Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Official Report 879KB pdf

Time for Reflection

The next item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is The Rev Dorothy Wallace, parish minister, West Lochfyneside parish church.

Members of the Scottish Parliament, thank you for inviting me to share a few thoughts—what an honour.

The book of Genesis at chapter 2 has some of the soundest advice for us in the busy 21st century. It says:

“And on the seventh day God finished the work he had done.”

How many of us are guilty of seeing busyness as a badge of honour or thinking that we are lesser people if we take time off and take our time to rest? Busyness has become a national pastime—almost a national sport. We seem to have a need to be constantly doing. Of course hard work is to be admired. We all have our roles to fill in making this a great nation in which to live. We each have our roles to play in making that happen.

There will always be times when we are unavoidably busy—times when we will not always manage a day off, much less two, and forget about a 40-hour week. However, those times should be the exception, not the rule.

Wintertime was traditionally a downtime for the human race—a time for resting up for the lighter, warmer months of soil digging, crop planting and harvesting, and a time to take advantage of the longer nights by cosying in and making the best of it.

Every autumn, I promise myself that a couple of nights a week I will practise the Danish craft of hygge and take time to cosy in with comfy pyjamas, lit candles, devices off, a good book and a big mug of tea or whatever. Fill the hot water bottle and put it under the duvet in time for an early bed. In fact, fill two hot water bottles—one for your feet. Recline under a cosy throw, indulge the senses and rest up.

Alas, I am as bad as the next person for failing to adhere to the hygge life as often as I would prefer. However, as servants of our country—or, in my case, my small rural community—it is vital that we rest up. We cannot, after all, serve from an empty vessel, so I ask that you all take any chance that you can to rest up. Working on your laptop on the sofa is not rest. Rest up when you can. Prepare your minds and bodies for the busier times. Make the most of these last few weeks of winter.

I end with words from Jesus:

“The sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the sabbath.”

May you each be blessed with Sabbath rest.