The tree that falls in the forest

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

This question addresses the relationship between objective reality and subjective experience and draws an interesting parallel to creativity.

If you create something - a painting, a poem, a song - but never share it with anyone, does it truly exist? Does your creative expression and artistic voice really make an impact if no one else experiences it?

It's an uncomfortable notion for many artists and creatives. We may feel protective over our work, insecure about putting ourselves out there, or simply struggle with the vulnerability of sharing our inner creative world with others.

So we hide our creations away: the half-finished sketches stuffed in drawers, the voice memos of lyric ideas siloed on our phones, and the short stories living in perpetual "draft" mode on our hard drives.

However, by doing so, we are essentially depriving our creative expressions of any meaning or purpose. It's like a fallen tree whose sound never reaches anyone's ears. Our art cannot fulfil its purpose of connecting with others and contributing something meaningful to the world.

No matter how personal or private your creative process may feel, your work cannot make any kind of impact unless you share it with others.

I'm not suggesting you turn everything you create into a commodity or a commercial product.

I want you to have the courage to express your creative voice, even if it's not perfect at first. You can start by sharing it with a friend, posting it online, reading it at an open mic event, or displaying your artwork for others to see.

Because for art to exist in any real sense, it must be expressed and experienced. Otherwise, it's just the proverbial fallen tree, its creative vibrations disappearing into an empty forest, unappreciated and unheard.

If you don't share it with the world.

Nobody will ever know.

How beautiful.

Your mind.

Can be.

I hope you find this post inspiring. Remember:

It's not going to be easy,
But it's not impossible.

Brian