Secrets

I have been reading the Post Secret blog for a few years now. ( http://www.postsecret.com/) It is a blog that people send their secrets to, things that they have never told anyone else, and they are posted on this website. It is an anonymous catharsis for many who want to relieve themselves the burden of carrying around a secret.The website took off and there are now Post Secret books and an App for the iPhone and iPad.

I look forward to Sunday mornings when Frank Warren posts the new secrets on the web.  I find so many of them very poignant and inspiring as well as very sad at times.  Frank has taken Post Secret on the road speaking at college campuses all around the country. I have been keeping my eye on his schedule for a few years and he finally came to CT on Friday night. 

I was very happy that the college had power and that the event had not been canceled!  It seemed like a great presentation to attend after such a crazy week with no power.

I wondered if we would be the oldest people there since it was held at a college campus. Although we did see some adults who were older, my husband and I were by far the oldest ones attending. I took that to mean that we are just cool old people. lol

My husband does not follow Post Secret but agreed to come along. He didn't know what to expect at all and he was pleasantly surprised. He enjoyed the presentation as  much as I did. 

Frank Warren is an excellent speaker and shared quite a bit about his own life and how he started the project. He shared some secrets that he could not put into his books due to copyright or content. 

At the end of the presentation, they had microphones set up and people could line up and publicly share their secrets with the audience. It was very emotional. One in particular was from a college freshman who was a blond blue eyed beauty who did very well in school. The other students who envious of her brains and looks. She was attending the event with her mom. Her secret was that she has thoughts of self harm and has razor blades hidden in her room. She was very nervous telling her secret and she was crying. 

Maybe standing in the twilight lit auditorium filled with compassionate energy gave her the courage to finally let go of her secret. I wasn't sure because she was crying and her voice cracked at the end, but it sounded like she was telling her mom for the first time. 

Frank Warren does a great job of making people not feel so alone and creating community. I was very impressed with him. At the end of the event, my husband said he felt like he had just gone to church. I felt exactly the same way. I felt connected to everyone there even though we were all strangers. There was a powerful healing energy from the audience to the people who had the courage to share their pain.

Post Secrets resonates with so many, that is why it has become such a phenomena.And maybe it is no coincidence that the secrets are posted on  a Sunday.