Apologies ahead of time if you follow my Instagram feed and have already seen this photo. I was so taken with the event and the people and the experience I just kind of forgot about taking pictures. That, ladies and gentlemen, is saying something.
Until last week I thought that everyone had seen the Ted videos that float around the internet. Videos of inspiration and science and education and art and sharing- real genuine sharing between real genuine people who are absolutely passionate about their story that they are sharing.
Then, I got my ticket to TedX in the mail. And, Lord, was I excited.
And the Mister (my lovely, intelligent, informed, and up-to-date husband) asked, "Who's Ted?"
So with that knowledge, I'll give you the quick explanation, like I gave him, in case your own personal world has not been rocked with Ted awesomeness.
Ted is a yearly seminar series, where people from all around the world share short (often 10 minutes or less!) stories which are radically different from one another but all offer a inspiration and awareness through the passion and presentation of the speaker.
TedX is the series of local spin-offs of the original concept. TedX is what happened in Fayetteville, AR yesterday (and will hopefully turn into TedX Northwest Arkansas eventually).
Yesterday, attending TedX, was an opportunity to be filled up. That "stuck-ness" I was talking about earlier this week? Yesterday provided traction. Yesterday was a breath of fresh air. Yesterday was an opportunity to be filled up. Yesterday was every other cliche about inspiration of which you can think.
Yesterday was all about community in my mind.
Community in the sense that all of the speakers were local and amazing. Seriously, it will not surprise me when, in a month, these videos come out and then blow up on YouTube. Leadership equations, food insecurity, global warming, gifts, talents, the power of stories, the power of experience, the power of small talkā¦ So. Very. Good.
And really, they were all talking about the power of community. How that leadership equation is maximized within your community culture. How food insecurity can be worked through via community. How global warming directly effects our community. How you can use your talents to effect the community. How community can be maximized through experiences. How even seemingly benign things like small talk can create a micro-community where hate is much less likely to happen.
And the feeling of community of simply being there. Really discussing life-effecting issues over lunch with people who have the passion, ability, and drive to actually change things. That doesn't happen everyday. That is powerful stuff.
It posed more questions than it answered, but in a good way. I went to bed on the inspirational equivalent of having caffeine jitters- so many thoughts, going in so many directions, just a buzz of energy. And I'm trying to stay away from being hokey, but this really makes me want to go out and, you know, dominate the world with awesomeness.
My question to you is this:
Where (how?) is a good first step after such an abundance of inspiration?