As I sit here, waiting to board my plane to Portland to see my brother, I think about creativity and all that it entails. Is it really something that can be defined? Science has had a difficult time being “scientific” with much of the creative process, as we know it. Is creativity something that can happen in the spur of the moment? I believe so. I believe that happens more than we realize.
Take the application, Instagram, for instance. This one application has revolutionized the way in which people interact with each other, but also displays their creativity to the world. You don’t have to be a well-known photographer, a fashion designer, or a world-renowned filmmaker to be noticed on Instagram. What I mean is, Instagram pushes the envelope for everyone and anyone. Take my own story for instance- by trade I am a visual story teller (a fancy term for videographer) and a writer. I dabbled in photography about three years ago when I first found my passion for multimedia, but after trial and error figured out that digital and film photography maybe was not for me. I found my passion in video (also referred to as film). Then came Instagram, which at the time did not have video capabilities. My first post was a terrible lo-fi filtered picture of the end of a guitar. Over time, I found other Instagrammers whose work I loved and grabbed bits and pieces from what they did and made it my own. That application has stretched me in creative ways more than I could have imagined. I now notice different light settings. I notice different scenery. I appreciate the outdoors. I love portraits. All because of the application known as Instagram, I now have a love for so many things I did not have before.
It also taught me to live in the moment. Sometimes beautiful pictures and moments are not planned. It has taught me not to take life so seriously. That does not mean life isn’t serious; it just means to find beauty in the simple things. Value the face-to-face interactions you have as well as the digital interactions. Everyone has a story to tell. Listen to their story. I promise you will find value and wonderful lessons throughout life if you will just listen to people and reflect. Reflecting allows our minds to find that value.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard
In an article titled, “Nurturing Creativity” by allpsychologycareers.com, the writer gives some great advice on how to nurture our creative thinking. I believe the advice given from this article ties into what I mentioned about reflecting.
“Schedule some quiet time each day, every couple of days, or once a week if that is all that’s possible. Just breathe, daydream, or doodle. Turn off all electronic devices and just relax.”
This week I challenge you to sit back, relax, and reflect on your surroundings, your relationships, your passions, and your dreams. Seek out new ways in which you can enrich those relationships. Seek out well-known people in your field of work and see what they are doing that you might could do as well.
How will you find beauty in the simple moments this week? In what ways will you make an effort to examine life and the world around you?
If you would like to know more about Instagram, find me at: @thevincerussell
I don’t know if I will have time to dive in this week, but you have inspired me to use Instagram in different ways and to seek out the beauty in the world around me. Your photos are beautiful man.
Thanks so much, Adam. I’m so glad it inspired you. Once you begin to find that beauty, it’ll be hard to stop exploring. 🙂
Vincent, I have heard about Instagram, and I may even have an account set up, but I have not even gone on that site in eons. You re-inspired me…because I love photography and am a painter. I get inspiration from looking at what others have done. But your remarks about reflecting really struck me, along with the quote from Kierkegaard. I think if people spent more time reflecting, everything about the way we live our lives would change. It’s so important. My best time for reflecting comes when I am praying. I may be asking for something and then a sudden thought about something I did, or said, or something that happened will come to me. I get up from prayer and I’m changed.
I’m so glad I could re-inspire you! That’s what I live for! 🙂 Definitely give Instagram another chance. They have a great feature called the “Suggested Users” (which you can find in Settings) which shows who Instagram currently suggests people can follow. There are some great mobile photography artists out there. And that’s so true what you said about prayer – it affords us another great opportunity to reflect, because most of those times (if we allow Him) the Lord can show us things we may have missed. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts!
Thanks so much for your post! I appreciate your recommendation to schedule time specifically for quiet times. I do try to meditate and pray on a daily basis for a half and hour. And if I don’t determine to carve out that time, my day will just get filled. Almost by itself.
If I follow these practices of meditation and prayer, it’s amazing how God (as I understand God)leads my thinking and ideas into new, fresh paths! Yes, I do need to breathe, to take a time out, and to contemplate how my relationships can be revitalized. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you for reading the article and I’m glad it inspired you! You are correct, when we meditate and pray He shows us things we otherwise would not have seen.
“…find beauty in the simple things.”
I think this sums up the power of Instagram. You don’t have to be a great photographer to capture a simple picture and tweak it a little to make it something more enjoyable.
I too will be exploring Instagram a little more these days. Thank you Vince.
That’s so true, Leo! “..find beauty in the simple things” ties into an earlier post “Adventure Is Out There!”, haha. Adventure can be anything – it’s what we make it. 🙂