Share Now Or Later?

I've been struggling with something recently.  I'll get straight to the point:

Is it better to share - in any form and raw method available - or is it better to refine, clarify, prettify, and then share?

Allow me to explain.

There is so much I want to say.  There are so many art pieces I want to show to you, so many words that grace my journal that I want to scream to the world.  There are thoughts that wake me in the middle of the night that long to be whispered in the ear of another.

When I started this site, I pretty much just said it.  The writing was rough, sometimes even confusing, and most posts lacked pictures.

Over the past few years, I've taken care to refine before sharing.  This means re-writing blog posts if necessary, making sure to take most photos in decent lighting and touching up what needs touched up, and certainly thinking about the consequences of what I'm about to share (before I share it) on social media sites.  I'm not aiming for perfection - simply for a clear and attractive way to share what I want to share.

However, in the past several months, my sharing has certainly become more limited.  The thoughts that dance in my head have taken on a much deeper quality - thoughts that are so simple, yet so complex, that I can't even explain them to myself through pages of journaling.  

These thoughts and ideas, sometimes taking the form of visual art, sometimes poetry, sometimes just lost in the air of my living room as I say them out loud to no one in particular, are of fascinating concepts.  The breath, the speed of business, the silkiness or stickiness of the floor.... magically mundane.

And yet, I don't share them.

Sometimes, I know the idea isn't ready to be shared.  Most times, I simply lose energy when thinking of how to share it.  I can't find the right words for a post or the right image to convey what I want to say.  The PROCESS of saying it through painting sings exactly the words I want to say, yet the final product doesn't capture the magic.  Sharing an image of the painting would seem to do a disservice to the process.

I've contemplated just turning on the video camera a few times and talking - just talking - and sharing the raw video.  (Alas, little natural lighting in our home, poor video editing software, etc.)

It has been drilled into me that presentation is crucial, particularly on the web.  I have 3 seconds to capture your attention (if that).  Pictures get people's attention more often than words, and words that are concise and innovative capture attention more than rambling.

So I hesitate, again and again.  And in the process, ideas get recorded, but not shared.

I'm deeply curious to know - what do you think?

Is it more beneficial (that term alone being debatable) to simply spew out ideas and art as they arise, sharing what one feels called to share, and allow the refinement to happen naturally?

Or is it more beneficial to take the time to refine the ideas before sharing - adjusting pictures, re-writing ill-written phrases, carefully editing videos - even if it means that fewer ideas actually get shared?

I'll acknowledged that I'm sure there is a happy medium in there...a tiny bit of refinement instead of rambling.  I've found, though, that the tiny bit leads down a slippery slope.  How much do you edit the picture before including it?  Check just for spelling, or for grammar?  What about the concept - does it make sense?  Should this paragraph be here, later, or not included?

And please keep in mind - we aren't talking about perfection here.  I firmly believe no idea, no presentation is ever "perfect" - and waiting to say or share something until it reaches that point will render one silent for life.  I'm simply curious about the level of "refinement" (if any) you feel ideas should have before being presented to the world.

(Less refinement = more ideas, more raw intuition shared, but possible confusion and loss of meaning.  More refinement = prettier presentation, possibly more people reached, but fewer ideas shared.)

I'll continue to process this on my own, but would love to know what you think.

(and yes, in case you couldn't tell - this post is definitely one with a lack of refinement.)

Namaste.