Depp and Heard Are a Warning

Emotional stability is something we must learn.

Johnny Depp’s English accent and spot-on combination of Peter O’Toole and Laurence Olivier is a wonder of method acting.

It’s also a shield. Johnny Depp feels safe inside the accent and jokes, and so do we. I thought this would be more witty testimony. I awaited the punchlines in vain.

Depp didn’t testify; he listened to himself argue with his ex-wife, Amber Heard. She cried and told him not to leave like that through the loudspeaker. Depp cradled his head with his hands as the gallery watched

Their tug of war was a lesson in:

• The courage to walk away.
• The ability to give your attention rather than to pay it.
• The certainty that your flaws are beautiful and to feel no shame.

What began as a break became a refresher course in Emotional Hygiene 101,

Truth requires listening.

To hear the truth, you have to listen.

You especially have to listen to what a person says they want from you, a relationship, or their lives. Yet we can be so busy managing our own emotions and internal selves we hardly have attention left.