This Moment, This Meeting
My brain is full after my first day at TEDMED. So is my soul.
As I wrote in my last post, I knew this would be an adventure of open-minded imagination. But I didn’t expect the first presenter to articulate it so clearly — or creatively.
I’d never heard of Kishi Bashi before. I’ll never forget him now.
Ignore, for the moment, that I fell instantly in love with his music. He’s a singer and multi-instrumentalist with heart and humor.
But it’s something he said that really struck me: “This moment, this meeting.” He was reminding us to stay present in the moment, something artists do whenever they create. It’s just as powerful if you’re working in medicine, science, education, communications or public policy. It’s a powerful part of living life to the fullest no matter what.
I had the good fortune to hear Surgeon General Regina Benjamin talk about bringing the joy back into being healthy. I got to listen as Rafael Yuste of Columbia University spoke about his dream of climbing to the summit of medical science: mapping the human brain, as he will do with the BRAIN Initiative.
There was so much more, but one of the most inspiring voices of the night was America Bracho, Executive Director of Latino Health Access, who promotes wellness by getting volunteers engaged in working for the health of their own community alongside professionals.
“Tell the story of hope,” she said. She wants us to tell the story of how the health of poor communities can be transformed by encouraging people to get involved.
Before coming to TEDMED, we were asked what one word best describes what drives us to innovate.
My one word? Hope.
After the opening session of TEDMED, I certainly have high hopes for the days ahead. And I’ll savor every moment as it comes.
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UPDATE: After re-watching Kishi Bashi’s presentation, I realize his actual quote was “One moment, one meeting.” But his message of being in the moment — each moment — made its impact just the same.
Great summary of the first day of TEDMED. There should be a lot of Hope in healthcare. It’s a miserable way to live life if you don’t have hope. There’s a lot of great things in life that are worth hoping for. We saw that at TEDMED.
Hi Amy,
Wow, the conference sounds amazing. I hope to be able to attend someday! Thanks for sharing.
Janelle
Thank you, John and Janelle, for your kind words. Everyone should attend TEDMED at least once. And you’re right, John: it certainly inspired hope.