Oxthink

Whenever I see a group of young children I can’t help but wonder as to what their futures might be.

What will their world be like? What will they go on to achieve in this world? Will they make a name for themselves?

My first impressions are always of freshness, innocence, purity. And then I see possibilities and potential.

I relish the fact that they haven’t been spoilt or tarnished by worldly pressures. It excites me that they have a whole world of opportunities ahead of them. They could go on to do anything.

As young children, embarking on life’s mystery tour of a journey, they will have many paths to choose, many junctions to cross. Each of which will shape their course; each of which will influence their final destination.

Nobody knows how long their journey will take; nobody knows what adventures they will have on their way; nobody knows where they will end up. Each child will experience their own unique journey.

The fascination is that, as young children, all opportunities are available to them. Nothing is established; everything is possible. Life could take any direction.

Nobody knows whether they will go on to experience success or failure; acclaim or mediocrity; fulfilment or disappointment.

They offer us so much hope.

And of course, I want the best for them. I want them to do well in life. I want them to achieve all that they might be capable of.

It pains me when I see wasted possibilities and squandered abilities. It’s a loss for the individual, a loss for the wider community. If only they had received the right guidance; if only the right resources had been invested in them; if only access to the right opportunities had been available to them – what might they have gone on to achieve!