Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Giving someone a piece of your mind is very different from giving someone your heart. The heart expresses itself very differently than the mind. The mind vents and blows off steam from the pressure of “life.” It releases hot air. The heart expresses itself by relieving the gentle urging or pulse of love. The mind blows, feeling the so-called pressure of peers.
Every time I gave a live performance, I questioned, “Why am I doing this?” Playing in public is pressure-filled. The concert recordings never seemed to relieve pressure, even if they were decent. Often, I’d listen to the recordings and cringe. What gives? The heart relieves. The mind keeps squeezing and pressurizing.
Why perform in public? Couldn’t it just be joyful to play by myself and for my own, personal edification? Why write a blog such as this one and pay WordPress a monthly fee so others can read your writing? Why put yourself “out there.” “They” only seem to crucify, dismiss, or sneer. Peers are too much pressure.
You have to. If you suppress your expression, your heart will wither. You will be “bugged” by your own conscience until you publish your novel, play your concert, or give the world a piece of your heart. If you want to give someone a piece of your mind; if you have something to prove; or if you think you just want to be good at something – you haven’t learned intrinsically what this is about. The heart is full. It’s just bursting at the seams to express itself. Why deny it? It only causes more pain than putting yourself “out there.” When you do it to give vitality to your own heart, you can’t lose. When you do it “for others,” or for a perfect result, the pressure of your peers is unbearable.