Here’s good auld Brendan Behan trying to chat up a girl on the Royal Canal, in the Dublin evening sun of a lovely All Saints evening.

Though she isn’t paying him much attention, it’s clear that the whole setup is set up this way to show that it’s talk that brings us together, that allows us to be social, to share our experiences, lives, convictions, opinions with each other.

I know few people who have opinions as strong as Pádraig. And the more I’ve become aware over the past weeks of his awareness, the more I’ve felt the imaginary wall that surrounds him and prevents him from sharing his opinions, his ideas, his wishes, his views, his feelings… with us.

And when we asked him what was the most difficult part of his journey so far, he confirmed that not being able to talk, to communicate, was the hardest part of the journey.

So here it is: we have to get Pádraig traveling and exploring again; and we have to do anything we can to allow him to ‘talk’ to us again, in whatever way and by whatever means.

It’s good and important to set clear priorities. Otherwise the important stuff gets lost amongst the noise of every=day life. Right?