I forgot exactly how detached you can get from reality working at a desk and reading books. My work was causing me trouble - I could not get all the ideas straight and I was going crazy trying to back myself up.

Two odd things helped. The first was (though I hate to admit it) U2… the live version of Where the Streets Have No Name. The stadium rock-ness of this track is totally emancipatory. The second was South Terrace. To remember that the world is still, and always will be, greater than the sum of our cares; that the future cannot be forseen or predicted when there are people involved.

What does it all do? Perhaps, when you know there’s really something at stake, your mind just clears.