"But what if a person can't tell a story about his sorrows? What if his story tells him?" replied Stephen Grosz.
The first is a great truth and the second is a great question.
Most can't tell their stories because they're scared of embarrassment or looking foolish to others so they turn them into secrets carefully hidden and only shared when there isn't an alternative.
The pain of admitting an affair to a spouse ... the agony of answering the Lawyer's question in the witness box with a whisper ... the look of your own face in the mirror seeing the scars of what you've lived ... the stories always leak out ... the problem with secrets is they can never be kept.
Believe me ... I've tried.
It's human nature though ... going back to Adam and Eve who blamed everyone around when they were busted for forbidden fruit ... but secrets spill out anyway and nothings ever the same after.
Sarah can't keep a secret if her life depended on it, even if it's a wonderful secret like a birthday present or a sweet gift for no reason other than she loves you ... she confesses what it is before you have a chance to find out for yourself.
I'm good with secrets because I've had lots experience keeping them though I try not to anymore.
I turn them into stories ... some painfully true so they're exorcisms of Evil things ... others are masterfully clothed in fiction of Guardian Angels, Cat Ladies and Gay dogs ... and a few are the history of exactly what happened as it happened.
Sarah prefers the later ... I like 'em all.
One way of spilling secrets is no better than another ... we merely have our preferences.
These days I've mostly expelled the secrets of my life though there always seems to be lingering residue ... scars is a better descriptions because ... secrets always leave scars.
Sure, they are things I'd rather you not know but ... in the end ... you're gonna find out anyway ... have a seat ... you want something to drink? ... alright sit back and listen.
"Once upon a time ..."
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