Participation is the Alchemy of Hive

It had been staring me in the face all along.

I hadn't noticed it because of the red chart lines, the falling prices of my tokens, and the growing confusion in my Discord.

One thing we've always done well in The Brotherhood is maintain attention. I've always known that keeping everyone's attention was the key to success.

But these last two years have side-tracked me; from fleeting long term members, to Dragons selling out in high numbers earlier this year.

I truly forgot what we initially stood passionately for.

Tight bonds built over years of shared activity.

The shock of having people leave in their droves whilst there was really no need to or any reason to stopped me from chasing the dreams of building attention.

In fact, it somewhat cut me to the core.

One might say it nearly broke me.

Yet venturing too close to the fire and burning from the experience changes a person; those that are no stranger to death and rebirth find solace in the new form which lays ahead.

If I want to create true attention then I need to infuse that with everything I do -- attention is only as good as the person that creates it.

If I don't work for attention then it holds less meaning than if my soul burns passionately to be seen and heard by many.

If I write for rewards then my mind is fixated on post payouts and weekly APRs rather than the core tenet of creation -- expression.

What does one do when they create something?

Do they create to be seen? Or heard? Understood, maybe?

Why create when you care not what is understood only what is rewarded after?

Is that really creation?

Or just a motion we've patterned in our minds to be rewarded like a good little boy?

A pat on the head from mum after you've done something you know she likes. But you don't understand why she likes it. But you do it anyway.

Art is expressive, it's also against the grain of society -- art chambers the Glock and aims it right at the machine; wielding millions in its stead.

Art has toppled empires, inside and outside.

Today we wave accusatory fingers and shout misinformation at each other when art becomes too radical; we are taught to fear the unknown, and ridicule the people that think out the box, to fear conspiracy theories.

I love a good conspiracy theory, don't you?

And yet I love art, in fact up until a few weeks ago the passion that burns so brightly in me now was almost extinct; I couldn't see that what lay before me.

All the artists on hive that write with flair, shine like bright diamonds in the dark, and illuminate entire swathes of hive they sit in.

Their rewards small, yet they do not care -- they write with flair, with dignity, with aura.

And they do it every day without fail.

This is what I tap into with The Flame.

I see it clearly now -- because even now, The Flame calls out to the worthy. People are already coming to our discord; not for the rewards because the rewards are small -- for now.

But to be part of something higher than themselves -- to be part of a tradition long since lost in this world.

To be part of a community. A true part of one. One where the community values their work, honours their traditions and elevates their presence.

You will see this grow into a bright beacon; one that may even outshine hive and draw in people from all corners of the world.

Those chasing the money, the APRs, and the green candles will laugh and scoff at me because they've never wrote for meaning.

They don't understand what it's like to read an article to have it reach inside of you and touch your soul.

Art to them, right now, is an APR game.

"I make x posts a week, I get $x"

Us at the flame?

We say:

"Today I will write to be read by more people"

And THAT is the true alchemy of Hive and what I'm bringing to this place.

The seed has already been planted and there's no stopping it from growing now.

You watch!