CECILE ANDREWS

A book from England called “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger" helps explain what Occupy is about.

The book describes the effects of inequality that have been measured by years of research. The authors gathered all the research and came up with some surprises. What is particularly surprising is that it’s not just the poor who suffer from inequality — we’re all victims.

In Follett’s book, you see the hard lives of the Welsh coal miners, the English servants and the Russian peasants. And you see the rulers declaring war, losing millions of lives — usually poor people’s lives. And, of course, as in Victorian novels, the poor people often seem to have more character than the rich.

... It’s not enough to bemoan the decline of democracy or complain about the accumulation of wealth at the top — we need to act. What we learn in Follett’s book is what many of us have learned from experience: There’s nothing so exhilarating or fulfilling as joining with others to fight for what you believe in.

Take stock of your conversation skills. Our competitiveness has bled into our conversation. We compete for attention, trying to turn the conversation to ourselves rather than listening to the other person. Some dominate, hogging most of the air space. Others argue, wanting to impress, rather than just connecting as friends and equals.

The other night, I had a neighborhood gathering to prepare for an earthquake. Usually, we get an expert to come from the city, but this time, we didn’t. We’d already had someone from the city a few months earlier, and, yes, she’d been very informative. But, essentially, we all just sat there, listened and went home. This time, we all talked and learned from each other and came away feeling more prepared.

If you want a picture of happiness, you just had to look at the faces of the Egyptians as they stood up for their rights! And the same for the faces in Wisconsin and in state capitals all over the country. No doubt about it -- standing up for your beliefs brings some of the greatest satisfaction in life.

A recent study found that a quarter of people have no one to turn to in times of crisis, and another quarter have only one person. The growing effort to build a collaborative culture can help change that — particularly the new technology available for neighborhoods, technology that allows people to share with each other.

As we struggle to stay healthy during the winter, it’s helpful to see how natural approaches can help. But many of the health issues require more than individual behavior change.

Americans have difficulty even recognizing loneliness, let alone accepting it as a problem. It’s just not in our world view. We think we’re depressed and that consuming a pill will cure us, but in fact, we may just need more time with people.

Central to happiness is having a purpose, making a difference. This is the new dream of the good life: a culture in which we have meaning and connection.

Feeling burned out at work? Stressed, tired, crabby, anxious and possibly sick? This time of year, around Labor Day, seems to be a good time to talk about it.