IN LIFE and in death it seems there are those in our community who inspire us to reach for something better and something bigger.
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There’s been incredibly sad evidence this week of circumstances in which a community and individuals grow in the darkest hours.
The passing of comedian and disability rights campaigner Stella Young, aged 32, this week was greeted with an outpouring of tributes for someone who leaves an indelible mark on everyone she touched. Stella highlighted the struggle of people with a disability but also the ability to create awareness and positivity in the face of life’s challenges.
Her death forces us to activate thinking across what more we can do as a community to support people with a disability and to advocate on their behalf.
Amid terrible loss our determination to be better has soared to its highest point as it has for Australian cricketers in Adelaide during the past few days.
Michael Clarke, a once maligned figure as much for his relationships as his cricket skills, stood defiantly on the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday having overcome a back injury which was the least of his worries.
Clarke was mourning the loss of his friend Phillip Hughes, aged 25, who tragically died after being hit playing the sport he loved. Clarke paid tribute the best way he knows – by making one of the great test-match hundreds by an Australian captain.
Not great because of the strokeplay but great because of the circumstances in which it was made.
The death of Hughes will forever define Clarke’s leadership.
The resolve, tenacity and approach in the face of personal adversity has been reaffirming in so many ways. And it has been mirrored across Australian sporting cliques.
It is often said you find out most about people when they are faced with life’s biggest challenges.
We’ve found out plenty about the Australian community this week through the untimely deaths of two inspiring young people.
That we are a society which values giving even when it is taken away in the most heartbreaking of fashions.