JME, an Irish Priest, & How to Inspire

Two coffees and one sore thumb into a mid-morning scroll-session I landed on a YouTube interview with grime artist JME. I recognised him from Simon Amstell's BBC iPlayer mockumentary on Veganism but admittedly knew next to nothing about him - except that he rates Cook Daily in Boxpark. 

But since this YouTube interview, I've begun delving on JME (Jamie Adenuga), not just because of his music but because of his take on living well. You know the scatty unformed energy of someone who is definitely on the planet for the very first time? JME is not that. He has a quiet confidence of someone who has seen it all before -  that deep Maya Angelou stillness of seeing with clear eyes - and despite this, or because of it, still wearing a smile. 

So when it comes to stepping away from dairy and meat, JME is far from an aggressively 'preachy' vegan, grandstanding on a soapbox demanding to be admired - instead he just lives solidly in line with his own beliefs and, if asked, he explains how he came to that decision. As a result, he seems enviously chilled and content - which in turn draws curiosity and naturally inspires.

This brought me to think of and old Irish priest. 

Ticking the box of Irish cliche, I was once an altar boy in a small church perched on the side of a potato field. Happily swerving any further cliche, the priest was a gentle and good man. If you can imagine someone distilled from the twinkliest, kindest, wisest bits of David Attenborough, JR Hartley from the old Yellow Pages ads, and Yoda you might get close to Father Butler. 

He has a slick swoop of silver hair, a quick smile, and instead of tub-thumping sermons he would ask that folk try to be a bit more kind when they could. (His mantra was 'My friends, PLEASE remember - we are not alone. We are not in the dark. We Are NOT ships passing in the night!')

He was also somewhat bizarrely immortal (right up until his death). I was at his retirement do when I was 11 (and priests are not known to retire early) and yet was still chatting to my mum on the phone and asking how I was getting on over 20 years later. 

So how this relates to JME?  Father Butler's other regular bit of advice was not to badger other people about your beliefs. He suggested instead that everyone stay in their lane and live by their own code. Taking going to church for example, he suggested people just do it quietly - and if a neighbour asked where your family was off to on a Sunday morning, then explain without any expectation that they might (never mind should) do the same. They could become curious to try it out. Nobody but NOBODY will ever thank you for knocking on their door first and telling them what you're up to and why. 

So on the surface two very different men but both with a gentle reminder that people respond to being inspired, and not to being lectured to.

See where a bit of mindless scrolling can take you!?

I'm on Twitter @theroryjohn

SIDENOTES

- Here's the documentary 'Carnage', it's well worth a watch. I hope I don't scare any meat-eaters off though by saying I gave up meat the next day and never looked back. 

- JME is also Skepta's younger brother, did everyone but me know this!? Their sister Julie Adenuga is a radio presenter and DJ. 

- JME's most recent album is 'Integrity' and Boy Better Know just released a collaboration with Goldie (!!) called Athlete.

- Just to add, JME also doesn't smoke or drink which is something I hugely admire (and more often than not struggle to achieve). 

- CookDaily is a vegan restaurant just across from my office in Shoreditch (upstairs in Boxpark). It is good but pricey and you'll have a long wait at lunchtime. The Yoga Fire Bowl is what I go for but you'd need water, it's HOT (To me, but then Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli are alarmingly hot to me).   

- Complete side-note, I'm no longer a religious person but kinda am of the 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater' school of agnostic.