Last Week in the SPACE - Part 2

All things considered, I am living the best years of my life

If you are not frustrated, irritated, anxious and overwhelmed, you are either not paying attention or you are at an advanced stage of adult development. Either you are coping well or coping poorly. No, wait, there are other possiblities. Perhaps, like me, it’s both/and, sometimes you cope well and sometimes you cope poorly.

About six months ago I posted about being Overwhelmed in the SPACE - and what I am doing about it. I purged dozens of Substack subscriptions and I felt in control of my life. That changed in January, 2025 with the Second Coming of the Orange Jesus.

Writing is one of my coping skills. I have several other tools to help me manage my moods and I will share more about this later in this article. First I will write about some of my frustrations triggered by Substack articles.

Somewhere in the SPACE I met Amit Paul who recently asked a good question, What if we’ve misunderstood what AI is really asking of us?

I’ve been marvelling at the wonders of what one can do with AI—and how fast one can do it. Especially when building on existing work, it’s a multiplier… It seems to me AI is asking us to ask better questions… I think the point is becoming clear: AI is allowing us—and inviting us—to practice different ways of knowing…

If we can cultivate the right type of attention and engagement—the right kind of friction—AI might actually become a partner in addressing the world we’ve created. It could be an invitation to practice being in relationship, in contact, and in intimacy with different intelligences. An invitation to break the habit of domination, reduction, and extraction.

Soon after AI went mainstream, I recognized its potential for good (not to minimize the risks, which seem existential). I found some of the others in the SPACE with similar views and promising projects. But personally I have made very little progress building my AI skills and that frustrates me.

In January, 2025 I began following Charlie Angus and I began to identify with The Resistance to Donald Trump in my home country. I am irritated by how Trump has destroyed the beautiful relationship between Canada and the USA. I am deeply saddened by The Coming Canadian Storm: MAGA'S Next Move that Charlie writes about.

I know what you were thinking: the election is over, Canada will negotiate a new deal with Trump, and life will return to normal.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not how it's going to play out.

On the domestic front, there is no way the Conservatives will give Carney the grace period needed to build trust with the public. The Maple MAGA machine will do everything it can to undermine Carney.

Just watch.

And then there's the troll-in-chief, Danielle Smith.

Since the election of Trump, she has been sowing the weeds that will sprout into a full-on national unity crisis even as our nation faces an unprecedented threat to our existence.

Because I lived my adult life in Alberta, and because I still have family and friends there, I feel a strong desire to do something while simultaneously feeling helpless.

And I read about the Trump Pope Troll by Daniel Pinchbeck, exasperating to say the least.

I feel that something desperately needs to be said about Trump posting an AI-generated of himself as the new Pope on Truth Social yesterday. But what, exactly, can we say at this point?

Written by Marsha Faubert, Lament for a Neighbour cannot be read emotionless, not by me.

After many years away, I have returned to live on Lake Huron. It’s an easy drive south along the lakeshore, about one hundred kilometres to the Bluewater Bridge at Sarnia. But I no longer believe I will ever cross the bridge again.

I now read some of the numerous posts by Dean Blundell - Media guy, content provider, dog whisperer, Canadian raconteur, muckraker. His style is edgy and confrontational, not easy to read calmly. But his approach seems appropriate for the moment we are in.

Alberta Premier, Danielle Smith, Flirting with Treason to Cling to Power With Russia/MAGA Backed Separation Bid

In a brazen assault on Canada’s unity, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has unleashed a reckless campaign to push for Alberta’s separation from the nation, a move that reeks of political desperation and corruption rather than principled leadership.

In the 1990s, for years I had a bumper sticker on my car: My Canada includes Quebec. Living in Calgary, I was never confronted for my stance. Now I would need a new bumper sticker: My Canada includes Alberta. But were I to do that, I am no longer comfortable that I would be tolerated by everyone.

I now pay some attention to Rachel Gilmore and I like her short, daily summaries of current Canadian events. In spite of the content, she has a cheerfulness that I appreciate.

Joe Rogan needs to stop talking about Canadian politics

Oh god, Joe Rogan has mentioned Canadian politics again.

This time, it’s to share that Pierre Poilievre made a good decision in this election campaign: the then-Conservative leader decided not to go on the popular American podcast.

And I still find time to follow some of my favorite Galaxy Brains in the SPACE.

Flirting with Modernity - Is it really over? by Jonathan Rowson

It’s not clear what it would mean for modernity to die, nor exactly where it would die first; in our political and economic logics, in our hearts and minds, or somehow both simultaneously?

For years, I have been able to hold the possibility of Collapse and maintain my emotional equilibrium. I think I can still do so most of the time. But I will probably lose my composure occasionally, as I did last week.

For the last five years I have been looking for a Movement to emerge in the metamodern SPACE. It hasn’t happened and I see only a few signs of hope. And now it seems, ironically and unexpectedly, it seems a Movement has found me.

This Ain't No Blog; It's a Movement by Charlie Angus

…what began as a gut reaction to a political crisis has grown into something bigger, something Jan and I never imagined.

Every day, we hear from readers who are organizing in their communities to stand up for democracy. This is now a movement made up of people from all over who are refusing to sit back in the face of rising authoritarianism.

It’s inspiring and a real motivator to keep going with this work.

I now regularly read Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson. And I love her style, so calm and almost soothing but for the content. About May 9, 2025 she writes,

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters today that voters elected Trump to “deport the illegals” and that “Marxist” judges frustrating that effort are attacking democracy. In fact, Trump convinced many voters that he would deport only violent criminals, and they are now aghast at the scenes unfolding as masked agents grab women and children from their cars and sweep up U.S. citizens.

In hindsight, it is not a surprise that I arrived at our Wisdom Exchange meeting last week in an irritated state. But what concerns me more is that I was unaware of my agitated mood. My aspiration to always live in mindful awareness has not been fully realized.

But also in hindsight, I see even more clearly now the benefit of being with a small group of trusted friends. There were eight people at our WE meeting and three of them were able to hold space for my irritation. Another member phoned me the next day to check on how I was doing. It seems to me that in these troubling times which are highly likely to get worse, it is best to not walk alone.

However, today I am feeling fine, as I usually do. All things considered, I am living the best years of my life. All things considered, I am not living in denial of reality and I think I am coping well most of the time.

And now I will begin writing Last Week in the SPACE - Part 3.