Every night before bedtime, I religiously have three conversations. Two happen respectively with both my daughters in London. My third chat is with the river that flows alongside my home.
And while the river always finds a way of talking truths and unveiling insights, it’s a conversation where you have to connect with a deeper current.
Rivers in big cities are rarely rushed, except in a torrent of crisis. My river is constantly enlivened by rowers and rafters, the seal and the seagulls. It lifts and lowers with such regularity that you can accurately read the moon’s cycle or the overflow of an almighty far-off North Atlantic storm. About six weeks ago, it even brought a hunting sparrowhawk to perch patiently outside the window, eyeballing me as I’d been staring out into space, our gazes conjoined just feet apart at some higher level.
Of all earth’s elements, water is the most powerful and imposing of nature’s gifts: breaking great rocks; quenching fierce fires; washing away all in its path; and yet still providing that beguiling gentlest patter on your face while leaning into a sandy breeze at Machaire Rabhartaigh strand, or sitting in solitary on Slieve Croob’s summit, eyes closed and heart open for tomorrow’s unwritten words in today’s softest of rain-showers.
And that’s why I talk to the river at bedtime. It’s as good as any other way to try and make sense of the public and political history that we’re currently witnessing (never mind the heartaches and headaches of everyday life).
The run of most rivers starts from a tiny source on a hill or mountain. But it takes time for gravity to draw it fully down into the ocean.
If you look closely over the past few weeks, you can begin to see some sources of hope rising, the early elements of a river of change to help us reshape the dialogue and discourse of this society.
Many people are, understandably, distracted by the napalm verbiage and incendiary language that’s being intentionally used to divide and demonise society across Britain. The problem is that they’re getting locked into fighting fire with fire, forgetting that this cycle of reactions only creates scorched earth.
That’s where a stream of knowledge – calming, free-flowing, transparent, powerful yet adaptable, clear in its direction, crystal in its clarity – is now the greatest source of hope for cracking the rocks of political intransigence and dousing the linguistic napalm of political extremism.
The stream of hope lies in the credible and reasoned decision-making of the UK Supreme Court upholding the integrity of the rule of law, by cogently ruling against the unlawful rationale of recent efforts to prorogue the Westminster parliament.
The stream of hope lies in the consistently clear-headed work of diligent journalists, devoid of tabloidism; of committed and fact-based academics and researchers who cut through lies; of those thoughtful and dedicated politicians and officials determined towards public service, notably in both Irish and British administrations (contrary to simplistic caricatures).
The stream of hope lies in the swelling tide of demands for greater dignity and temperance in public discourse, from clerics in the Church of England, to leading figures like ex-prime minister John Major.
Perhaps the most significant intervention rebuking the “dangerous” escalation of reckless front-bench rhetoric came from Sir Julian King, previously British Ambassador to Ireland and ex-permanent secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, someone who was centrally involved in the historic visits of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland, north and south. For a still serving, respected diplomat like Sir Julian – currently EU Security Commissioner – to objectively highlight the public linkage between extreme language and political violence, suggests that a tide is rising.
We need to blend these (and related) streams of hope across our traditionally divided boundaries, to create a counter-flow against the appalling words and abuse and messaging that’s seeking to become political normality.
In all its natural manifestations – pools, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, storms – water carries nature’s wisdom, seeping through every crack, transcending every possible border. The emerging streams of hope must now lead to a bold river of change.
