Peace of Mind News

Monday was an out-of-the-office day for me. I left early to spend the day meeting with clients.

As often happens on these days, there were unexpected schedule changes. I know that is how the Universe arranges the timing of events for my benefit. It is part of following the signs. I’ve learned to expect it.

My last scheduled appointment was with a client at a local Starbucks.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a large RV, the one in this article’s picture, plastered with stickers.

My heart raced as a variety of questions bombarded my brain. Is this RV really associated with WikiLeaks? Does a local person own this? Is someone passing through the area?

I intuitively knew that all of the scheduling quirks had landed me here at this time.

I grabbed my business bag and got out of the truck. As I did, a woman crossed behind the RV and headed towards Starbucks.

“Are you with this RV?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What are you doing?”

“We are with the Occupy Movement. We are trying to get the money out of politics.”

Her name was Janet Wilson. She was with Occupy The Roads. (This is a link to their Facebook Page) (This is a link to their website.) She and her team were on their second trip around the country supporting the Occupy Movement. She was currently traveling with Tino, one of the original Occupy Wall Street participants at Zuccotti Park.

I quickly learned that Janet decided to join the movement when it started in September. She arrived in New York, from the Seattle area, early in October, the day after seven hundred people had been arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. A few months later, she had been arrested herself for covering the Occupy Congress event in Washington DC.

She had been all over the country, at the biggest Occupy events, providing media support for participants. She was taking pictures, gathering information, and reporting it on her website.

I introduced myself and briefly told her about my interest in the Occupy Movement. I explained that I had followed it from the beginning and it was one of the reasons I started this website.

My client arrived and Janet said she was waiting for a return phone call so she agreed to continue the conversation afterwards.

During our second conversation, she explained her vision of establishing an alternative government that could replace the current government when it fails. She told me about visiting the Venus Project, a community that exists without money.

She outlined an idea to build a completely self-sustained town in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. She described the plan to Occupy a School. This would allow students the opportunity to select their topics of study and methods of learning.

As I left, Janet asked if she could take a picture of me in front of the RV. I agreed.

We hugged and wished each other success and freedom.

On the way home, I realized Janet had never received the return phone call she was waiting to receive. It dawned on me that they might need a place to park for the evening.

When I arrived home, I chatted with the family about my adventures for the day and told them Occupy The Roads might need a place to park for the evening.

“Call them.”

Janet had given me her card so I called her and explained that we had a basketball court that would be perfect for the RV. We also had a electrical plugin and water if they needed it.

Janet accepted our offer.

Over the next couple of days, we had the opportunity to talk more about Janet’s adventures. I’ll relay some of those conversations in future articles. In addition, I will tell you about an unexpected financial lesson I learned while waiting for Occupy The Roads to get to our home.