Scary in Canada too. The Conservative govt is leading in the polls. The govt that personally attacks individuals, even those who testify as experts in Parliament. Led by a career politician who has never had a real job or worked in the “real” world. Plus the climate crisis. What a time to be alive. Sending hugs.
What a time indeed. :( I think politicians are often so far removed from what is real that the whole thing becomes a farce, especially when we should all be concentrating on the actual big issues, the climate being the main one, instead of the petty nonsense all those voices like to shout about. It is a problem with democracy, in a way, when parties and people are only elected for short periods of time, how can they possibly look at the scale needed to actually move our species safely forward? Too much is tied in with money and profit and 'donations'. Sigh. Sending hugs back to you, too. I'm going to stay (actively) hopeful, but it is not an easy thing to do at all.
America is scary, too, these days. I try to stay away from the politics because I don't want the added anxiety it causes me. I know burying one's head in the sand isn't the best idea, but sanity is important.
I actually think there is definitely a time and place for not engaging, for avoiding unwanted and unneeded anxiety, as you say, sanity is important! I do the same, it's now well over a year (477 days, apparently, I just checked!) since I stopped heading to the news sites and doomscrolling and, honestly, it was one of the best things I've ever done for my own mental health. There's a difference between selfcare and burying one's head in the sand, and I'm pretty sure you're doing the right thing. Stay safe our there, it really is scary times.
Many thanks Jonathan. To be 'blessed' with living in such times is something I'm not sure I'd wish on anyone! Still, there's much good and wonder in the world yet, we just need to keep sharing it.
This post gave me comfort. A way to cope. Thank you, Alexander. I hope that you continue to stay safe in France and I worry for all targeted by this terrible shift to extremism
Thank you Amanda, that means a lot to me. And thanks for sharing, too. I'm a big believer in active hope, as I keep saying, and I really think things can get better--if we can imagine it, and talk and share it, then we're already on that journey.
Thanks for writing and sharing this, Al. As you say, it is an important thing to do. We are living in interesting (terrifying) times and, as much as our personal philosophies may focus on seeing and sharing the good, the delight, the interesting, there comes a time when we need to ensure that there is no doubt about who we are and what we believe - even if that risks upsetting those who either don't care, or who are too smallminded to see, how much their actions upset (and cause actual harm to) others.
Exactly this, yes! Thank you! I have said it before and, no doubt, will repeat it again, but there are a lot of people who mistake kindness and decency for weakness. Which it ain't. I don't have to watch or read the news stories to know who I stand against but, as you say, that doesn't really mean anything without making it clear to everyone else. I am, however, very glad I am not on social media as such, I can't imagine what Facebook is like these days.
Important words Alex, I (we) feel your fear, as do all expats and immigrants I suspect - the poles are terrifying, far right beliefs and policies more so. We can but wait and hope that that which is looking more and more likely will somehow be overturned… I pray hard it will.
This world has become so much about the importance of wealth and position the actual reality of what we, the true keepers of this planet are suffering daily, has been cast aside and forgotten and I fear greatly worse is to come. All the more reason for speaking your mind, all the more reason for all of us, like minded souls, who have no wealth except good hearts and honesty and a love of all that is natural, sticking together…
Stay strong of mind my friend, enjoy Scotland and your family xx
I think that wealth, of good hearts, honesty, and a love of all that is natural might well continue to suffer for a time but, ultimately, I also know that it precisely these things you so succinctly list which will see us through to a better way of being. It is simply logical. I often consider the cyclical nature of the history of our species, and how fiction also portrays these ways to be, Frodo and Sam, staggering up Mount Doom, or Mole and Ratty steering Toad to a safer path, the list goes on. These are always reflections of the moments those stories were crafted, and they continue to work their magic after decades and decades--time heals all and, today, I feel sure we'll get there, to that better way of being. It's just going to take more work and words and time. We're pretty resilient, after all.
It feels good to be back here, able to comment and reply and read once more. I've missed that, and missed you!
A big thank you, as ever, I appreciate your words and thoughts so very much and I hope you know that.
Scary times, the UK is in this place too. People I’ve seen as perfectly pleasant sharing odious Reform posts on Facebook. I feel like they’ve lost their minds- have they always felt this way? This is when I wonder what a sense of “community” truly hides. The most we can do is keep creating, keep telling our truths. Strength to you.
Thank you and, exactly that, yes - we just have to keep going, keep creating, keep talking. I'm ever hopeful, but it is hope tempered with realism.
When researching candidates for the upcoming UK election (for my proxy vote), I had to check to see who the Reform party actually were. In a way, I'm glad I'm far enough removed from UK politics and news that I didn't know, in another, however, I am just so sad that they even exist. It is so difficult when we see people we thought we knew sharing things which are so very wrong. Strength to you, too. It is interesting times we live in.
Please don't apologize! I often take some time to think about comments, and then more time to actually focus on response. In fact, our little conversation here has given me something to write about and I've just been roughing out a draft for that to put up in the next couple of weeks on Substack. So thanks for being inspiring! I can't speak for Maine at large, which encompasses a wide variety of cultures and viewpoints, but certainly in my small circle we feel a new cautious optimism about the political landscape. Nobody is counting chickens at this point, though. Nothing feels certain or stable, and the sense of impending global collapse is a difficult thing to live with. Even if we are able to bring some sanity back to the governments on this planet, we are facing major challenges on every front. It's overwhelming. And yet. We go on writing our words, imagining possibilities. We do the best we can and we love our world. Now see, you caught up on your comments and now you have more comments to deal with! Be well. I'll keep going if you will.
I certainly will keep going, so at least there'll be two of us!
What you say about nothing feeling certain or stable is, I think, a key point. Too many people do not realise quite how easily our house of cards can come tumbling down. I'm not 100% behind the Dark Mountain Project, as I believe in active hope, but I do think they have a lot of wisdom on the topic. As does William Gibson, when he came up with the idea of the Jackpot, in his most recent novels, a chip by chip, disaster by disaster eroding of the human race, resulting in population decline over decades. I suspect that is quite likely, sadly.
However, that in itself may well help the planet as a whole, so who knows what to think!? Sometimes, I like to try and think in geological time, and how we'll be gone and vanished in such a small period, and the earth will keep going, ignorant of our passing, even though it might take millions upon millions of years.
As you say, we keep going, we keep imagining possibilities, and we keep sharing them--and love--with the world. I think community is at the heart of this, strong community can overcome much.
Thank you so much for your reply, I am glad there is a sliver of cautious optimism in your small circle, that is a good thing indeed.
Thank you for writing this. In the last week I have been fighting despair from my home in Maine, the United States. Your thoughts and feelings about your community, your country, the world, are also mine, as are your conclusions. We as a people could do better. We must do better. Yet the people in power continue to accrue wealth at the expense of the rest of us, to sow hatred, division, and fear. And what can I do? Where is my power? I have one vote. I have my daily interactions with the people around me. I have my own sense of justice, fairness, tolerance and respect. My writing is a place where I imagine better ways, better worlds, healthier communities. It feels like so little. Yet I know there are many people like me all over the world facing the same kind of fear and grief over what is happening. Many of us who only want a decent life and a healthy planet for all people and all species. Many of us who wonder about those around us who cannot see or understand the apocalyptic path we're choosing or being herded down, as the case may be. Please continue to be a voice for nature and share your work with us. We need you.
Many thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate that and admire the way you have expressed this current state of affairs, too. How is the mood in Maine, now? Have feelings changed, become more hopeful? Although I don't really read the news that much, I have noticed an upsurge in hope in recent weeks, as the election run up changed direction unexpectedly. Of course, that could just be the sources I've seen.
What you say about writing feeling so little really hit home, I feel that often, yet I keep sharing those words, simply because I have to believe they'll make a difference somehow, to someone. The joy of a place like Substack is that I can sometimes see when they do, when I receive comments as erudite and powerful as yours, it means I am not alone, and nor are you--there is a power in this and I, like you, believe there will be better ways, better worlds, we just need to keep going, one foot after the other, word after word.
Thanks again, I really appreciate this and sorry I'm only just now catching up with replies!
Scary in Canada too. The Conservative govt is leading in the polls. The govt that personally attacks individuals, even those who testify as experts in Parliament. Led by a career politician who has never had a real job or worked in the “real” world. Plus the climate crisis. What a time to be alive. Sending hugs.
What a time indeed. :( I think politicians are often so far removed from what is real that the whole thing becomes a farce, especially when we should all be concentrating on the actual big issues, the climate being the main one, instead of the petty nonsense all those voices like to shout about. It is a problem with democracy, in a way, when parties and people are only elected for short periods of time, how can they possibly look at the scale needed to actually move our species safely forward? Too much is tied in with money and profit and 'donations'. Sigh. Sending hugs back to you, too. I'm going to stay (actively) hopeful, but it is not an easy thing to do at all.
America is scary, too, these days. I try to stay away from the politics because I don't want the added anxiety it causes me. I know burying one's head in the sand isn't the best idea, but sanity is important.
I actually think there is definitely a time and place for not engaging, for avoiding unwanted and unneeded anxiety, as you say, sanity is important! I do the same, it's now well over a year (477 days, apparently, I just checked!) since I stopped heading to the news sites and doomscrolling and, honestly, it was one of the best things I've ever done for my own mental health. There's a difference between selfcare and burying one's head in the sand, and I'm pretty sure you're doing the right thing. Stay safe our there, it really is scary times.
Great truth and sanity there on your writing Alexander. Thanks
Many thanks Jonathan. To be 'blessed' with living in such times is something I'm not sure I'd wish on anyone! Still, there's much good and wonder in the world yet, we just need to keep sharing it.
This post gave me comfort. A way to cope. Thank you, Alexander. I hope that you continue to stay safe in France and I worry for all targeted by this terrible shift to extremism
Thank you Amanda, that means a lot to me. And thanks for sharing, too. I'm a big believer in active hope, as I keep saying, and I really think things can get better--if we can imagine it, and talk and share it, then we're already on that journey.
Thanks again.
Thanks for writing and sharing this, Al. As you say, it is an important thing to do. We are living in interesting (terrifying) times and, as much as our personal philosophies may focus on seeing and sharing the good, the delight, the interesting, there comes a time when we need to ensure that there is no doubt about who we are and what we believe - even if that risks upsetting those who either don't care, or who are too smallminded to see, how much their actions upset (and cause actual harm to) others.
Exactly this, yes! Thank you! I have said it before and, no doubt, will repeat it again, but there are a lot of people who mistake kindness and decency for weakness. Which it ain't. I don't have to watch or read the news stories to know who I stand against but, as you say, that doesn't really mean anything without making it clear to everyone else. I am, however, very glad I am not on social media as such, I can't imagine what Facebook is like these days.
Important words, eloquently expressed. Considerable food for thought.
Thank you. I honestly had no intention of writing this, it just happened, so that's probably a good thing.
Important words Alex, I (we) feel your fear, as do all expats and immigrants I suspect - the poles are terrifying, far right beliefs and policies more so. We can but wait and hope that that which is looking more and more likely will somehow be overturned… I pray hard it will.
This world has become so much about the importance of wealth and position the actual reality of what we, the true keepers of this planet are suffering daily, has been cast aside and forgotten and I fear greatly worse is to come. All the more reason for speaking your mind, all the more reason for all of us, like minded souls, who have no wealth except good hearts and honesty and a love of all that is natural, sticking together…
Stay strong of mind my friend, enjoy Scotland and your family xx
I think that wealth, of good hearts, honesty, and a love of all that is natural might well continue to suffer for a time but, ultimately, I also know that it precisely these things you so succinctly list which will see us through to a better way of being. It is simply logical. I often consider the cyclical nature of the history of our species, and how fiction also portrays these ways to be, Frodo and Sam, staggering up Mount Doom, or Mole and Ratty steering Toad to a safer path, the list goes on. These are always reflections of the moments those stories were crafted, and they continue to work their magic after decades and decades--time heals all and, today, I feel sure we'll get there, to that better way of being. It's just going to take more work and words and time. We're pretty resilient, after all.
It feels good to be back here, able to comment and reply and read once more. I've missed that, and missed you!
A big thank you, as ever, I appreciate your words and thoughts so very much and I hope you know that.
Scary times, the UK is in this place too. People I’ve seen as perfectly pleasant sharing odious Reform posts on Facebook. I feel like they’ve lost their minds- have they always felt this way? This is when I wonder what a sense of “community” truly hides. The most we can do is keep creating, keep telling our truths. Strength to you.
Thank you and, exactly that, yes - we just have to keep going, keep creating, keep talking. I'm ever hopeful, but it is hope tempered with realism.
When researching candidates for the upcoming UK election (for my proxy vote), I had to check to see who the Reform party actually were. In a way, I'm glad I'm far enough removed from UK politics and news that I didn't know, in another, however, I am just so sad that they even exist. It is so difficult when we see people we thought we knew sharing things which are so very wrong. Strength to you, too. It is interesting times we live in.
Please don't apologize! I often take some time to think about comments, and then more time to actually focus on response. In fact, our little conversation here has given me something to write about and I've just been roughing out a draft for that to put up in the next couple of weeks on Substack. So thanks for being inspiring! I can't speak for Maine at large, which encompasses a wide variety of cultures and viewpoints, but certainly in my small circle we feel a new cautious optimism about the political landscape. Nobody is counting chickens at this point, though. Nothing feels certain or stable, and the sense of impending global collapse is a difficult thing to live with. Even if we are able to bring some sanity back to the governments on this planet, we are facing major challenges on every front. It's overwhelming. And yet. We go on writing our words, imagining possibilities. We do the best we can and we love our world. Now see, you caught up on your comments and now you have more comments to deal with! Be well. I'll keep going if you will.
I certainly will keep going, so at least there'll be two of us!
What you say about nothing feeling certain or stable is, I think, a key point. Too many people do not realise quite how easily our house of cards can come tumbling down. I'm not 100% behind the Dark Mountain Project, as I believe in active hope, but I do think they have a lot of wisdom on the topic. As does William Gibson, when he came up with the idea of the Jackpot, in his most recent novels, a chip by chip, disaster by disaster eroding of the human race, resulting in population decline over decades. I suspect that is quite likely, sadly.
However, that in itself may well help the planet as a whole, so who knows what to think!? Sometimes, I like to try and think in geological time, and how we'll be gone and vanished in such a small period, and the earth will keep going, ignorant of our passing, even though it might take millions upon millions of years.
As you say, we keep going, we keep imagining possibilities, and we keep sharing them--and love--with the world. I think community is at the heart of this, strong community can overcome much.
Thank you so much for your reply, I am glad there is a sliver of cautious optimism in your small circle, that is a good thing indeed.
thx 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for reading, I really appreciate that.
Thank you for writing this. In the last week I have been fighting despair from my home in Maine, the United States. Your thoughts and feelings about your community, your country, the world, are also mine, as are your conclusions. We as a people could do better. We must do better. Yet the people in power continue to accrue wealth at the expense of the rest of us, to sow hatred, division, and fear. And what can I do? Where is my power? I have one vote. I have my daily interactions with the people around me. I have my own sense of justice, fairness, tolerance and respect. My writing is a place where I imagine better ways, better worlds, healthier communities. It feels like so little. Yet I know there are many people like me all over the world facing the same kind of fear and grief over what is happening. Many of us who only want a decent life and a healthy planet for all people and all species. Many of us who wonder about those around us who cannot see or understand the apocalyptic path we're choosing or being herded down, as the case may be. Please continue to be a voice for nature and share your work with us. We need you.
Many thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate that and admire the way you have expressed this current state of affairs, too. How is the mood in Maine, now? Have feelings changed, become more hopeful? Although I don't really read the news that much, I have noticed an upsurge in hope in recent weeks, as the election run up changed direction unexpectedly. Of course, that could just be the sources I've seen.
What you say about writing feeling so little really hit home, I feel that often, yet I keep sharing those words, simply because I have to believe they'll make a difference somehow, to someone. The joy of a place like Substack is that I can sometimes see when they do, when I receive comments as erudite and powerful as yours, it means I am not alone, and nor are you--there is a power in this and I, like you, believe there will be better ways, better worlds, we just need to keep going, one foot after the other, word after word.
Thanks again, I really appreciate this and sorry I'm only just now catching up with replies!