Contents
- Scottish Parliament Wednesday 7 February 2001 (Afternoon)
- Time for Reflection
- Points of Order
- Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2001
- Criminal Justice and Police Bill
- Decision Time
- United Nations International Year of Volunteers
Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. We welcome Sister Patricia O'Brien, a pastoral worker in Glenrothes, to lead time for reflection.
As I stand in this hallowed place, where laws are made and decisions taken that affect the lives of the people of Scotland, I am struck by the utter contrast that it makes with my ordinary life.
Much of my work these past years has been with people who are disabled: people who need help with the ordinary daily tasks that we take so much for granted. During that time, I have come to realise how much those people can teach us about patience, about welcome, about compassion and, most important, about unconditional love. I have also discovered in some of them a depth of pain and anger caused by rejection by families and by society. Joy and pain intermingled is the experience of us all.
Disabled people in general do not hide their feelings. They help us to laugh and they help us to cry. They show affection easily and they are great levellers of society because they challenge the ways in which we communicate with each other and with them. They teach us how to strengthen the gifts of our hearts and not to rely solely on our minds. What a gift for today's world, where there is so much stress on ability, competence and competition. The reality is that we are all disabled: no one is completely strong or perfect. We are human and we all need healing and love. We are on a journey towards fullness of life.
Another lesson I have learned is how to appreciate and understand silence. Sitting beside someone who utters no sound can be a profound experience of the union of hearts and minds. It is the way God communicates with us—the quiet voice from within the depth of our hearts. In a busy schedule, it is difficult to find time to go within, but all religions call us and challenge us to find space for reflection on our lives, so that the spiritual dimension may inform our choices and decisions.
Let us now use a moment of this time in silence, to let our God speak to us and bring us healing and peace.
[Silence.]
May our God, who has created us in love, help us to transform our society so that the weak and the strong may recognise their need of each other and be united. May all here who are elected to government continue to be open to all and willing to work for the good of the people of this land. May they find life and joy in what they do for others.
Amen.
Before we move to the main item of business, I remind members that a question-and-answer session on the Holyrood project is being held in the chamber tonight, from 6 pm to 7 pm. I commend to members the newsletter issued by the Holyrood progress group today.