Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is the Very Reverend Thomas Canon Millar VG from Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral, Motherwell.
Presiding Officer, members of the Scottish Parliament, thank you for the opportunity to address a few words to you this afternoon.
Several years ago, just before Christmas, I was shopping in one of the supermarkets in the Motherwell area. As you would expect, the supermarket was very busy at that time of year and everyone seemed to be in a big hurry—buying this, buying that, rushing from one aisle to another.
When I came to the checkout and lined up in the queue with everyone else, I looked around me. Among other things, I noticed that the checkout assistant was just doing her job without paying much attention to the customers or the goods she was processing for them. Her thoughts seemed a million miles away from the supermarket. Perhaps she was thinking of all that she had to do for Christmas, thinking of her family, and maybe worrying about making ends meet for Christmas. Who knows?
Then I noticed a mother with a young baby. The mother was unloading the goods from her trolley at the checkout and trying to manage her baby at the same time. That was not an easy task, as you will appreciate. When it was her turn to have her goods checked through, the checkout assistant noticed the young baby and the mother, and then everything changed. The checkout assistant came to life. She smiled, she spoke to the mother and she made a fuss of the baby. They spoke about the baby and about life and work.
The checkout assistant was smiling now and was quite animated. She spoke to the other customers who followed, including me. This little baby, without saying a word, was able to help two adults to see beyond the sometimes dull routine of life and gave them a new perspective in life, at least for that moment.
We all need to keep a perspective in life. We need time to reflect on what we are doing and where we are going. We can be so immersed in the present moment and so busy that we can fail to notice what is really going on round about us. Think of that baby, who lifted two adults out of the monotony and dullness of daily life and gave them purpose and hope.
Here at the Scottish Parliament, I pray that you will give hope and purpose to all those whom you are called to serve, especially those who are burdened by the daily demands of life in the world of today.
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