Creativity and Life

“By being creative we really do fall in love with the world. And in that moment we transform the ordinary into the extraordinary”
-Dewitt Jones

For the past couple of years I have been bit by the proverbial photography bug. It seems I have found my creative outlet; an outlet I have been searching and yearning for most of my life. Have you ever had a deep knowing that there is something creative inside of you trying to be expressed but lacked a language? This is what I have felt for most of my life and until recently lacked a medium, a language. Thankfully, photography somehow discovered me. As a consequence I study many photographers’ work and while in graduate school was shown a CD movie of a motivational speech by National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones.

Dewitt Jones has developed the incredible capacity to apply lessons learned from photography to his life (or is it lessons learned in life applied to photography? It is not always that clear, is it?) and he has developed a relatively successful motivational speaking practice using his photography to illustrate key points in what he believes are steps toward creativity, meaning, and the celebration of life. I am repeatedly touched when I view his videos and I have transcribed his 5 steps toward living creatively onto index cards that I carry in my camera bag and taped to my PDA to remind me of my focus.

Dewitt has several video shorts in the “videos” section of his website (www.dewittjones.com) that highlight his philosophy and approach as well as his infectiously motivating personality. I have enjoyed them very much and recommend them wholeheartedly.

His 5 point maxim for living creatively is as follows:
1. Focus your vision: celebrate what is right in the world
2. Train your technique
3. Place yourself in the place of most potential
4. Truly be open to the possibilities: what will I be given today and will I be open to receive it
5. Continuously find the next right answer

As always, I appreciate any comments or feedback and hope you have found this blog post helpful and meaningful. Please also visit my website at www.koipondcounseling.com

Brian