I’ve watched this inspiring video from National Geographic photographer, Dewitt Jones, about five times in the last few days. I honestly feel like it should be my alarm, the soundtrack of my morning, and the thing that welcomes me into a day full of possibilities. Dewitt talks about the “why” of National Geographic, which ultimately became the why of not only his professional career but also the why of his life:
"What they charged me with every time they sent me out was to celebrate what was right with the world, rather than wallowing in what was wrong with it."
Such a simple concept, but so difficult in execution! I actually watched the video this morning before heading off to work, intent on finding what was magical about my drive to the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland…and five minutes in, I found myself screaming at why the heck they decided to do construction on literally the entire Fruitvale stretch of International Blvd. on the same day, backing up traffic for a quarter-mile. Like seriously! Wouldn’t it make sense to space it out and…
Oh yeah, see there I go again. Dewitt! Help!
“The more I just went out and celebrated the best in humanity, the more I could see it."
Ah yes, so like everything else, it takes practice. It’s so easy to get distracted with things that are going wrong with our lives, whether it be problems at work or politics or the freaking traffic on International Blvd. But we always have the option of taking a deep breath and asking the same questions Dewitt asks himself each time he picks up his camera: “What’s there to celebrate? What’s right with it?”
I had a second opportunity today to practice this perspective as I waited for my small Jacob’s Wonderbar outside Philz Coffee in San Francisco, since, despite ordering my drink on the app and requesting a 1:10 pick-up time, IT WASN’T READY AT EXACTLY 1:10! Unbelievable. But I took a deep breath, stopped the downward tailspin, and thought about Dewitt’s questions. What was right about the situation? What was there to celebrate?
I looked outside and saw a couple of guys laughing as they played an impromptu game of…well, I don’t exactly know what they were playing, but it involved large checker-type pieces that they were pushing with their feet and they were laughing and having a blast. And I laughed with them.
Now, I’m sure I’ll get back into my old habits of shaking my fist at the road and focusing on what’s wrong, but I’m hopeful that over time, I’ll spend more of my days looking for what’s right like I did today at Philz. And that in itself is worth celebrating, because, as Dewitt says, “that perspective, that lens, it will change your life, as it has changed mine.”
