“Little Secrets?”
I begin with a riddle: What is the difference between a lie and a secret? The answer comes at the end of this post.
A twelve-step friend and I text our reports to one another almost every day. He emphasizes not having any secrets. So, our reports often go something like this: “No violations and no secrets.”
However, the voice-to-text function on my phone is . . . well . . . , I am trying to think of a kind way to say this. It is quirky. For example, today, I dictated, “No violations. No secrets.” However, it translated what I said as “No violations. Little secrets.” I don’t think that I said that, but who knows? Perhaps it was a Freudian slip. Or, perhaps, my second cup of coffee had not yet kicked in.
In any case, this translational problem set me wondering about little secrets. Is there really any such thing as a little secret? And, of course, the little tykes grow up so fast, don’t they?
We say in twelve-step meetings, “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” We say it because it is true. We say it to remind ourselves not to have secrets. Or do our secrets have us?
An allied saying is “The first lie we tell is to ourselves.” Perhaps we also keep secrets—at least little ones—from ourselves. Maybe there isn’t a lot of difference between secrets and lies?
Now, not all little secrets are bad or dangerous. Sometimes, we all need to keep secrets in order to surprise someone. And many secrets do not need to be shared with the world. That is especially important to remember in this day, when we can text our friends a picture of us fixing a peanut and butter sandwich while we’re making the sandwich.
However, little secrets (as already noted) grow up fast. And they invite of their cronies into our minds and hearts as well. And no matter how “innocent” our secrets are, their companions often are a pretty unsavory gang.
So, to answer the riddle, here goes:
Q: What is the difference between a lie and a secret?
A: Spelling.
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