“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
― Maya Angelou, American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist
The Office Space’s thematic focus over the course of 2020 has centred around momentum: Purpose, Positivity, Productivity, and Pedagogy (the alliteration is incidental not intentional). But, as Alain de Botton acknowledges, “a good half of the art of living is resilience.” This November, in our final theme for 2020, we look squarely at the sobering reality that – despite our best laid plans – life doesn’t always go to plan. In fact, it can go dreadfully off script. What matters most is how we respond.
As we move towards the end of a year many of us would rather forget, let’s not be so hasty in writing off the lessons of 2020. In a perseverance proverb ascribed to Confucius, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
In THOUGHT, Georgina Safe looks to psychology, religion, history, and science to unpack the essence of resilience under great adversity.
In CASE, Siena White takes a novel look at the animal kingdom to unlock its lessons on resilience.
In PROFILE, Naomi Tosic speaks with Rooster’s second row forward Angus Crichton about personal and team resilience, ahead of this year’s State of Origin clash where he will don the Blue jersey for the 3rd time.
In GUIDE, Naomi looks at our resilient city and speaks with Councillors Jess Miller and Jess Scully about the program that is bolstering Sydney’s ability to withstand acute and chronic stresses.
In SPOTLIGHT, Claudia Osborne speaks with Talia Jiménez, aka Tangela, from local music collective Douglas Street, about the evolution of Sydney’s underground music scene despite the Covid-induced restrictions of 2020.
In PULSE, Claudia celebrates the close of the year with a list of resilience-building goodies to get you feeling rebound-ready and prepared to face 2021.
And in our final INSIGHT for 2020, we bring you 3 moving stories of personal resilience, in the face of great adversity with Aminata Conteh-Biger, John Quinn, and Helen Meekosha.
