Let’s start with the gross bit. A little while ago I developed an unpleasant ear infection, my ears gummed up and for the next three weeks I was unable to hear very much at all.
Now, to be honest, there are times when not being able to hear is a relief. When a meeting is full of people talking across each other or when there’s an argument over who eats the last piece of pizza.
But suddenly, when I couldn’t hear, I found myself isolated, excluded. I had no impact, no ability to contribute. Suddenly I wanted to hear everything and instead of relief, I found myself trying to listen as hard as I could.
And it made me think about listening as a conscious, deliberate choice, the act of paying attention to other people.
You all know how important that is.
The best actor, Rupert, is the one who listens to the cast around them and reacts, adjusting their performance in response to others.
The best director, Trudie, listens to the voices of the cinematographer, the writer and the actors and weaves their contributions into a coherent, beautiful whole.
The best bands, Nick, Gentlemen of the Manics, listen to each other to make music where every note, every instrument, every voice adds to the shared complexity of harmony, counterpoint and rhythm.
Without listening, none of those things are possible.
Jesus was once asked why it was that instead of just telling people what to do, he told stories. And he answered that he did it because the people he talked to ‘heard but did not listen’.
It’s easy to hear and not to listen, to zone out when confronted by an uncomfortable truth or an unpalatable reality. And that’s exactly why this is such an exciting room to be in today, because these voices, your voices, are the ones that tell us stories, in film, in theatre, in song.
Stories are vital. We don’t just hear stories: we actually listen to them, and the best stories are powerful not because they pound us with moral lessons and tell us what to do but precisely because they don’t.
Instead, as Jesus knew, they make us listen. And when we listen carefully, we can join in, contribute, make an impact. When we listen, we can start to think, and act, for ourselves.
Here was a strange Friday lineup: Rupert Everett, Trudie Styler, Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, and the Manic Street Preachers. There’s a gag at Nick Mason’s expense on the live version.