Today as I woke up, I was hit by this term, “imagine”. It was like being filled with stardust as I thought about all of the “imaginings” that could change the world as we know it if they were allowed to thrive. To start with, my thoughts were all about education, but they quickly spread. I know I’m a dreamer, but every reality must be sparked by an imagination somewhere back down the line, right?

Imagine if we had a school system where teachers could identify students who would be far more suited to learning outdoors through physical activity and nature, and allow them to access this. Imagine every student actually getting what they need in order to thrive, rather than sculpting small humans to fit into a system that is really only designed for a very small and specific slice of society. Imagine if we could overhaul the system so that we could nurture and support children who have experienced, or are experiencing, trauma in a way that allows them to feel and heal and grow.

Imagine if there was a process of identifying the needs of students with disability, and ensuring that they could be appropriately placed in the setting that allows them and other students to bloom and grow – imagine if classrooms were not heavy with the weight of trying to keep everybody safe, including the teachers and support staff themselves. Imagine if children weren’t being further traumatised in a system where students were stuck with not enough funding or support to meet their physical, emotional and educational needs.

And then, imagine a world where we could take families experiencing domestic violence and other traumas, and nurture the hurt in spaces that allow them to feel and heal and grow, rather than stay in survival mode and repeated behaviour patterns, and shove all of the hurt and grief down until people are desperately trying to numb it through substance and other behaviours of self-abuse. Imagine if we could take the perpetrators and find out what happened to them so that THEY could face their pain and heal and grow, rather than punish them for a little while and then send them back into the world to do it again.

Imagine a world where we could teach children to support and care for one another, to be each other’s champions and lift each other up in celebration rather than establish a power struggle that will perpetuate a cycle of gender-based power imbalances. Imagine if we could see that the imbalances are just a product of society, and we could stop being angry with an entire section of the community for what we deem as being unfair.

Imagine if all men felt that they were safe to say how they felt without judgement. Imagine if all women felt that they were safe to say how they feel about situations without fear of retribution. And imagine if all people who did not identify with one particular gender felt safe to just be themselves without first having to convince the world around them that this is an ethical choice.

Imagine if the world operated from a place of love. Imagine if we all recognised that, no matter what religion or spiritual background we come from, love and God are the same thing, and where there is no love, where pain is inflicted and crimes are committed against humanity, then we cannot say that a thing is done in the name of God. Imagine if we all just checked our actions before we took them to ensure that no-one was going to be harmed by them.

Imagine if we all loved ourselves. Imagine if we spoke to ourselves as we would a small child or a dear friend, with love and compassion for who we are and where we come from, and with an acknowledgement that we are doing our best, and that we all make mistakes – mistakes are proof that we are trying.

How much better we could love those around us if we just made sure we cared for ourselves first.

Imagine.