Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection, and our time for reflection leader is Margot Henderson, a poet and storyteller.

Margot Henderson:

Presiding Officer,

A Time For Reflection is a time to consider

What are we doing here? What are we truly for?

I know I’m wondering what am I doing here!

At 12 years old, my mum was in service

my dad was down a mine, only a generation ago.

They could never have imagined

their wee lassie would be standing here today,

me neither.

It is a reminder that each one of us

walks in the footsteps of those who went before us.

We are here to pass on the best we can

to those who will come after us.

Then there is the more than us,

the birds and bees, the rocks and trees,

the rivers and seas.

We have come to realise

in ever increasing degrees

that we can’t take care of anything

if we don’t take care of these.

In times like these, we cannot fail to see

the suffering around us, its causes and our complicities.

How can we be the peace?

How can we best serve

this moment we find ourselves in?

The only moment that we ever have, to be alive in.

Let’s begin with gratitude

for those who came before us

those who stood for this vision

of a parliament at Holyrood

“a place for the people”

that it might bring about the good.

Gratitude for your being here,

the cells and organs of the body politic,

knowing if you do not work well together,

the body becomes sick.

Being here is a privilege.

Many will never have the chance

to raise their voice in this dedicated chamber.

You speak for them.

This is a moment that will never come again

but isn’t every moment like that.

Four minutes isn’t very long when there’s so much to say

and only 400 words to say it.

Time is precious and these are urgent times.

There is so much to do. I see, this is how it is for you.

If you knew you only had 400 words to say today,

you would choose them well, think carefully

about the story you most want to tell,

knowing words can cast a lasting spell

to heal or harm.

Reflection is a mirror

that can help us see more clearly

what we are and what we are here for.

We are part of One Life,

working together, expressing our differences

without enmity, knowing our commonality.

So we can live the best of our humanity.