Nature's beauty inspires gratitude | Louie Schwartzberg | TEDxSMU

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who captures breathtaking images and stories that celebrate life -
revealing connections, universal rhythms, patterns and beauty. His notable career spans feature films, television shows, commercials and documentaries. He won two Clio Awards for TV advertising, including best environmental broadcast spot, an EMMY® nomination for best cinematography and the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award for the feature film "America's Heart & Soul." His new film is"Wings of Life." He is currently directing "Mysteries of the Unseen World," a 3D, large-format film for National Geographic. He is also launching Moving Art™ on Panasonic Smart TV this fall, an IPTV channel that will inspire, entertain and transform the home viewing screen into an emotional immersive user-preference experience.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.

Well, thank you.

Okay, it's really great to be here.

I'm a filmmaker,

and I'm very passionate to explore
the world and the beauty of nature.

I love shooting things

that are either too small,
too fast, too slow or too vast

for the human eye to see.

And for me that's a giant turn-on,

and I'm really grateful and happy
I can share it with you guys today.

So, I've been shooting time-lapse
for almost 30 years, nonstop,

24 hours a day, 7 days a week -

continuously.

And one of the things
I learned from that experience

was that beauty and seduction
are nature's tools for survival.

And one of the reasons
why I started to do this

was because when I graduated from UCLA,
I didn't have any money,

but I had time and a sense of wonder.

And today, I'm still
never going to get tired

of watching these flowers
open and move to the light.

So when I heard about
the bees disappearing -

I'm sure you've heard
about this issue as well,

colony collapse disorder -

which many scientists believe

is actually the most serious
environmental threat facing mankind,

and I figured, well, you can't tell
the story about the bees disappearing

without telling the story about flowers,

because they co-evolved
over 50 million years.

Their love story is a love story
that feeds the earth.

So it's the little guys
we often take for granted,

pollinators,

that really are the foundation of life:

bees, bats, hummingbirds, butterflies.

So, I was in Mexico one time.

We were shooting our monarchs,
which you'll see shortly,

and I asked my scientific advisor, I said,

"Well, you know,
what motivates their behavior?"

And they go, "Well, you know,
it's all about risk and reward."

And like a little kid, I go, "But why?"

And he said, "Well,
you know, it's all about survival."

And I said, "Why?"

And again, they said,
"Well, it's all about reproduction."

And I said, "Why?"

I thought they'd say something flippant,

like "Well, it's all about sex."

And instead, they kind of pondered it,

and they said, "You know,
everything in the universe wears out.

Nothing lasts forever."

And that really blew my mind

because I realized

that nature created reproduction
as a mechanism for life to move forward

as a force of energy
through generation after generation.

I mean, we truly do stand
on the shoulders of our ancestors.

So I want to share with you
a little nectar from my film.

Meryl Streep does a voice-over
from the point of view of a flower,

but in this montage,

I hope it will inspire you

to put some seeds
in a pollinator-friendly garden.

Let's roll the video.

(Music starts)

(Buzzing)

(Buzzing)

(Buzzing)

(Wing flutters)

[Hidden Beauty]

(Music ends)

Hey!

(Applause)

Thank you.

As you can see,

pollination is really
the foundation of life.

It's really a mystical moment,

where the animal world
and the plant world intersect

for life to continue,
generation after generation.

But I really like big ideas,
and I was kind of wondering,

well, if plants are key to survival -

I mean, it's the only thing
that can take light energy

and turn it into food,
fuel, medicine, shelter -

well, what supports plants?

Well, you know, the answer is soil.

And I wondered, well, what creates soil?

You know, what can decompose
rock and organic matter

for plants to flourish?

Well, the answer is

it's the largest organism on the planet,

it can heal you, it can cure you,

it can even shift your consciousness.

It's actually right underneath your feet.

It's called mycelium,
which is the root system for mushrooms.

And here is a clip,

a film I'm working on
called "Fantastic Fungi."

(Laughter)

(Music starts)

(Birds chirping)

(Video) Paul Stamets:
Mushroom mycelium represents rebirth,

rejuvenation,

regeneration.

Fungi generates soil that gives life.

The task that we face today
is to understand the language of nature.

My mission is to discover
the language of nature

of the fungal networks
that communicate with the ecosystem.

And I believe nature is intelligent.

The fact that we lack the language skills
to communicate with nature

does not impugn the concept
that nature is intelligent.

It speaks to our inadequacy
for communication.

If we don't get our act together

and come in commonality and understanding
with the organisms that sustain us today,

not only will we destroy those organisms,
but we will destroy ourselves.

We need to have a paradigm shift
in our consciousness.

What will it take to achieve that?

If I died trying

but I'm inadequate to the task

to make a course change
in the evolution of life on this planet,

okay, I tried.

The fact is I tried.

How many people are not trying?

If you knew that every breath you took

could save hundreds of lives
into the future

had you walked down
this path of knowledge,

wouldn't you run down that path
of knowledge as fast as you could?

I believe nature is a force of good.

(Music ends)

Good is not only a concept;
it is a spirit.

And so, hopefully, the spirit
of goodness will survive.

(Applause)

Let's hear it for mushrooms.

One of the most common remarks I hear
when people see this imagery

is "Oh my God!"

And have you ever wondered
what that means?

Well, I thought about that,
and I kind of realized

that the "Oh" makes you present,
it makes you mindful.

And the "my" touches something
really deep inside your soul.

It becomes a gateway
for your inner voice to be heard.

And "God" is that spiritual
journey we're all on

to be connected to some kind
of universal energy.

You know, that connection

that make us feel we're a part
of something which celebrates life.

And for me, nature
has been my greatest teacher

because it has taught me so much
about cultivating an open heart,

developing appreciation,

feeding my mind and nourishing my soul.

So let's dive into the world of gratitude

as seen from the point of view of a child
and an old man who's very wise.

(Video) Girl: When I watch TV,

it's just some shows
that you just - that are pretend.

And when you explore,

you get more imagination
than you already had.

And when you get more imagination,

it makes you want to go deeper in

so you can get more
and see beautifuler things.

Like the path, if it's a path,

it could lead you to a beach or something,

and it could be beautiful.

(Music starts)

[Gratitude]

Man: You think this is just
another day in your life.

It's not just another day.

It's the one day
that is given to you today.

It's given to you; it's a gift.

It's the only gift
that you have right now,

and the only appropriate response
is gratefulness.

If you do nothing else

but to cultivate that response

to the great gift that this unique day is,

if you learn to respond
as if it were the first day in your life

and the very last day,

then you will have
spent this day very well.

Begin by opening your eyes

and be surprised that you
have eyes you can open,

that incredible array of colors

that is constantly offered to us
for pure enjoyment.

Look at the sky.

We so rarely look at the sky.

We so rarely note how different it is
from moment to moment

with clouds coming and going.

We just think of the weather.

And even with the weather,

we don't think of all
the many nuances of weather,

we just think of good weather
and bad weather.

This day, right now, it's unique weather,

maybe a kind that will never
exactly in that form come again.

The formation of clouds in the sky
will never be the same that is right now.

Open your eyes.

Look at that.

Look at the faces of people whom you meet.

Each one has an incredible story
behind their face,

a story that you could never fully fathom.

Not only their own story
but the story of their ancestors.

We all go back so far.

And in this present moment, on this day,

all the people you meet,

all that life from generations

and from so many places
all over the world,

flows together and meets you here
like a life-giving water

if you only open your heart and drink.

Open your heart to the incredible gifts
that civilization gives to us.

You flip a switch,
and there is electric light.

You turn a faucet,

and there is warm water and cold water

and drinkable water.

It's a gift that millions and millions
in the world will never experience.

So these are just a few
of an enormous number of gifts

to which we can open our heart.

And so I wish you

that you will open your heart
to all these blessings

and let them flow through you,

that everyone whom you will meet
on this day will be blessed by you,

just by your eyes,

by your smile,

by your touch.

Just by your presence.

Let the gratefulness overflow
into blessing all around you.

And then it will really be a good day.

(Music ends)

(Applause)

[A film by Louie Schwartzberg]

Thank you.

(Applause)

So let's open our hearts

and create the shift
in consciousness that we need.

You know, it's great
being lead-off speaker today,

but we're actually
in the bottom of the 8th inning,

and let's remember that nature bats last.

So let's create a sustainable future
for ourselves and for our children.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)