Reading through Amanda Gorman’s poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’, from the inauguration of Joe Biden as I sought quotes on hope, I struggled to find one; there were too many to choose from. For me and many others, it was one of the most inspiring moments of the past year.
We are all constantly searching for the words or emotions to reflect the times we live in, but Gorman managed to sum up the past, present and future with eloquence and wisdom far beyond her 22 years. You couldn’t but be inspired by her words of hope — and how we needed them.
“We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,” she said, and I’m sure this resonated with many. Having no real structure to fill your day may have seemed ideal during a week of commuting in over-crowded trains and rushing between meetings, but ‘the quiet’ we have found ourselves in since March 2020 can be deafening at times. There is no distinct ‘rest’ time in the day when at home 24/7 and, while you may not speak to another soul in person from morning until night, your mind is working overtime. It is very difficult to find an excuse to switch off when your office is at home.
Being both busy and bored is a new phenomenon. Nobody in the industry has reported anything other than being ‘up the walls’ with work, while we’re also ‘climbing the walls’ after nearly a year of little to no social interaction with our peers. A lot of us are finding this third lockdown the toughest yet, myself included.
There has been a deliberate theme to my editorials since the first national lockdown, which is that, while the situation we find ourselves in is far from ideal, there is always light and hope to be had. And I repeat that here. Anecdotes from those who have been through truly traumatic events will always tell you that hope was what kept them going.
“Where can we find the light in this never-ending shade?” Gorman asks. “The dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it.”
If you have time, read Gorman’s poem in full and let her words sink in. There is always hope.
