From: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ang0359l.jpgI confess, I've never been to confessional. I'm not Catholic. But I do find something intensely satisfying about disclosing some of my most personal, most shameful secrets. Perhaps it is a burden lifted when I no longer have to bear the sole responsibility of knowing something no one else knows. Or perhaps it is desire to spread out the guilt and shame over a larger surface. Like snow shoes. I want to distribute my own weight, the burden I cause the world by exacerbating the inequities and injustices. I want to purge these secrets, so I can walk on the surface of the snow, instead of dragging through it.
From: http://www.laynekennedy.com/snowshoes.jpgOr perhaps the urge to confess is an invitation for others to confess, to feed on sharing intimate knowledge with each other. Some may call this gossip. But I think it's deeper than that. I think it's a need to know someone is listening, and trusts enough to reciprocate the disclosure. I think it is an expression of hope that someone else knows precisely what you are feeling, that you are not entirely alone in this world. Sharing a secret is then an extension of trust, in hopes that you will be understood, that your experience may remind the person you confess to of something in their own life, and in this shared story, each is reminded of the communal nature of human existence. That we are not alone.
In 2004, PostSecret.com was created. It is a blog for people to submit anonymously any postcard-sized secret. (visit: http://postsecret.blogspot.com). This is one example from the "Sunday Secrets":
Why do you think some people have such a need to tell their secrets that they would submit something so personal, sometimes incriminating, to someone they've never met? Do you ever feel the urge to confess your secrets? What drives this urge? Do you think personal writing should thrive on the nature of disclosure? Why or why not? Do you think the core of your identity is hidden because of information you keep to yourself?
2 comments:
Well everyone has secrets. I feel some sort of need to tell people some of my secrets but there are alot of secrets I would be an idiot to say. Especially anything incriminating.
Does writing necessarily have to be divulgitory? Indeed, fictional writing thrives on creating a world beyond a personal confession. Thus, even if the writer is confessing his own sentiments, it is up to the reader, preast, detective, or anyone else who would hear a confession to discern its viability.
Post a Comment