“Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.”- Stephen King
If best sellers use this tactic when intriguing the readers, then why wouldn’t we when trying to best sell ourselves?
Recently, on the topic of secrets, a wise man I know mentioned, “People can’t live with them and they can’t live without them.” That got me thinking –– We’ve all got our secrets, our skeletons, our confidential files tucked away for safekeeping. And when we find our safety net, our most valuable confidant, sometimes disclosure comes as a form of healing. But sometimes, holding onto these secrets gives us a strange sense of privilege no one else is honored with.
This privileged role we take on means knowing ourselves more intimately than anyone else. Like I’ve written before, I believe that the most important earthly relationship we have is that with our own being.
Who ever said secrets were a bad thing, anyway? In fact, they say some of the best moments in life are the ones you can’t tell anyone about. And while I’m still trying to figure out who “they” is, I’m heeding their advice. So whether happy moments or sad memories, we must serve as security to them, as they serve as security blankets to our souls.
But if it’s human nature to desire privacy in our lives, why do we have a wrecked inclination to obtain in depth knowledge about the reservations of the unwilling?
We’ve all got crap going on behind the scenes yet continue to massacre one another for the microscopic mistakes we make from day to day. No wonder we’re keeping the big stuff from each other!
For goodness sake, it’s practically in our human nature to lie about our weight, our age and for some, even colored contacts are used to disguise something as innocent as eye color. And they say the eyes tell it all, right? Well, what does that tell ya?
Instead, let’s start sharing with one another the secrets to happiness, or the secret ingredient to the perfect hot sauce or pass along the top-secret hair product that will forever cure that stubborn cowlick.
To be honest, I have zero intentions of marking myself with confessions, 1850’s-Nathaniel-Hawthorne-style, but I do hope that we might all humble ourselves a little, knowing we’ve all got secrets. These family skeletons and dirty laundry we hang on the line inside the garage so the neighbors can’t peek. Then maybe we can all give each other a little break and possibly humble ourselves in the meantime.
So let us remember we’re not alone, and intentionally show grace and kindness whenever we can and wherever we go. And I’ll give you a tip, a secret if you will, we can always show a little grace and a whole lotta kindness. Heck, if the blessings in our lives were dictated by our holiness, we would all have nothing.
Like my girl Miranda Lambert sings, “Why you think the world drinks? Why you think the world smokes? Why you think we all sit around and tell a bunch of dirty jokes?”
Well Randa, you’ve got it. That’s exactly why. So next time you find yourself concerned with the secrets of someone you have no business snooping in, remember this: Someone’s therapist knows all about you.
