Back in 2018, I attended a training conference for work in San Diego, CA. While enjoying the city in my down time, I visited the San Diego Museum of Man and happened upon an exhibit that I still think about on occasion, even years later.
~ PostSecret ~
PostSecret is a still-ongoing community art project that was created more than a decade ago in which people mail in their secrets anonymously on homemade postcards. No restrictions were made on the content of the secret; only that it must be completely truthful and must never have been spoken before. Entries range from career disappointments or traumatic experiences to confessions of secret desires, embarrassing habits, hopes and dreams or even extramarital affairs and thoughts of suicide. Sharing your secret was meant to be empowering for those who write them, inspirational to those who read them, and create an anonymous community of acceptance.
Unbeknownst the kind of respon
se it would elicit, the project began in the mid-2000’s as a local group art project and social experiment in the Washington D.C. area and, with no shortage of those responding, quickly grew to across the nation and eventually around the world. To this day, postcards continue to pour in, every week, with well over a million received in total so far, including many inspired by reading others’ secrets that changed the narrative of their own.
It makes the world a much more interesting and complicated place knowing that the anonymous strangers we walk by on the sidewalk, or see sitting by themselves in the coffee shop window may have these dramatic stories of frailty or heroism playing out in their lives; some of which many of us can relate to. It helps us actively choose to be aware of our own interior lives.
“You will find your answers in the secrets of strangers”, it has been said.
It has not been without controversy though, with some secrets containing indecent, threatening, or even abusive messages as well as admissions of sexual misconduct or other criminal activity. Overall, it’s clear though, its cathartic healing power and inspiration provided to many have far outweighed the minimal amount of negative.
My personal experience... 
I could have been there for hours reading them all, alongside the many other museum-goers; all of us silent as if prohibited from making any noise as if we were in a library…when really were lost in the moment. Hundreds, even thousands of postcards, purposefully and creatively presented in different ways, at times feeling like they were intentionally laid out to tell a story: some framed in various ways lining the walls, or encased and stored vertically to sift through like a collection of albums; some inside glass display cases able to be read, with others stacked on top of one another demonstrating the sheer volume of secrets contained within. They were deep, introspective, private, raw, some inspiring, some funny, some seemingly trivial, many alarming-- all inciting a range of emotions. Some I didn’t even know I related 
to until I read them. And reading them made me feel sad, but also… connected. Even if their individual secrets didn’t resonate with me personally, just in that we all have secrets we keep hidden away from the rest of the world was a good reminder that everybody has their own unique story.
~ We’re not as alone in our thoughts as we might think; we can feel alone, together ~
The back half of the logbook is partitioned off as a PostSecret journal that I would love finders to add secrets to. I have started it off with many entries already handwritten in (thanks co-workers!), for anonymity. One of them even my own.
The location I have chosen for this cache contains a lovely and private area with very little, if any thru-traffic, to sit and ponder, or to just take a moment and enjoy a peaceful spot with a tranquil view and soothing sounds of the bullfrogs (season-dependent). So take a seat, enjoy the view, ponder those thoughts, even read some of the entries left by others, and consider leaving behind a secret of your own, in any random place of your choosing. It can be a serious one, but it doesn’t need to be. A silly one will do.
..Or you can just sign the logbook, that's cool too. 
Included in this cache is a handmade gift I made just for the First To Find (if you've been to the holiday event in recent years you might have a good idea of what it is). I pleeease ask that if you've already been FTF on one on my other caches and have already received one (holiday version exempt) I respectfully ask that you please let someone else find this one first as there will only be a limited number created. Thank you!
Congrats to wwkayaker on First to Find!!
