The Big Gig – Rotary in Calgary

(big thanks to Rotarian Shawn Hamm for this clip!)

A few months ago, I was invited to speak at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This was an extraordinary invitation, and I was beyond thrilled. I am grateful for the chance to hold the good work Rotary is doing in the world up for folks to see. And it is wonderful to have the chance to say thank you for the ways the organization has impacted my own life — from paying for my master’s degree through the Rotary Peace Fellowship to funding the construction of a beautiful new school building at Escuela Comunitaria David LaMotte in Tz’anchaj, Guatemala.

It’s also a good time to speak with a large group of influential people about the way forward — how we can work with intention to make the world a better place in the midst of so much chaos and destruction, and how to avoid being seduced by ubiquitous hero narratives that focus on individuals rather than the truth of large-scale change: that it is always accomplished by large groups of people working together. At a time when so many people feel powerless, it is good to be reminded that we are not — we just sometimes misunderstand the shape of our power.

On June 22, I spoke to about 16,000 people in the Saddledome in Calgary. I also played two songs, and it was great fun to hear my guitar through a sound system that size. Among the extraordinary things that happened that I don’t have a picture for: the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, referenced something I said and gave me a shout out in his address (I mean… what?! Whose life is this?!).

So many of the amazing invitations I’ve had to speak to groups this year have come about at least in part due to my more recent TEDx talk, which came out almost a year ago. It is beautiful to see it continue to move out into the world, and I remain deeply grateful to Barrie Barton, Brett McCall, and the whole team at TEDx Asheville, not to mention the international TED organization, which chose my talk as an Editor’s Pick.

At this event, I played Shadows, then spoke, then played Here for You. Here are a few pictures from that extraordinary day. I’m deeply grateful.

June 21 Soundcheck:

Here’s the empty stadium:

June 22, the big day:

The people came! Lots of them.

Getting my makeup done backstage.

Playing on the big stage.

Folks watch while I play my song, “Shadows”, and it is projected on the big screens.

And I got to see some lovely friends — here’s Jennifer, Nick, and Liz. Jennifer Jones is Past President of Rotary International, and all three of these folks are wonderful humans, but then, there were a lot of those running around there.

This was a whole lot of fun, and I’m grateful to the good folks at Rotary for making me welcome, not to mention for all of the beautiful work they are doing in the world.