Bloom Where You’re Planted!
Bloom where you’re planted!
Do you know any great authors or musicians out there that have very little recognition? Do you sometimes feel like an artist with little recognition for the work you do?
I went to see a rock band in concert at a local bar last year. I’d heard one of their songs by chance, on a compilation album that I bought because my neighbour’s band had a song on it. I fell in love with a song (Airwaves by The Void: https://norwegianbluerecords.bandcamp.com/track/airwaves) and listened to it on repeat on my cell phone while walking the dog. I did a search for the band and found out they were doing a concert in my home town!
WOW! They were amazing in concert! I wanted everyone in the world to know! Yet despite my enthusiasm they still had small turn outs for their concerts, because we live in a small city that is dominated by Country Music and farmers.
In my opinion, The Void’s songs are better than 90% of the boring things I hear on the radio, and yet the radio songs are what everyone hears and purchases, and they are the ones that make millions of dollars. Sometimes I think that the ‘industry’ feeds the masses what to listen to or read, for example, if you get enough exposure to advertising you may eventually give in and buy the book or the song that seems so popular. Have you ever heard a song on the radio that isn’t even all that good but then after the 200th time you hear it you find yourself singing along to it? Or have you ever had everyone you know read a book that is currently popular and then you see it at Walmart on sale so you give in and buy it to see what all the hype is about? I’ve done that.
But what about the non-commercialized books out there and music that is first rate but hasn’t signed a contract with a big name music company? Or an painter that is amazing but seen by few? It always stirs my heart when I go see my favourite local band in concert and there are only 10 people in the audience. They deserve to be on the radio stations and selling millions of albums. And yet, they don’t seem to mind preforming to a small crowd. In fact they give it their all, and do an amazing concert as though they were preforming to a large stadium! Experiencing this has made me see success differently. They are successful because they’ve disciplined their craft to the point of creating awesome music! And they’re great live performers too! And they enjoy what they do, even if they aren’t on the radio, yet 🙂
Are my novels any less of an accomplishment or less of a good read because they aren’t on the New York Bestsellers list? That is my dream, to get onto that list some day. But if I don’t, I’ll still give it my all, like my favourite band, to present my work to the ‘smaller crowd’, the writing / reading communities I’m connected with. Because even a few readers who message me that they really enjoyed one of my novels makes it worth while to write them.
I heard this saying once ‘bloom where you’re planted’ and I never forgot it. I love this saying. Is a beautiful flower, far out in the field where no one but a few deer see it, any less beautiful or fragrant than the flower in a city park that is seen by thousands? I think it’s great that some flowers, even if they aren’t that brilliant, get lots of exposure and make people happy, but it’s also great that the rare and beautiful flowers, hidden away with no exposure to the masses, can still bloom and bring joy to the lucky people who happen to discover them by chance.
I’ll always keep reaching for the stars and want to share my novels with as many people as would enjoy the genre, but if I don’t sell a million copies I won’t be disappointed, because I’ve already reached my goal of success, to finish novels and have them read by people who enjoy reading them and can relate to them in some way.
So don’t forget to discover some of the flowers of creativity planted in your own local ‘garden’. Maybe become a fan of a local band and go out to their concerts in town to support them 😀 or discover a local author who has something to say in his or her writing and tell them you enjoyed their novel. But most of all enjoy blooming where you are planted. Your fragrance isn’t any less sweet because you are growing in a field far away from the large cities, maybe it’s even more sweet, unpolluted by the factories and smoke.
Happy Writing Everyone!
One of my favourite Void songs: http://musicisvoid.bandcamp.com/track/summer
A brilliant artist who deserves world-wide recognition: Alex Bakk: https://lethbridgeartistsclub.wordpress.com/artists-gallery-new/alex-bakk/
2 of my current novels available to read online: Hamster Heaven: http://www.wattpad.com/story/33203755-hamster-heaven The Virgin Diaries: http://www.wattpad.com/story/21580986-the-virgin-diaries