Expression
One of humanity's greatest forms of sharing and highlighting our inner voice in every way imaginable
INTRODUCTION
Among so many fascinating topics surrounding culture that I’d like to cover on here, expression was one that came to me instantly when I thought of people as a whole, because let’s face it, people can’t maintain a community without culture, and culture cannot be preserved without expression.
When you observe those around you, or simply become more self aware you’ll notice that all we do is express ourselves. Whether it is by speaking, introducing physical change into our lives, or altering our behaviour based on something we’ve learned. In the end, any interaction we carry out is a form of expression.
SELF EXPRESSION
To really understand this topic, what you need to do is focus on yourself in the first place. After all there is no better practice than inner reflection.
Think about how you express yourself daily and why do you do it. First thing that comes to mind is speech and the conversations you have throughout the day, however I encourage you to think deeper than that.
Expression ranges from your outward appearance such as clothes, hairstyles or makeup, through your body language like facial expressions or gestures, all the way to the creative expression you enjoy, for example dancing, painting, journaling and plenty more.
I’m sure that everyday you perform at least one routine that you don’t even acknowledge because of its repetitiveness, and as a result you don’t even realise that it makes a statement. More often than not, this seemingly small act becomes something that people subconsciously associate you with. For example that one necklace you put on every morning, the way you do your hair on a daily basis or a hobby you are so passionate about. Every one of these make up a small part of your identity, and all together they make you, you.
Every person you meet has some kind of personality that exists and develops thanks to the multitude of those habits. As we grow we tend to slightly alter them based on our experiences and the things we’ve learned overtime, which is the exact reason why people change. It’s never a sudden shift, but rather a time consuming process that is almost unnoticeable at the beginning. Only with time can we actually tell that a person has changed because we start to notice that some routines of theirs differ from the ones we originally associated them with.
To sum it up briefly: Every single expression is an important part of your character that contributes to making you who you are right now, and that applies to everyone else as well.
EMOTIONS
Freely expressing our emotions is arguably one of the most crucial things we need to do in order to function properly. Suppressing them for a long period of time is quite literally one of the worst things a person could do.
It’s never really a problem with the positive feelings such as joy, love or inspiration, however there are two sides of a coin and that’s when the problem emerges.
Negative feelings, including guilt, sadness or fear are never pleasant and nobody wants to deal with them any longer than necessary, however nothing good comes from compressing them.
I see it as a form of a coping mechanism to forget and stuff all of that negativity deep inside us, in hopes of it magically vanishing. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way... Quite the opposite actually. Instead of fading away, those feelings linger and ebulliate which leads to attracting more nasty experiences. Rather than developing, we become stuck in this loop because what drives us is fear, anger or sadness. That’s why expression is so important.
There are some unfortunate instances when a person stays in a hateful environment for too long, which leads them to soak it all up. As a result of that, later interactions with people spread more negativity than ever, and the reason for it is a deeply rooted hatred inside that they struggle to acknowledge.
“So if I end up in a place like that, what can I do?”
Firstly, locate the problem and try to understand the source of it. Sometimes the truth hurts but it’s vital to move on and get out of that dark place. After you find the issue try to actually address it. What makes it easier is that there are countless ways of doing so, however there are only two tactics that you can realistically apply — either being direct or indirect. Both of them are just as effective and it is solely up to you which one of these you feel more comfortable with. The only limit is your imagination and how far you are willing to go.
For example, if you prefer being more indirect about it, what you can do is feel that emotion, lose yourself in it and then start with an artistic expression of choice. It can be painting what you feel, writing something poetic about it or anything else that comes to your mind. What makes it special is that it comes straight from you — from the source and it’s as genuine as it gets because there is nothing limiting you.
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If you decide to address the issue more straightforwardly, I believe that simply talking about it is the key. Speaking is as direct as it gets, and there’s no better way to resolve an issue with another person than to openly talk it through.
Though I understand how this could appear as difficult at first because we tend to blame everyone else for our faults instead of actually admitting to being in the wrong more often than we realise. I tend to have issues with that myself, but the key is not letting your ego dictate the interactions you have with others.
Another helpful option is therapy, which allows you to freely talk about everything that’s bothering you with another person without any judgement from their side. Not only that, but therapists also help you reach the source of the negative feelings you struggle with, which allows them to give you practical advice that later on can be applied to your life in order to improve and understand yourself better.
The last (but certainly not least) brilliant example would be journaling. For some people expression comes much more easily in the written language instead of any form of verbal communication. In my opinion writing gives us time to word what we want to state in a clearer, easier to understand way, which for many people might be the exact thing they’re looking for. By journaling about our feelings we get to carefully organise the overwhelming flood of thoughts and emotions that trouble us.
ART
No wonder there are so many beautiful ways of artistic expression. After all, you could speak a thousand words and yet they wouldn’t be nearly as raw and genuine as art.
Art has the ability to reach a person in the most profound and sincere manner, for it acts as a bridge between the hidden ideas, thoughts and feelings that we have compressed before, and expression which means processing all of those emotions and projecting them onto our lives. To put it simply: Art is key to understanding the importance of expression.
Let’s take poetry and music as an example. Words can be very meaningful as they are, however music and poetry have a way of enhancing that. Some people believe that songs are powerful manifestation tools, because they connects words (intentions), and rhythm (that triggers certain emotions).
Are you familiar with that overwhelming feeling of helplessness that makes you want to scream? Well, screaming indeed is a form of expression and it could help, but why not turn it into something more effective and meaningful like a song? Singing after all allows you to scream your heart out while addressing whatever emotions you’re feeling in the moment. And no, you don’t have to be musically inclined to do so, however I must admit it does sound noticeably better.
I could go over so many more fascinating examples of artistic expression such as paintings, sculptures, fashion, cinema and many many others, however instead, we could just ask ourselves: What do all of these have in common? The answer is freedom, and more specifically, the power of freely conveying what we feel and think into something substantial in order to make a statement.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
I’m sure you’re familiar with the statement: “freedom of speech”, also known as: “freedom of expression” which is a fundamental right of every person on Earth. A clause that we hear so frequently, yet one that we violate most all over the world.
A birthright that supposedly guarantees a right to speak freely, regardless of one’s identity should not be stripped away from a human being by another person (or group of people) based on their gender, race, nationality, or any other factor.
So why do those in authority abuse their power and shamelessly silence the most vulnerable collective groups of people?
Unfortunately there’s many inhumane reasons for that, that simply don’t matter to them, because they don’t affect them. That is to say — What is the best way to be heard if not by silencing others? The sad truth is that those in control don’t take into account the consequences of their actions as long as it pays off for them.
When the authority is given to the wrong pool of people they abuse it and bend it to their liking, because they know they won’t face any justful consequences whatsoever. I mean who will be the judge of that if there’s nobody above them?
The reason many people are frequently deprived of that right is because it’s the most powerful one. When a government makes a statement that doesn’t sit right with at least one person who decides to speak up about it, it is almost certain that more people will join in and potentially start opposing the authorities openly, eventually forming whole movements that protest against it. To put it shortly — all you need is a spark to start a fire, and fire is what they fear most.
The moment something is being taken away from us we fight for it and it’s beautiful because what drives us is hope. When we notice that they’re trying to silence our voices we start using them louder. The most common ways of defiance are protests, but even small acts of resistance make a powerful statement.
To them we are an obstacle, but to the ones in need we are a voice that brings hope, and that is why acting up is so important. It has the power to change lives and it should be a good enough reason to continue doing so no matter the price. I’m willing to take that risk because the freedom of speech has not been taken away from me and I won’t let it go to waste. If not for it you wouldn’t be reading this at all.
With that said, we all should be fighting to restore this right to the oppressed victims all over the world, because you never know if this freedom will still apply to you tomorrow. Every voice matters, given that together we can be louder than fear and put a stop to this unjust system.
CONCLUSION
Hopefully, after reading this article you find it easier to acknowledge the various ways of expression that we encounter everyday not only in ourselves, but also in those around us. Realising the importance and value of expression encourages to become more mindful about your approach to this topic.
As you could notice, I’ve broken this topic into four parts that appeared the most crucial to me, however expression can be found in more aspects of life, and all you need to do is look. By doing so, you’ll learn to distinguish the most important areas of expression that shape our culture, politics and each and every single individual, including you. Let that knowledge further inspire and shape you to use your voice twice as loudly and twice as often, for those who cannot.
