What if?

Most countries have cancelled the rest of the school year. Students will miss more than three months of education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education. But what if.....?
What if instead of falling “behind”, this group of chidren are advanced because of this?
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing?
What if they start to enjoy the simple things in life, start to like their own backyard, and like sitting near a window in the quiet?
What if if they start to notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower?
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well-run home? 
What if they learn to stretch a euro or a dollar and to live with less?
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday?
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public officers and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, construction workers, custodians, and health care workers and their supporting staff – just to name a few of the millions who take care of us right now while we are sheltered?
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?
What if, after three months of not going to school, these children are actually ahead?

Tomorrow May 18 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope St John Paul II - stay tuned for a tribute to him.