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So do we do bonsai for the approval and validation of someone else’s opinion or do we do bonsai for our own gratification
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Obviously, we do bonsai for our own pleasure. I wouldn't spend hundreds of hours a year to please someone else.
But I realize that bonsai requires a tremendous amount of learning. Both at the horticultural and artistic level. Therefore, I look for the opinion of those whom I admire and respect. For instance, I admire Kimura, so I would love to hear his opinion. Not to please him, but to learn from him. I trust his opinion because I am familiar with his work.
I trust the opinion of those who produce works that I admire. This doesn't mean that I follow everything they say. But I try to understand where they are coming from. The key word is
understanding them, not following them.
Conversely, I don't trust the opinions of those who I am not familiar with. Not because I think that they are wrong. They may be just as insightful as Kimura's. But since I am not familiar with them, I need to take them with a grain of salt.
It's a very simple proposition: you either trust someone or you don't. It is based on how much you know about them. I also realize that nobody is perfect. Anybody can make a mistake, even the best ones.