Joshua Luke Smith grew up in an impoverished area of northern Pakistan where his parents were building a hospital. He started writing poetry from a young age to try to make sense of the world around him, and from this moment he got a taste of the power of words, song, reflection and observation.
He dreamt of somehow changing the world, but rather than become a missionary like his parents, he grew up a millennial, “the age of instagram filters, twitter feeds, 80 thousand starbucks combinations. A universe in my palm - where every single day I ran the risk of scrolling through my 20’s”.
But his sharp lyrics and ability to capture both the chaos and magic modern times has become his way of changing the way we look at the world, and ourselves. In his spoken word talk for TEDxBristol, he weaves a story of social anxiety, self analysis, obsession and redemption. “We’re obsessed with the world in our hands and have forgotten the world that beats within us.”
There’s not many people who can tackle the troubles of the world in one go - be it suicide, refugee displacement, social media obsession or porn culture. But in the next 19 minutes, Joshua Luke Smith weaves his way eloquently through some of modern society’s deepest wounds, and crucially reveals how we can begin to heal.
This talk is from TEDxBristol 2017: Dare To Disrupt. In a world of constant change and uncertainty, these are the ‘positive disruptors’ ripping up the rule book to challenge received wisdom, demand better, and transform seemingly insurmountable problems into break-through possibilities and new beginnings.
From making a big splash on single-use plastics, to a global campaign to end unwanted hair-touching, or a revolutionary approach to combining robotics with human creativity, we hope you’ll enjoy and feel inspired by these talks.
Watch all our talks here tedxbristol.com/talks
Our talks were produced, filmed and edited by a brilliant team of talented volunteers and pro-bono partners:
Produced by:
Mel Rodrigues, Curator TEDxBristol
Daniel Edmund, Assistant Curator, TEDxBristol
Samuel Williams, Hodos Consultancy
Barney Grenfell, Hodos Consultancy
Filmed and edited by Floating Harbour Films:
Richard da Costa
Ben Scrase
Tom Young
Dan O’Connell
Gareth Croft
With camerawork and production support from:
Steve Webb
Giles Edwards
Bath Spa University
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
Joshua Luke Smith is a young musician from Bath, UK gaining momentum as an important voice in matters of social justice as well as the music scene. As a craftsman lyricist and a captivating song writer, it is no wonder that his independently released music has been well received, the 27 year old's debut EP secured a top ten position in the international iTunes UK charts only hours after being released. Joshua's mission is to write music that does not simply provide his audience with a good tune or playful lyrics but to release words of power, substance and meaning and speak into the chaos of culture.
His independent music label, Orphan No More, supports and develops artists who have a story to tell. He says, “"We believe everybody has a message, everybody has a song and that we can change the world outside as we heal the world within." This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx