“Change is as good as a holiday” were sunny, hopeful words from an anonymous sage in the 1800s, with some contention over whether they uttered holiday or rest.
Like most, I am all for both holidays and rest, but most of all I am a huge advocate for change.
I like to think of myself as an educated optimist – the type who sees the glass as half full, but also gives a nod to the empty sector – and chooses to see changes both forced and chosen as bringing opportunities along with challenges.
If there is one thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught all of us, it is how to navigate change and how to find diamonds in the dust.
Beginning to write a weekly column here is certainly one of the gems, and I am relishing the chance to communicate with my community about issues and ideas that matter to us.
I have been a print and online journalist since I was 17 – starting out as a first-year cadet at The Courier-Mail – so I have seen a lot of changes in news media fortunes, delivery, and societal positioning.
I spent 16 years as a weekly columnist for The Courier-Mail and its national digital add-ins before being made redundant by News Corp Australia last year.
Researching and adding my voice on issues arising from the news of the day was part of my working rhythm. Commentating on radio and TV became comfortable additions.
To be part of this new independent publication, which is daring enough to expand during the pandemic and present real news and issues to our information-hungry community, is certainly a welcome change – one of many for me in recent years.
I moved to the ocean’s edge five years ago after spending all my adult life at the feet of the Glass House Mountains, happily trading acreage for medium-density life.
Another transformation for me – the most momentous of all – was my name: in marrying my Beloved last year, I went from Fynes-Clinton to Stephens in life and in byline.
So yes, change is as good as a holiday, but I think I prefer the angle taken by Greek philosopher Heraclitus about 500 years BC: Change alone is unchanging.
Bring it on.
Dr Jane Stephens is a USC journalism lecturer, commentator and writer. Her weekly column will also appear in My Weekly Preview.
