Watch time- 18 minutes
At a time when we sense the world is falling apart and are confronted by evil, pandemic, lack of humanity, scarcity, global warming, distrust in our leaders and global powers, this is a very timely TED talk by ex National Geographic Photographer – Dewitt Jones. He invites us to change our lens, change our perspective and see beauty all arounds us.
Stunning Photography!
Precis:
He shares the brief he undertook from National Geographic, which was simple but profound. Go out into the world and take photos which “celebrate what’s right with the world, rather than wallowing in what’s wrong with it”. There is a lesson in this for all of us!
· The notion of when you celebrate the best in humanity, you simply notice more of it
· Challenges his own way and societies way of thinking “The Law of the Jungle” – “eat or be eaten”… a world based on scarcity and competition.
· Inviting us to make the choice between fear and scarcity or endless possibilities
· Life’s big lesson – there is more than one way or one perspective for everything we see – finding different angles, different views, different lenses, allows us to see extraordinary in the ordinary – MORE THAN ONE RIGHT ANSWER!
· Lovely section about wanting dandelions and getting “puffballs!” (no spoiler alert!)
· Not denying what’s wrong with the world and pain and suffering but putting it in larger context and perspective – we are bombarded by negative messages by media and everything / everyone around us, so we need to find balance or we drift towards anxiety and despair
· Allowing us to connect to the energy of Passion and Compassion every day, so we can fix and heal and mend
· “Change your lens, change your life!”
· Beautiful story of little boy who helped him truly see the world from a different perspective – jump to 13 mins (if short of time)
My perspective:
A lot of simple stuff but some very powerful messages that I feel are so relevant today.
In a world full of negative images, perspectives, fake, sad and bad news, we need to find a way of uplifting ourselves. Understanding all that’s wrong with the world, whilst also celebrating what’s good and right, so we can fill our cup and find the energy to engage and be a force for good, rather than giving up and becoming anxious, despairing or depressed.
I come back to this video time and time again in my training sessions when I feel people are getting stuck in their own narrow perspective and need to step back and see beauty instead of pain, seek alternative solutions that are outside the box of their current thinking. This can be hard but also so rewarding.
If nothing else, watch for the stunning photography…
© Jackie Wade 2021
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