The Space Between; My TEDx Experience
Yesterday, I
had the golden opportunity (okay, now that think about it, it was probably platinum)
to participate in a TEDx in Centennial Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was
a part of an international TED talk celebrating the ideas of women.
It was
tapped and will be shared with other participants around the globe.
The theme
was The Space Between. I spoke about the space between life and laughter and WNBA
star, Lindsey Harding spoke about the space between reaching your goals, which
she had to do by pushing past a major injury and enjoying the journey, which
she has been on all over the globe.
John Brock,
The CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises shared the about space between the middle and
the top. He said that his greatest leadership role model has been his mother.
She taught him dedication, commitment and compassion. He makes sure that the
people around him exemplify these qualities and he makes certain that there are
women at the table to teach others the same.
Kristin Neff
blew me away with the space between self-esteem and self-compassion by pointing
out that self-esteem is based on being better than someone else, while
self-compassion requires that we love our self without comparison.
Jessica
Sherer shared the space between seeing and really seeing. She is accomplished
beyond her young years, but she moved from the space of status as a concert flautist
to her new role as guide to young stars in the Atlantic Music project. She
realized that she had seen a good life but wanted to really see, so she decided
to start a project for kids and said that when she got to Atlanta, she found
that what she wanted to create already existed so she just joined in.
I thought
about that line for some time and the fact that we often lead with ego when we
want to be the first and best of whatever, when it’s so much better to join
with what already exist.
There were more brilliant presentations, a powerful dance, music and laughter. The
space between my head and my heart was filled with new ideas and feelings that
could take me a lifetime.
Still, I must
admit that what enabled me to move beyond the clouds was the energy of the team
that worked in the background, and the beautiful audience that came together
early on a Saturday morning.
The team was
energetic, smart, kind, and beautiful and they were joyful. They spoke to one
another as if they were a chorus and everyone was singing the same song. They
knew and did their jobs well and they did so with laughter.
I was moved
by the synchronicity of their actions and the fact that nothing was beneath or
above the skills of anyone. It was hard to believe that they were volunteers for this event,
and had different powerful roles during the week.
Henna, the choir
director led with purpose and Rita, her organist played and served from her belief that there is power in diversity of thought but in our heart, we are one.
The audience
was filled with some of the smartest women in the country and they were also
beautiful and kind, and girl could they laugh.
The TEDx
experience is one that everyone should have. Anything you’d like to think about
or learn about has been or will be discussed at a TEDx event. The Technology,
Entertainment and Design of our lives can be heard at TED long before anyone
else knows about it.
Get on line, look for
one you might be interested in and then keep looking.
Be you, be well, and
fill the space between knowing and not, feeling and not and of being and doing
nothing.
Bertice Berry, PhD.
It was a beautiful event and you started the ball rolling by opening our hearts. Thanks for that and for this summary of the day.
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