Scotland is unique among nations. It never existed as histories like to  imagine nations do. The truth of Scotland was centuries of disparate clans, cultures, and claims; united not by a common bond but by a refusal to be ruled by their powerful neighbor to the south. An unreliable light, the idea of Scotland flickered through waves of war and rivalries amongst the powerful, until 1603, when the light almost died under the English crown.

In the 18th century, Scotland was conjured anew, not by battles nor kings, but by poetry. Robert Burns started a story of the Scotland that was to be, a mythic land of heart-aching beauty, wild and ancient. Words populated his land with fierce and noble people, tender and stubborn, full of folly and wit. His tales wove a history of romance, superstition, and destiny. People and the land were part of the same timeless story, continuing on in the cracks of everyday life; free to love, make mistakes, and belong to each other.

Stories are the oldest magic. They capture truths too fragile to survive on their own. Burns’ truth captured hearts. It captured a language and people who had been erased and restored them. They added themselves to the story, making it theirs too. New writers and dreamers come along and added themselves too. The story had taken on a life of its own. It sang of tolerance, public good, and education. It invoked a people determined to always move forward, towards greater empathy and better caretaking, a belief that we can all grow wiser and kinder. It captured the imagination, creating a bond where none existed before. It was a story that resurrected a new nation that always existed.

Dreams are the deepest magic. Scotland is more than a nation of ancestry and borders. It is a nation of dreams. For every Scot alive, ten people around the globe claim a Scottish connection. They also chose to add themselves to the story. We have discovered the truth of chosen families. Burns gifted us with a chosen nation. In Scotland, we carry the promise of a home in our hearts, a place to dream and share our own stories, stories that move us forward with kindness, wonder, and curiosity. In our dreams, we find that we are not alone. In our dreams, we are Scottish.

So we gather here tonight to honor the gift of these poets and dreamers. We gather to add ourselves to the story. We gather to choose each other as kin and keen. We gather to make room for those who follow. We gather to choose to be Scottish.