Arriving at the TED Conference in Los Angeles on a redeye flight, I began to ready myself for four days of mental gymnastics. The conference, which sees the world’s brightest thinkers and go-getters, is always an inspiring look into the future. As a speaker at these events for eight years, I’ve always enjoyed telling others of my hometown. At this trip, however, I arrived with a certain swagger, proud to tell everyone that I was a resident of Richmond, Virginia.

As I paused between conference sessions, my mind drifted to the many Richmonders that should — and will — soon stand on our own TEDx stage when the conference comes to Richmond later this year. There are times like this when things just begin to feel more elegant. When natural flow and progress come from all of the passion of the past and the vision of a better future.
That time is now in Greater Richmond.

Significant moments are underfoot all around us. We need to look no further than the 2015 UCI Road World Cycling Championships, VCU’s new contemporary art museum (designed by Steven Hull, 2011 architect of the year), globally significant startups emerging every day, and social entrepreneurialism around every corner.

These are but a sampling of the many moments and activities that will pave the way for a different region, in ways that we can’t even begin to fully imagine. There are inspiring conversations and ideas happening all around us, many with which we are not familiar but can rest assured will lead to things of significance and meaning.

It’s these ideas that are just beginning to spark and chance meetings that make up the space in between, the small acts that will one day lead to a large impact. We, as a community, have created a higher tolerance of confusion and appreciate that many of these conversations will lead us toward a different future. Just think of what’s to come for new ideas, like Feast RVA, a web startup out of University of Richmond named obituariestodiefor.com, Deadbikes.com, Peter Fraser’s out-of-class classes at Lamplighter Roasting Company, and beyond.

These spaces in between may or may not significantly shape our day-to-day living in RVA, but a greater appreciation for these kinds of ideas will dramatically make for a healthier ethos for our community.