Humanist thought for the day on Aithris na Maidne

July 14, 2016

Our Charity

This morning Humanist Society Scotland celebrant John Howieson delivered a ‘Smuain na Maidne’ (Thought for the Day) on the BBC Gaelic Radio station, Rèidio nan Gàidheal.

You can read the English translation, and the original Gaelic below. We will upload copies of the audio as soon as they are available.

This is part of a week-long series featuring John Howieson, you can access all of them here.

Thursday 14 July, 8.27am:

Good morning to you all!

As you may know, this week I’ve been speaking about humanism, trying to explain what it means, who we are, what we believe and what we do. Yesterday I was speaking about the thousands of weddings that we do, and how personal they are, and I must admit that they’re always full of fun and happiness.

But we do other ceremonies too – funeral ceremonies. They are also always personal. When a family is grieving because someone has died it’s often very beneficial to those who have lost a loved one if someone listens to them. They always say that this is a comfort to them. And again when a celebrant is delivering a tribute, although the listeners may be grieving, the most important thing is to be celebrating the life of the person who is no longer with us, showing how he or she enriched the lives of others. Often there will be tears and there will be laughter too, and both are important in a funeral just as they are important in life. After one funeral which I did, the son of the deceased shook my hand and said, “My father would have enjoyed that.”

Our celebrants perform about 3000 funerals each year and so humanism brings comfort to many families.

Diardaoin 14 An t-Iuchar, 8.27am:

Madainn mhath dhuibh uile.

Mar a tha fios agaibhse, ‘s dòcha, an t-seachdain-sa, tha mi air a bhith a’ bruidhinn mu dheidhinn daonnaireachd, humanism sa Bheurla, is mi a’ feuchainn ri mìneachadh dè a tha e a’ ciallachadh, cò a th’ annainn, dè a tha sinn a’ creidsinn, agus dè a bhios sinn a’ dèanamh. An-dè, bha mi a-mach air na mìltean de phòsaidhean a tha sinn a’ dèanamh, agus cho pearsanta is a tha iad, agus feumaidh mi aideachadh gu bheil iad an-còmhnaidh làn de spòrs is toileachas.

Ach bidh sinn a’ dèanamh seirbheisean eile cuideachd – seirbheisean tiodhlacaidh. Bidh iadsan an-còmhnaidh pearsanta cuideachd. Nuair a bhios teaghlach air choreigin fo bhròn is cuideigin air caochladh, mar as trice ‘s e mòr-bhuannachd a th’ innte dhan fheadhainn a th’ air an cùis-gaoil a chall ma tha cuideigin ann a tha ag èisteachd riutha. Bidh iad an-còmhnaidh ag ràdh gum bi seo a’ toirt furtachd dhaibh. Agus a-rithist, nuair a bhios neach-fèille aig a’ mholadh, ged a bhios luchd-èisteachd fo bhròn, an rud as cudromaiche ‘s e a bhith a’ cuimhneachadh beatha an duine nach eil còmhla rinn tuilleadh, gus sealltainn mar a bhiodh e no i a’ cur beairteas ri beatha dhaoine eile. Mar as tric, bidh deòir ann, agus bidh gàire ann cuideachd, agus bidh an dà rud iomchaidh ann an tiodhlacadh, mar a tha iad cudromach ann am beatha. Às dèidh aon tiodhlacadh a rinn mise rug mac an neach a chaochail air làimh orm, agus thuirt e, “Bhiodh sin air còrdadh rim athair.”

Bidh ar luchd-feille a’ dèanamh mu trì mìle tiodhlacaidhean gach bliadhna, agus mar sin tha daonnaireachd a’ toirt furtachd do dh’iomadh teaghlach.

A-nis, là math dhuibh.