I've Got a Secret
I came across this site that I enjoy (http://postsecret.blogspot.com/). It got me thinking about secrets and about how cleansing it must be to get rid of a secret, finally tell it (well, write it), and have it out there, anonymously, for the world to read. It must be the most freeing of all things.
Why do we keep secrets? Because as human beings we are imperfect and have done things or thought things or want things that may damage our nice, neat day-to-day world. A secret is just that because of the power it holds. Just think... What is your deepest, darkest secret? How would it affect your world if it were found out? What would you tell if you had the opportunity to say it out loud with no repercussions at all? When you read other people's secrets on postsecret, do they even seem that bad?
As humans, we relate to each other. When people bare their souls to one another, shock and disgust are not usually the immediate reaction, I would guess. It would be more empathy and sympathy. The thing is, unless that secret directly affects the person you are telling, like "I am in love with someone else and want a divorce", most people love to be let in on secrets. It's such a personal thing... "I want to tell you a secret". Oooh, we think. What could it be? Our minds start going and usually the real secret is not a good as our fantasy anyway.
I'm thinking of writing down a few of my secrets and burning them. Kind of like a Native American ritual. The smoke will carry my secret, so it is no longer mine to harbor. It will no longer weigh me down. It will be as weightless as the wind that carries it. It will be out there. What will I write? What do I feel is too private to share with even my husband or my sister or my mother? I will have to think about it, and then I will let it go. Just like the people who mail their secret to the site... once that mailbox shuts, they are free.
Why do we keep secrets? Because as human beings we are imperfect and have done things or thought things or want things that may damage our nice, neat day-to-day world. A secret is just that because of the power it holds. Just think... What is your deepest, darkest secret? How would it affect your world if it were found out? What would you tell if you had the opportunity to say it out loud with no repercussions at all? When you read other people's secrets on postsecret, do they even seem that bad?
As humans, we relate to each other. When people bare their souls to one another, shock and disgust are not usually the immediate reaction, I would guess. It would be more empathy and sympathy. The thing is, unless that secret directly affects the person you are telling, like "I am in love with someone else and want a divorce", most people love to be let in on secrets. It's such a personal thing... "I want to tell you a secret". Oooh, we think. What could it be? Our minds start going and usually the real secret is not a good as our fantasy anyway.
I'm thinking of writing down a few of my secrets and burning them. Kind of like a Native American ritual. The smoke will carry my secret, so it is no longer mine to harbor. It will no longer weigh me down. It will be as weightless as the wind that carries it. It will be out there. What will I write? What do I feel is too private to share with even my husband or my sister or my mother? I will have to think about it, and then I will let it go. Just like the people who mail their secret to the site... once that mailbox shuts, they are free.
posted by Tracy at 11:33 AM
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