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Sharing Secrets

Post Secret describes itself as “an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.” That’s a deceptively simple description of a profound project: Post Secret gives us all a safe opportunity to share our secrets – whether deep and dark or funny and light. The secrets include confessions of love (often unrequited), infidelity (actual as well as contemplated), minor and not-so-minor moral or ethical violations, descriptions of unusual superstitions or beliefs, and (far too often) self-destructive or suicidal thoughts. When browsing the secrets, I am often moved to tears, and feel privileged that people are willing to share with me.

The benefits of anonymous sharing for the secret-sharer are obvious: most of us have experienced the powerful relief that comes from revealing a long-held secret. But I think the real secret of Post Secret is the benefit it offers the reader: being witness to other people’s silent suffering engages our empathy and humanity to move and educate us. And if you browse long enough, you may make a liberating discovery: “Other people have secrets just like mine!” You aren’t “weird” or strange, just human, and maybe don’t need to feel the guilt and shame that’s been haunting you. So take a moment to visit the site and browse the secrets. It’s a beautiful, healing experience.