The secrets of the tree

An old Cambodian tale suggests that if you carve a hole in a tree and whisper into it, it will keep your secret. In the closing scene of In the Mood for Love (spoiler alert!), a man who had his heart broken—twice—travels from the bustle of Hong Kong to the trees of Cambodia to leave behind his secrets. 

This is the story that comes to mind after I read Kevin Munger’s essay on Mr. Beast, in which he notes, “The ideal creator has no distance between themselves and their persona. They have been interpellated by audience metrics; their subjective experience already takes audience reactions into account.” 

This is totally fine, especially if it’s good for business. But authenticity doesn’t always make for good business. And people aren’t trees, and they don’t make good secret keepers. 

If you keep making stuff for people, your secrets won’t have a chance to come out—and you won’t have a chance to make sense of them. In the eyes of a wider public, with comprehensive analytics and a near-instant feedback loop, you won’t create the conditions to write to think. Maybe with a semi-public space (like a blog that very few people read!), you have a chance.

Sometimes, it helps to get away from all of the noise, and retreat into a quiet room and make something for yourself—that you’ll probably never show anyone else. Carve a hole in the metaphorical tree, and leave the secret behind. Write something on a piece of paper that you erase, hide away, or otherwise dispose of. Leave the secret behind and move on with your life.

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