Local Brisbane author Indrani Ganguly composed the piece ‘Unity in Adversity – A Citizen’s View of the Coronavirus Pandemic’. We’re thrilled she’s sharing it with us as part of the Culture of Connection.

“Rock bottom became the solid bottom in which I rebuilt my life” – J.K.Rowling

A young woman in a supermarket spots an elderly man who is looking very stressed. He tells her he arrived too late to get any rice. She reaches into her trolley, puts the packet she’s just picked up into his basket and hurries away without taking any money.

While panic and pandemonium dominate the news, every so often I hear of the little ways in which people are banding together to help not just other people but animals as well.

To me coronavirus spells many things.

C is for calm, buying just what we need.
O is for optimism, we will learn new ways to survive.
R is for responsibility, we each have to do our bit.
O is for the openhearted helping others to live.
N is for nurturing mind, body and soul in a 100 little ways.
A is for the awesome frontline folks, undaunted by fears.
V is for versatile, Bundaberg Rum now becomes Bundaberg sanitisers.
I is for innovative ways to exercise, much better than tears.
R is for resilience which is a good half of the art of living.
U is for uplifting, we rise by lifting others.
S is for social solidarity without breaching social distancing.

And remember, humour can often be the best medicine! Have you heard this one: Twitter invents Hindi word for social distancing, Tan-Doori. Tan means body and doori means distance.

– Indrani Ganguly

Culture of Connection invites communities and organisations across Australia to record and share with us your unique experiences, your stories, your creativity and your messages of hope and resilience through these extraordinary circumstances.

In turn, we’ll share them with our community of 40,000 people across social media and e-news. Your story might just be the one that gets someone else through this time.

Read our guide for ideas to share and how to submit your story.