“Dream as big as you can.” ~ Ben Henretig
I attended my favorite panel at SXSW by accident. A lovely woman attended the yoga class I was teaching. When I told her that I teach through Compass Yoga, my nonprofit, she told me that I should go to the panel down the hall entitled Mother Goose Got Punk’d: Next Gen Storytelling. The panel consisted of photographers and filmmakers who dedicate their careers to telling the stories of mission-driven people and organizations. They offered practical advice, inspiration, and encouragement on how to drive home a message to support a cause.
After the session, the panelists headed to a lounge nearby for a meetup. I usually don’t talk to people after panels. I get shy and rarely feel comfortable rushing the table once the mike goes out. However, I loved this topic so much and wanted to meet the panelists to tell them about Compass. At the meetup, I spoke with Ben Henretig, Creative Director of Micro-documentaries, a company dedicated to helping nonprofits create short-form videos to illustrate their work.
I told Ben about Compass and found out that he is also a yoga and meditation teacher, has been to India to study, and really believe in the practice. “You have a system that heals people and this is the right time for it. Dream bigger and bigger and bigger and don’t give up.” I walked away from our brief conversation feeling both inspired and with a small inkling that this conversation served a very specific – to let me know that this is the right path, that there is no turning back, and that this cause is needed in the world. My favorite SXSW 2012 moment.
Christa Avampato 