2021 has been a funny year in many ways. I've not had as much time as usual to update the blog as I've been immersed in my Master's for much of the year and it really needs all my attention but I decided to do a quick reflection over the year gone by.

Web of Life - Taken on the Curragh

Normal has changed and I've mentioned friendships lost - unfortunately some friendships are place dependant and need that proximity to stay alive. With being away from my physical work location in Dublin I've lost a lot of connections that I would have once had. It's also true to say though, that as my place has shifted, so have my friends. It has been really lovely being able to catch up with people who live locally and to develop those friendships which are likely to be more lasting.

I've also felt a massive restlessness and a really strong desire at times to be untethered from all the things that make up the humdrum of my life. I don't know why, I guess there are many reasons instead of just one. Covid lockdowns, the freedom of having grown up children, menopause, the sense of stepping into a new phase of life with doing the Master's. Maybe all of these play a part but I've had moments of literally screaming with rage inside my head and wishing that I could just run away from everything and escape from the needs and wants of other people. Is that selfish? Perhaps, but it's very real for me and even in the calmer moments, I feel like the sands are shifting and that my life is evolving into a new stage. I'm attempting to channel that energy into future me in a good way and keep moving towards the goals I have but even so, I've been escaping to the Curragh quite frequently to try and run off some of that rage.  I've also come to the conclusion (after years of suspecting something along these lines) that I'm neurodivergent in some way. It may be adhd or autism or a combination and pursuing a diagnosis will be an expense that I can't really afford at the moment but it's something I fully intend to do. Reading more about this whole topic and watching informational videos has been a true series of lightbulb moments for me this year.

Swan at Corbally Harbour

Ballinafagh Lakes Prosperous County Kildare

Ballinafagh Church

Jerpoint Glass Studio, Kilkenny

Mara and Síomha

Cliona Kilkenny Castle Park

Síomha Ben and Mara

Ballyheigue Beach

Robin at the Bank Walk Donegal Town

My sense is that the first is perhaps less common now than in the past, as rigidly formal organisations have evolved to a more relaxed way of doing things. Nonetheless, there are still those who place a value on hierarchy and rely on superficial status definitions as the yardstick for engagement.  This can be very limiting when it comes to approaching dialogic interactions in an open way.

The third is a difficulty because dialogue and engagement on issues have to be dynamic. Where organisations allow structures to become stagnant, the motivation to change dwindles until the forums become a ‘groundhog day’, jaded repetition of what has gone before. There is also a danger that new ideas or insights will be defeated or subsumed into the habits that have long been entrenched and that any kind of progressive change will be halted.

‘if people are to cooperate (i.e., literally to “work together”) they have to be able to create something in common, something that takes shape in their mutual discussions and actions, rather than something that is conveyed from one person who acts as an authority to the others, who act as passive instruments of this authority’.  So speaking about common ground can build those relationships and engender positive interaction.

There is no doubt in my mind that open dialogue is the best way to interact, both in institutions and organisations.  According to Dryzek ‘for problems of any degree of complexity, the relevant knowledge cannot be centralized in the hands of any individual of any administrative state structure.  Thus problem solving should be a flexible process involving many voices, and cooperation across a plurality of perspectives’. (Dryzek, The Politics of the Earth, 2013, p. 100.)

It is the 'many voices aspect' and the dynamism ('the quality of being characterized by vigorous activity and progress') which make deliberative dialogue a key factor in creating social change. Deliberation and dialogue, in a democratic setting, can push progress and action forward more quickly than hierarchical 'top down' decision making models.  According to James A. Fishkin (When the People Speak, Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation):

'Democratic deliberation is about questions of collective political will - about what should be done.  It is about arriving at views that represent collective, informed consent'.

It's the 'collective consent' that is key - it can be difficult to reach consensus in decision making processes but dialogue allows for that breaking down of barriers and preconceptions and makes the space for difference, essentially creating something new out of disparate perspectives without any of the participants 'losing' anything of who they are.  This is likely to lead to a much more positive and full acceptance of change and progress.  Implementing dialogue as a fundamental part of decision making processes can be done at so many levels, both local and national, in small and large groups and any type of organisation and it is my belief that creating that dialogue 'habit' can only lead to better things.