Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Official Report 911KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection, and our leader today is Dame Evelyn Glennie, who joins us remotely.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in time for reflection. Reflection is, I hope, an activity that we are all encouraged to participate in as part of our daily medicine.

I wonder what you feel the universal language of the world is. In my mind, it is listening. Listening belongs to us all. Although hearing gets old, listening does not. As I go through my life, I have come to realise that it is the participation of listening that is at the heart of every decision, action and experience that is encountered. Listening, in a way, is the superglue of life. Listening is the bridge builder and connector. Hearing has a beginning and an end, but listening is continuous.

Hearing can bring about the illusion of isolation and silence because we measure the experience by what we hear or what we cannot hear. Listening, on the other hand, cannot be measured. It is a sort of mysterious sixth sense that connects all our other senses together. No one learns how to listen. We are all born with an innate sense of listening. Unfortunately, however, we are inadvertently taught more how not to listen while thinking that we are cultivating better listening skills.

We know that nothing in the world really happens in isolation. My career as the first-ever full-time solo percussionist in the world did not happen in isolation. The most solo part of my journey has been listening to myself and recognising how listening ignites plasticity and purity. True listening really has no motives.

Through my foundation’s mission to teach the world to listen, it is my aim to allow us all to be unselfish listeners so that we can assist and support one other to interpret self to self. That applies to all forms of communication, whether they are virtual or face to face. We all have an opportunity to make what we express, through whichever platforms, part of our tapestry, our story and our journey. Listening to ourselves and one other allows a platform of curiosity to exist, and that leads to inquiring about things and questioning things about yourself, your surroundings and what is right in front of you. Listening helps us to learn and progress and open ourselves up to opportunities. It also helps to bring different minds together and really cements the power in partnerships.

Listening to our own spoken thoughts is a precious and necessary activity. When listening is silenced, anything can happen. Listening demonstrates compassion towards yourself and others and it helps to dissolve stigmas. From that, clarity can emerge, thus igniting conviction, choice and decision. That will leave room in the tank to build constructive listening bridges with all whom we encounter.

Thank you again for allowing me to speak with you as part of time for reflection.