Leaning into the Light
My post today is about light, beauty, and possibility—and the amazing opportunities that exist to be intentional about how we see the world.
I recently came across a TedX talk by former National Geographic photographer DeWitt Jones called "Celebrate What's Right with the World." What grabbed me wasn't just his photography (though it’s definitely worth many a glance!), but his perspective on something we all wrestle with: how do we stay open to beauty and possibility when there's so much darkness demanding our attention?
As Jones puts it, "Our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality." At National Geographic, his assignment was to celebrate what's right with the world, rather than dwelling on what's wrong with it—a way of being that echoes our own perspective here at Lighter Side of Climate.
Honestly, it’s easy to wallow in what’s wrong. There’s proof of despair everywhere – in the media and beyond - and we’re naturally wired for it through negativity bias, which leads us to seek out and fixate on negative experiences. “Every day, the internet and the media bombard us with all that’s wrong with the world. And it’s so easy to buy into it,” Jones shares. “It's so easy to stare into that darkness…[into] a world based on fear, scarcity and competition.”
He recognizes, as do Casey and I, that it’s easy to criticize this optimistic worldview. He imagines the cynics saying: “DeWhitt, you’re such a pollyanna. The world is in flames -- war, terrorism, poverty, global warming. And you’re shooting puffballs!”
Jones’ iconic puffball shot
But the idea of celebrating what's right with the world isn’t about shutting your eyes and pretending that nothing is wrong. It’s not about numbing out or taking on a stance of toxic positivity, as Casey referred to last week in his powerful post. “Celebrating what’s right is not a perspective that denies the very real pain and suffering that exists on this planet,” says Jones. “Rather, it’s a perspective that puts those problems into a larger, more balanced, context – a context where we can see that there’s far more right with the world than there is wrong with it. When I put on that lens of celebration, when I really allow myself to see and connect with the beauty of the world, I feel like I’m a cup that’s so full it’s just about to overflow. I feel…I feel like I’m falling in love.”
And when we’re in love, we’re tapping into our sense of passion and possibility. We literally see the world in a different light, from a different perspective – and this changes our reality for the better.
But it’s not always easy to lean into the light, right? There’s no forcing love. So for most of us, it’s a matter of practice, and it takes intention, commitment, and re-learning – a reprogramming from the messages and cultures we were raised in, where we were taught to look for what’s wrong instead of what’s right.
Fortunately, as Jones reminds us, “Incredible beauty and possibility [are all around us], standing just beyond the rat race saying, ‘Hello, Hello…’” And in that beauty of nature and the authenticity in front of his lens, he can see it: “that light that shines not on us, but from within us. From within us when we have the courage to let it out.”
And most of us want that - to tap into that light from within. We want to be flooded with pleasant emotions – excitement, optimism, play, and resonance – the kind that our parasympathetic nervous system creates when we’re in that state of flow. Not only because it feels good and makes us feel alive, but because it’s a state that fosters motivation, engagement and creativity.
The truth Jones keeps coming back to is simple but profound: "Every day we get to choose what lens we see the world with. It's our choice." That daily choice to look for beauty, possibility, and what's working—even as we tackle what's broken—isn't just about feeling better. It's about staying alive to the solutions and connections that cynicism would have us miss.
