Some Inspiration

I came across this video that is making the rounds on the internet and social networking sites and found it touching and inspiring. I thought you might enjoy it and gain some inspiration to do the things you have wanted to do to improve your life.

Lilac Wine

It has been some time since I last posted but that does not mean I have given up blogging. Quite the contrary. I am actually in the process of re-thinking my approach to blogging and where this blog will be hosted. The possibilities on the web seem endless and I want to be sure I provide a platform that is streamlined and makes sense. To that end I have been working on combining this blog with my website and working on a website update to better serve current and future clients as well as anyone that checks this blog for information, inspiration, and creativity.

To that end, and to keep the energy flowing here, I am posting this video I came across today. I found it quite beautiful and was inspired by the creativity involved in creating it. I hope you like it too.

Lilac Wine from Matthew Landa on Vimeo.

As always feel free to share this blog and to drop by my website at www.koipondcounseling.com.

My best,
Brian

Play

There seems to be a sense of play in living a creative life. All those that I know who live life creatively (whether they be artists or not) appear to be playing and having fun. Now, one might think that play is the natural outcome of living life creatively, but as one of my inspirations, commercial photographer Chase Jarvis, with the help of Carl Jung, mentions in his recent blog post that creativity is a natural outcome of play.

So here is a question: how can we play at this experience called life? With all of the work and responsibility that goes into living, how can we have a sense of play and wonderment supporting all of it? And what would that do to our sense of aliveness? My personal ideas are that life would become more fun, playful, enjoyable, creative, meaningful.

I'm also interested in Carl Jung's idea that play might be an instinct acting from an inner necessity. Perhaps I'll address that in a future post. For now, how can you bring a greater sense of play into your daily life with a sense of curiosity about what might come from it?

As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated and feel free to take a moment to visit my website at www.koipondcounseling.com

My best,
Brian

Welcome...

I love short visual stories that warm my heart. Here is one for you; it's a commercial, but it's also a warm visual story.

My best,
Brian

Vision

I have a new favorite person I have just met. Well, perhaps I need to rephrase that. I have a new favorite person I have just come in contact with. No, that's not right. I have a new favorite person I have become aware of...

You see, I have just come to be aware of Dave duChemin through a book he has written, as well as through a blog he writes. The book in question is "Within the Frame" which is a book about the "why" of photography as opposed to the "how" of photography and it intrigued me deeply when I came across it recently in a bookstore. The entire book is about discovering your artistic vision, nurturing it, and creating from it. And I think Dave hits the nail on the head. He writes passionately about vision (he even has a recently published book about vision entitled "VisionMongers") and although his craft is photography and therefore geared to photographers, his writing is deeply about living life fully; about living life creatively. And, being a photographer, his pages are filled with stimulating, motivating, and enriching images that speak to that place in our hearts and souls that are beyond words.

In glancing through his book and reading some of his blog posts (check out his blog at www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/) I have come to realize that his work is not photography. His work is more about education, inspiration, and communication. He aims to educate people about humanitarian causes in the world; he hopes to inspire people to connect with others who might need some help; and he intends to communicate in a visual and visceral way. My sense is that photography for Mr. duChemin is a tool that allows him to create something moving, not just for himself, but for others as well.

And that is the piece that moves me; his intention to create something that moves himself and others. He appears to have put himself in service of something greater than himself and as a result has the ability to connect deeply with other people through images, and now words.

I have written in the past about living a creative life, not just in the sense of creating artwork, but more importantly in the sense of being creative with the common things in our lives; having a sense of play and wonder with being alive. It seems I have discovered someone who does this and is actively encouraging others to do so as well. While his medium is photographic images and books about the photographic process, I find his subject matter carries over into the overall context of this blog; exploring how to live creatively. As such, I would encourage you to glance through his book the next time you are in a bookstore (or better yet, buy a copy-Mr. duChemin would like to be able to make a living from his writing so that he can devote more time to humanitarian causes), visit his blog (at the very least you will be rewarded with looking at some beautiful photographs), and even visit his online eBook store "Craft and Vision." You just might gain a few ideas on how to live life creatively. I know I have!

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 http://www.koipondcounseling.com/

My best,
Brian

P.S.-The image at the top of this blog post was shot by me at sunrise on a trip to Mexico last fall. Seeing as I am often so moved by the images on other people's blogs I thought I might try to post some images to this blog to keep the creativity flowing. Who knows, perhaps I'll even manage to find some images to go with the specific subject matter of the individual posts. Let me know what you think.

Compliments

Well, well...

I have just met with a friend from long ago to catch up and share some professional information and experience. I had a wonderful time as is often the case when I catch up with someone that life's busy-ness keeps me from being in contact with more often. And at the end of our time together, when we were saying our goodbyes, she shared with me that she is subscribed to my blog and encouraged me to post more.

As a result I find myself wanting to write something for this blog during a short break that I have today; I am motivated. My motivation today reminds me of a podcast I listened to yesterday about the power of a compliment and the power of a person paying attention. This podcast (and I hope to perhaps post the link to it soon) pointed out that so many of us who create, be it writing, photography, drawing, painting, pottery, while we are motivated internally by a drive to create are very positively affected by people noticing our work and giving us a compliment.

This got me to thinking. If we are making an effort to live our lives creatively (and by this I don't necessarily mean artistically, but also the simple act of creatively living our lives) won't we be similarly encouraged? Can't we all feel these good feelings I am experiencing by just knowing there is one person out there interested in reading my blog? In short, don't we all thrive on compliments, or even just knowing someone is paying attention to us? I think so.

With this in mind, what would happen if we attempted to ripple a wave of compliments through the world? A kind of "paying it forward" of compliments.

So here is a challenge for you that might read this post: Try, at least once a day, to notice what someone in your environment is doing or creating that has a positive intent or positive outcome, and let them know you have noticed. Perhaps even offer them a compliment. You might just have made someone's day.

My best,
Brian