In this episode, Dara is rolling over some recent themes. He is convinced that cultivated internal calmness is a key part of responding healthily to the chaos of the world. When he talks about the importance of a ‘proportional response’ to whatever afflicts us, he acknowledges the connection of that idea to the philosophy of traditional martial arts practice. The implication of control is central to that idea and it is why Dara doesn’t have a lot of love for UFC competition, where that restraint is often disregarded.
Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ garnered a lot of attention and Oscars buzz when it was released in 2021. Having just watched it, Dara offers his own opinion on what does and doesn’t work about it. He wonders if the Troubles in Northern Ireland are simply too dark and tragic to be softened by a romantic childhood reverie. He accepts though that it is both Branagh’s vision and his life, and he is entitled to represent what he wants.
That idea of representing a life is currently at the forefront of Dara’s mind as he is working on a written project that has him looking back at his own childhood. He tries to grasp what is needed to make sense of a life in terms of context, reflection, and intersection.
Also – yet another rainy day, garden-traversing chickens, Colin Farrell brilliance, and the survival of the core self.