Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Official Report 761KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection, for which our leader today is Suselle Boffey from the Scottish Churches Disability Agenda Group.

A meditation. Listen. No: really listen. If it helps, shift to a more comfortable sitting position, take a few deep breaths, perhaps close your eyes and still your thoughts, your business. What do you hear? Perhaps you hear the ambient sounds inside and outside this chamber.

Let me tell you what I hear. I hear the rhythmic whisper of my ventilator—perhaps you can, too. In the beginning it was a disturbance to me—a reminder of my frailty—but then people in my prayer group said that the same sound helped them to relax, reflect and pray and to gain a sense of peace. I began to change the way I listened. What had been a negative noise in my ears became transformed into something positive—something deeper, helpful.

What else do you hear? Is there a clamour of voices in your head, perhaps from the personal and family situations that you left this morning, from the debates and discussions that you will have this afternoon or from the many and diverse concerns that are brought to your attention by the constituents whom you represent? How do we choose to listen to those competing voices? Do we listen with inward impatience or some other negative emotion, or with a compelling desire to leap in with our own voices, our own ideas, our own agendas and priorities? So often, we fail to take time to pause, to go deeper into the moment and so to transform our jumble of business into truly helpful listening. I urge you to seek out pathways of transformative listening.

In the book of James, in the New Testament, we are advised to

“be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”.

Those are wise words indeed. There is, of course, an even deeper listening, which is perhaps the most important of all. Some call it tuning in to the voice within. Some call it meditation. Some, including myself, call it prayer—a sacred opportunity to be guided by the divine presence who loves each one of us. Avail yourselves of this amazing opportunity. The people of Scotland need you to listen. May the God of peace and the peace of God be with us all. Amen. [Applause.]

Thank you, Ms Boffey, for your contribution to the Scottish Parliament today.