TechIntersect

Photo Credit: Flickr user: Kristinb

I had the pleasure of hearing Frank Warren of the PostSecret project speak at South By Southwest last spring. I was somewhat familiar with PostSecret, but hadn’t really paid close attention before then. Something Frank said at the conference really resonated with me. Frank said, “Everyone has a secret that would break your heart if you knew what it was.” So true. I know I have heart-breaking secrets that people don’t know about. (No, I don’t plan to air them here.)

If you are unfamiliar with Postsecret, it is now a wildly popular worldwide phenomenon that began as an art project in Washington DC. People were invited to share secrets in an artistic expression on postcards that were distributed around the city. Share they did, and the idea spread like wildfire. The results can be found at http://postsecret.blogspot.com where a new set of secrets can be read each Sunday.

Some are surprised at the popularity of Postsecret, but I’m not. Catholics have long known it is good for the spirit to unburden secrets to another human being with the sacrament of reconciliation (confession). It really provides a psychological boost to those holding in deep, dark secrets. Unfortunately, Catholic clergy too often play the guilt card with regard to this form of secret sharing, rather than playing up its positive benefits.

Of course private confession doesn’t appeal to people’s voyeuristic tendencies the way secret postcards displayed on the world wide web do. There’s something a bit satisfying about other people’s secrets. I should also mention that the PostSecret website really isn’t appropriate for children, since mature themes are often addressed. However there is often some very creative and inventive artwork to be found on the website. PostSecret is a fine example of working at the intersection of technology and art. If you haven’t been a regular follower and want to see what you’ve missed, there are several printed books of PostSecret postcards available.

One of my all-time favorite authors is Og Mandino. His best known work is “The Greatest Salesman in the World” but he wrote many other wonderful books in his lifetime. In one of them, I think it was “A Better Way to Live,” Mr. Mandino wrote that we should treat everyone we meet as if we secretly know that today will be their last day of life. What wonderful advice to follow. If everyone really has a heart-breaking secret they carry around as Frank Warren says, how much nicer would we be if we keep Og Mandino’s advice in mind? After all, everyone really does have a last day to live, and we never know when that day will be, so aren’t we better off just treating everyone like today might be the day?

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