INTRODUCTION - HIGH OCTANE ANGER

The start of this book, this political manifesto, occurred on June 4, 2005. I took a day-long writing workshop with about eight other people, called "breakthrough writing." Imagine my delight when I had a breakthrough in the first 30 minutes of the workshop! I had always believed there was a book inside me, but I suffered from the classic inner critic who groaned, "It's already been said." That message plagued me when writing my fourth year thesis and again while completing my Masters degree.

To some extent, whether or not it's been said before is irrelevant. By virtue of my opinions and interpretation, even if I was repeating messages that Aristotle and Homer espoused, the fact that it comes from me makes it original. At any rate, in that initial meditation which started the workshop, I decided that I was not going to write "another book on clutter." Well, I was and I wasn't. To me, writing an instructional "how to" book on clutter seemed redundant. In the past five years I have helped hundreds of people dig their way out of clutter, and I have read dozens of books on clutter, energy and feng shui. The last thing I felt like doing was cutting down more trees to put out yet another book on the subject.

In the spirit of Naomi Klein, I decided instead to create a political manifesto. I declared this to the group and the facilitators of the writing workshop, and my enthusiasm bubbled over. I felt empowered simply by uttering the words. And for me, there is nothing like announcing my intention to ensure that I follow through. Planning on running the Sun Run (a 10 km run through the west end of Vancouver)? I tell my coworkers. Giving up alcohol for a month? I tell my family. The embarrassment of not following through on my word is enough to ensure that I do it.

So, back to my best seller. At some point during the workshop, one of the facilitators suggested that my idea would be a hard sell. He encouraged me to write "another book on clutter" because chances were greater that it would sell. The market was hot for this topic, and it was timely. That sounded like a sell-out to me. I grumbled a bit on the way home, and the woman who car-pooled with me confirmed that I didn't seem nearly as optimistic and excited as I had that morning. I dropped her off and proceeded home.

That evening my partner Angelo and I opened a bottle of wine and talked. I remember the night clearly: we sipped our wine and lamented about the state of the world. He had been watching internet television (GNN, guerilla news network, for example) and there was no end to the lies, deception, and spin going on in the world. Gradually I confessed how my day had gone, and admitted that my initial breakthrough in the morning had fizzled out by the end of the afternoon.

The sun went down and we didn't turn on the lights. We continued talking, and pretty soon I was taking notes by candlelight. The bottle of white wine (it was a big one!) gradually emptied, but before it did, I was more resolved than ever to write my political manifesto.

There is so much talk of passion these days: finding your passion, following your passion, living your purpose. I had forgotten that for me, anger is passion. If I am concerned enough about something to get angry, I have a clue about what I am passionate about.

From that day forward, I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. each morning. I dragged myself out of bed, turned on the computer, and typed. Those of you with kids are probably chuckling-"This is classic reverse psychology," you might be thinking. Tell someone she can't do something, and watch her prove you wrong. While I am not really motivated to prove anyone wrong (unless you include the mainstream media!), I do believe I am not the only one who feels this way.

When I speak to people and encourage them to go against the grain of the corporate mentality that pervades our lives, it is clear that many people feel powerless, pessimistic, and apathetic. It's not surprising that people feel this way if their information comes from the mainstream newspapers, radio, or television. If you feel apathetic, you know that "they" are succeeding. For all of you reading this book, hang on to the knowledge that there are other people who feel the way you do. In all likelihood, there are hundreds and thousands more like-minded people than you can imagine. Together, we will turn capitalism on its ear and change the world as we know it.

RESOURCE:
Ray, P.H., Anderson, S.R., 2000. "Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World."