the "things" they have cost so much more to maintain. So in the end, they're working to maintain their things, and they realize they were happier when they didn't have the "things," but had their friends and family.

And this is the moral of my post: We can occupy any place we want, but for what purpose? Currently, it's to gain more money so we can spend more money, and therefore, we would need more money to maintain the things we have bought with our money, and would then need more money.

But what if we changed the game?

I challenge you, my reader, to try and occupy something else - church!

Now, in fairness and openness, church can be to you whatever you would like it to be. For me Church, with a capital C, is not a building or a place, but the people within.

I would like to coin a new phrase - "Occupy Church."

That should mean, not just going somewhere to be with your deity, but going to a place to be with people. The more time you spend with others for free, the less money you need to spend on your "things." This is where I feel the Occupy Wall Street movement has gone astray. Their goal, to me, seems very self-centered. I know they are looking to help future generations have more money, but as the old saying goes, "money can't buy you love."

Love can only be bought by spending something we all have, and that is time. Sadly, we all have a limited amount of that. I'd rather spend it on love, then getting more money.