Stones Time for Reflection

Stop for a moment and think about stones… these rocks on Iona are so old that they don’t have any fossils because there was no life on earth when they were formed. Have you ever stopped to think about stones? Stones and rocks are so old that some of them existed before there was any life on earth- imagine that!

The earliest life is caught in stone Look at these fossils- its hard to imagine that they are millions of years old. Some of you might have fossils at home.

Ancient people created standing stones There are lots of standing stones in Scotland- these are not natural- they were made by some of the earliest people to live in Scotland- imagine how much effort it must have taken to make this standing circle with no machinery at all.

They were very important and symbolic Standing stones were very symbolic for ancient people- they were very special and holy places.

We don’t always know why they were built. We don’t know exactly why standing stones were put up by ancient people or what they symbolised.

We can still experience an sense of wonder when we visit today But even today, we can feel a sense of wonder when we visit these amazing stone circles that have stood for thousands of years.

Stone has always been important for writing important things on. Since the very first people invented tools to chistle into stone, people have written important things on stone- these are the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses on 2 stones.

War memorials are made of stone and carved with people’s names that we don’t want to forget. Even today, when we have so many things to write on, we still carve names into stone on war memorials- you might have seen a war memorial.

Lets think about the two stones you were given as you came in. You were given 2 little stones as you came into assembly and we are going to use them to think about some of the symbolism of stones.

Imagine you were setting out to climb a mountain….. Sign in Imagine you were setting out to climb a mountain….. Take one of your stones in your right hand and keep it in your hand. Does it feel sharp? Smooth? A bit of both? Now think of going out on a walk- a long walk. Maybe some of you have climbed a mountain- this photo is Yosemite Falls in America. You set off really enthusiastic- but then you realise you have got a stone in your shoe! You think its only a little stone, but you just can’t ignore it. Unless you stop and take your boots off to get rid of it, it will spoil your whole walk.

A stone in your shoe! Its amazing how something as small as a stone in your shoe can be such an irritation

Stop and reflect… what do you want to change? There are things in our lives that are a bit like having a stone in your shoe- they seem little, but can end up spoiling things a bit for us. But the good thing is that we can change those things in our lives, the same way we can stop and do something about a stone in our shoe. Stop for a moment and hold your stone while you think about what you would like to change- perhaps sometimes you don’t think and say unkind things to your friends…. Perhaps you sometimes leave people out of the game…… perhaps you know that sometimes you can be a bit bossy… or a bit too competitive….

The stone is a symbol for what you want to change- as you leave you can put it into the water. Once you have decided what you would like to change, then you can use yoru stone as a symbol and as you leave assembly, you can drop it in the bucket of water by the door- as if you were throwing it away into the sea.

Your second stone is a symbol of something positive Now take your second stone in your hand. This is a symbol of a positive quality that you have- there are so many different positive qualities in this room- some people are very kind… or loyal… or generous… or funny… or hard working… or thoughtful… or trustworthy….. Or generous.

Stop and reflect… what do you bring to our school community? Take a moment to reflect on a positive quality that you have. Our school community is made up of all of us- and everybody’s qualitlies go to make our school a happier, more positive place to be.

We can build our stones into a cairn to symbolise our school community Have you ever climbed a hill and found a cairn on the top? They are built by everyone adding a stone –working together to build something amazing. As you leave the assembly you can add your stone to our pile to make a little cairn of all the positive qualities that we bring to our school community.

A holiday task… find a special stone and we will build a cairn Over the holidays we would like you to look for a stone that is special for you and bring it into school. We will use all the stones to build a cairn of our school community.