Friday – October 17, 2014 – moment of truth for those of us about to take the stage at TEDxDayton. The behind-the-scenes activity was at full throttle with every member pulling their weight – so focused on their tasks it was a marvel to watch – like a well-oiled machine moving in perfect synchronicity despite the multitude of little parts. Yet, it is safe to say watching that may not have been the best part. Being one of the parts was!
The team that put the project together is made up of quality individuals who are generous and gracious to a fault, fun-loving as all get out and above all, some of the most talented and intelligent minds you will ever meet. Their cumulative energy alone is enough to infuse a dead person alive – to say nothing of those of us that are nuts to begin with!
And then there are the participants – the speakers – the movers & shakers. Winners all, each one in their own right – talented yet humble, successful yet down-to-earth, fighters yet loving. What a smart and talented human pool! Just standing among them, the perceived intelligence and quality of a person shoots up like mercury on Mars!
As if all that wasn’t enough to increase anybody’s lifespan by decades (at least!), the TEDx audience raised the bar higher yet. They gave up a full day of their lives that they will never get back, just to hear what we had to say. They laughed with us & they cried with us. They clapped for us and they whistled for us. They rolled with the punches and with the punch lines. In short, they proved their worth – over and over again. Dayton, you are all that!
As life moves on from Friday, October 17, 2014 – just having rubbed elbows with the three groups described above, seems to afford me an unfailing and renewed sense of hope for our human race. In the face of the many challenges faced by our earth and its inhabitants on a daily basis, I always knew there was something that kept the earth revolving perfectly on its axis day-after-day, eon-after-eon. I have seen a section of that well-oiled machine first-hand and it is safe to say that if TEDxDayton 2014 is any measure, the world will continue to revolve and evolve beautifully.