A love affair with TED

It was sometime during my last year in college when my brother called me up and told me he had discovered TED talks and was crazy about them. I crooked my phone with my shoulder and opened my laptop to see what he was talking about.

Three hours later I closed my laptop and was a believer. This was my kind of thing.

I told everyone I knew that they needed to listen to my favorite TED talks: the Stanford commencement speech given by Steve Jobs, the one by the woman who experimented with being homeless for a year, the man who studied running barefoot.

I was enthralled. Some people I found shared the same joy and interest in the short 20 min. blurbs packed with brilliance. Some people didn't care at all or understand my enthusiasm.

I didn't care. I kept listening.

I have two TED talks that I'm obsessed with right now. Let me reiterate, obsessed with.

They resonate with me so deeply that I can't really describe how much I love them. I've listened to both of them several times each and wish I could memorize them by heart. Maybe one day.

First this one:

I got my first smart phone last summer and it has changed my life, I'm not sure for the good or the bad. Either way I'm always connected.....and I've grown to hate it. I have Facebook, Google Reader, Instagram, and Pinterest constantly at my fingertips and I find that I can't concentrate for too long at any given time before I want to check everything just one more time. It's insanity.

So after listening to this TED talk I made some goals: 1) absolutely no social media on Sundays 2) leave the phone at home when I go on walks or am at the gym 3) keep the phone in the purse when I'm in any kind of social setting. Instead focus on being with the people I'm with and developing relationships with each one of them.

It's been hard...but I think it'll be worth it. Oh so worth it.

And then there's this one:

I've found that being vulnerable and opening myself up allows me to feel alive. I love greater, I feel deeper, I think clearer. It's hard to put down the mask and be real, even with myself, but it's a good practice.

Am I worthy of having connection? I believe I am.

Thanks TED for the lessons you are teaching me and for opening my eyes to different thought that change the way I see things and live things.