Nilton Bonder at TEDxRio+20

The lecture by the rabbi and writer Nilton Bonder at TEDxRio+20 was as precise as a lightning strike. Just days before the United Nations Conference of Sustainable Development, he brought an issue onto the stage just as urgent as CO2 emissions: we need a new energy matrix for ourselves, human beings. His suggestion is the opposite of consumption, which recharges us with the power of having, an immediate and individualistic pleasure, and of the desire to take advantage of everything to the most: a human bond. "We have to discover a meaning to life through the bonds of which it is made," he says, remembering the story of two children who are playing in the sand while the waves wash away their sand castles. "They don't mind that the ocean washes them away, they happily rebuild the sandcastles, because they have what is most important: each other. This is what gives us energy." Is it enough? Listen to what the ancestors said about maintaining internal clean energy. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)