It’s been a long, dreary winter for many of us, and a terribly stressful one for yet many others.
From drought and devastating bushfires early this year consuming masses of land in our beautiful country, reducing property, crop, livestock to smouldering cinders—to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic destabilising the global economy, these disasters have a few things in common.
1. They’ve taken away lives and livelihoods.
2. They’ve successfully plunged us (and the world) into a state of recession many of us have never encountered in our lifetime.
3. They’ve forced us to take a long, hard look at the wealth gap, and the continuing harm the most disadvantaged, most vulnerable communities face. (Let’s call it as it is: living life in lockdown in a splendid mansion in Mont Albert is nothing like what it’d be in commissioned housing, or a shelter. I’m grateful and blessed, as many of us are, but we need to look hard.)
But. Amidst the doom and gloom and the feeling of utter despair on loop, there are so many slivers of kindness, of hope and of silver linings.
1. We’ve seen our community band together as one, to help friends, family, neighbours—and strangers. Hay runs up to affected country. Acts of kindness being passed forward—coffee for a stranger, groceries for your neighbour, jobs for those in need.
2. We’ve learned that words have such a wondrous power—to commiserate, to heal, to empower. Messages of hope and kindness from stranger to stranger. Stories of hope and healing. Stories of growth even in the middle of the pandemic… Uplifting, even when Pandora’s Box has let loose everything designed to bring us down.
3. And we’ve learned that (mildly annoying) buzzword: ‘pivot’. Perhaps overused, but it’s so true. Business aside, in our personal lives we’ve all been forced to adapt, whether it’s a change in routine or a job redundancy forcing us to reconsider career paths. In that, resilience is built.
And I should know.
In the last five years alone, I’ve had to give up a much-loved career in Singapore, moved to Melbourne, finished my Masters, navigated an entirely new job market, faced racism in said job market, started my own business, navigated a fear-ridden second pregnancy (after a failed first), embarked on the parenting adventure, got made redundant amidst a global crisis while being the sole income earner at home… But here I stand.
Here we stand.
In the fresh beginning of spring, with local COVID-19 cases decreasing, businesses looking towards the future with hope, families re-appreciating time spent with loved ones—here we stand, ready to take on what lies ahead.
Because we’ve shown ourselves to be a resilient community, with love and kindness for the people we know and don’t know. We come together in times of need, and we stick together, empowering each other.
And with this, I’m ready. I’m ready to start charging ahead, and use my skills to help people achieve their vision. I’m ready to help bring hope and excitement for the future.
Are you?
Geraldine Stallard 