Everyone has secrets.  There are thoughts and experiences that are held deep in the recesses of mind.  Sometimes those thoughts are buried as deeply as possible, with the desire that even the thinker will never consciously recognize them again. 

So, as a contrast, think about the truth behind such things.  It really is simple.  For, the fact is, a secret is only a secret until it is told, seen, or in some way recognizably shared.  After any kind of recognition or revelation, it is no longer a secret.  For even when a thing is shared in confidence, if it is shared confidentially one time, what is to prevent it from being shared in confidence (even with good intentions) again and again.  It may not be in the class of gossip.  It may just be a fire in the bones, longing to “get out”.  Personal secrets are best kept personally, if they are to be kept as secrets.

Beyond personal matters, there are larger secrets of groups, organizations, or even nations.  The well used adage of security during wartime is: “Loose lips sink ships.”  The security of many people may depend on secrets being kept to never reach the ears of enemies.

When there is a secret, it means that something is hidden.  Whenever it is known that there is something hidden, there is a seemingly natural desire to uncover the secret.  So, when curiosity is aroused, its driving force is one of the most powerful motivations of the human spirit.  It may be a common saying which offers the reminder of curiosity killing the cat, and so reality boldly tells that curiosity can truly push in a dangerous or even a destructive direction.  In contrast to the negative, there is also a more beneficial side to this driving force.  Consider what has been added to the volume of human knowledge and experience out of curiosity.  Armed with curiosity, explorers launched small ships into the unknown to find new lands in unexplored parts of this world.  Further, there is knowledge of the far reaches of space and the depths of this world’s oceans.  No reminder is needed to tell of how technology has changed so many aspects of the functions of life and work.  So much of what is taken for granted in the present began in the curiosity of someone’s mind.  Nothing is thought of flipping a light switch, adjusting a thermostat, or starting a car.  When something is yet unknown, or seemingly hidden, it is a secret that an innate desire longs to uncover.

Truly, not all secrets are treasures to be uncovered.  Some of them are purposely private matters and are best to be held in such reserve.  Note, there are questions that ought to be asked before sharing a secret.  Will it do harm to another person when it is shared?  Will telling the matter breach a trusted confidence?  Will the benefit of sharing outweigh any negative consequences that may result?  Are the ones to whom a secret is revealed ready to handle what may come as a result?  There are probably many other questions that ought to be asked.  Such questions are just a reminder that revealing a secret is not always a simple matter.

Still, there are secrets and treasures that deserve to be brought to light.  There may be some pieces of knowledge that could be a benefit to many others.  Faith and love are two of the large matters that cannot be kept secret.  Love cannot be held in secret, or it ceases to exist within its unshared state.  Similarly, faith that is hidden ceases to be faith.  Each becomes like a light that is beneath an impenetrable cover. 

It must be noted though, when a secret is revealed, it cannot be un-revealed.  Generally, a secret takes a life of its own and grows uninhibitedly.  It becomes like a statement on social media.  Once it is there, it cannot be fully taken back.  At the heart of one of the pop hits of the Beatles we find two imposingly opposing questions: “Do you want to know a secret?  Do you promise not to tell?”  Of course, the hearer wants to know.  At the same time, once it is told or shown, it ceases to have the privacy of a real secret.  Well, love of one person for another should never really be a secret anyway.  Let Romeo and Juliet be an example of error.

Anyway, all of this was simply to be clear.  If you tell a secret, most of the time it will cease to be a private matter.  If it is not something that needs to be shared, keep it a secret.  If it is something to be shared, let it be shared.  Again, a secret is a secret only until it is told.

Russell L. Dyer

6/12/2025