People Become Power

Today is the start of a four day weekend. Hoo-rah. I say that semi-sarcastically because to me, every day should have the same joyous, refreshing, rejuvenating and participatory mirth as the traditional Saturday and Sunday pairing. So once a year the masters decree an additional day of rest? And in this particular case to celebrate the blood, sweat and tears euphemistically called labor? The fruit of which enriches the powerful, industrious aristocracy even further? Had I of been born into slavery and offered a day of celebration by the ruling class, I might use the time to further detail my plan of revolution. Labor Day? Take a hike mofos. 

But I digress, as usual. 

In application of the local action principle, a positive response to the ‘well, what can I/we do about it?’ question, we hit day one of the four day holiday ‘celebration’  by executing a very blue-collar spin session. Workman-like we carried in our lunch buckets, put on our hard hats, gloves and goggles, punched the clock and went to work as the whistle blew at precisely 0530. In doing so we took responsibility of our own health and fitness, two of the top three qualities of the manufactured commodity known as ‘the product.’

The product being us.

The handiwork of our lifetime of craftsmanship. If we order a management review of everything that has taken place since we took our initial breaths (first day day on the job) the actual arc of our growth and development (some say life is nothing but R&D), the trajectory trending graph clearly indicates what we have done as well as what we have failed to do. 

A spicy concept that was addressed this morning in a session specifically designed to encourage aggressive analysis of our motivation. Why do we do what we do? What keeps us doing what we do? and ‘Are there ways to do what we do better?’ 

The fruits of our labor manifest as our individual quality of life assessments. Where effort and hard work carry high value and lasting reward. As we have done - so we are. 

I recall a line from the classic 1957 WWII movie Bridge On the River Kwai, where the Japanese commandant (S.I. Hayakawa) in charge of the POW work camp with orders to build the bridge, was fond of suggesting that the prisoners (actually doing the back-breaking work in the sweltering heat), be ‘happy in their work’. You may now whistle at the irony. 

We know that the harder we work the quicker and more dramatic the results will be. We also should know by now our individual response to this ‘law of attraction.’ Do we whistle while we work or curse the day we were born into this unjust caste system?

The ruling class wants us to be ignorant, lazy and afraid. We, as a group, are much easier to control when we are distracted from the reality of their corruption, greed and thirst for power. They want us to be consumers, idle spectators, docile and compliant. In exchange for a year of sacrifice, we’ll grant you a day, without pay of course, to do whatever it is that you do to deal with the stress of this upside down, topsy-turvy fascist paradigm. 

We take charge by taking responsibility for the one thing we truly own outright, our thoughts. And, as high-intensity effort promotes self-satisfaction, peace of mind and healthy bodies, our thoughts become our actions. The dynamic flow plays out in a positive and peaceful process. 

Our actions become our reality. Our reality becomes our world. People become power. 

Happy Labor Day weekend comrades.