As a river sweeps downstream, there is the left and right bank. Emma-Jane Kirby, a BBC correspondent, writes an essay about her time spent in Paris and her love for the Seine. It's the center of a lot of beauty, history, and fascination.
As well, she reflects upon the interests of the Parisians on both sides of the river.
Go right and you are a conservative, your interests practical and your passion - business and money-making."
Perhaps as a symbolical gesture, Kirby decided not to rent an apartment on either side of the river but in the middle, on an island. Here she could double her enjoyment of the river.
"I made a strategic decision to choose neither bank in Paris and instead had an apartment on the Ile St Louis, an island floating peacefully - and impartially - in the centre of the river. .. I felt very much at home cradled in the bosom of the Seine, .."
Now she has returned to England, and "Since I have moved back to Oxford, I seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time strolling the banks of the river Isis - some strange, atavistic (reappearing) urge drawing me to water."
It's interesting to think about our own perspectives, prejudices, and interests. Are we on the left or right bank of the river of life, or do we enjoy an island view of both sides?
