There were many amazing events at the Future of Storytelling Summit, where I have spent the last two days. Brilliant workshops, exciting performances by such luminaries as Bill T. Jones, and an astonishing number of great ideas to think about.
But for me the highlight was getting to meet astronauts. Three honest to goodness astronauts were invited to the summit, to talk about their experiences in the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth every ninety minutes. Then we were invited to work as a group to create an experience that would help people to realize that we are all together on this planet.
Why astronauts? Well, I have to say that talking to these people — who have seen the world in a way that none of the rest of us really has, as a beautiful, fragile globe — has been inspiring. And all the other attendees had the same reaction.
There were so many wonderful ideas contributed by people in the session. My modest contribution was to organize an event when everybody in the world does the Wave at the exact moment that the Space Station flies overhead.
The astronauts themselves were really wonderful, and there were all sorts of things to like about them. For one thing, they were all extremely genuine and down to earth people. And of course they are very smart. But I think the core of it is that because they embody the erasing of artificial boundaries between cultures and nations, astronauts have a uniquely positive totemic power.
Also, as somebody said during one of the sessions “Everybody loves astronauts.”