Daily Cascade

That Secret in the Middle

Prompt: Secrets
"We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows." –Robert Frost, The Secret Sits
What do you think about secrets and secret-keeping? Can you keep a secret well?

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Yes, I can keep secrets very well, but if people ask me, “Can you keep a secret?” I might say, "No, because it's possible, I might forget and blurt it out.”

I might say this because holding a secret can be a burden on me or any other person. A secret is heavy for it might need extra mental or physical energy. Then, if asked directly about that secret, I could be made to lie and say, "I know nothing about it," which would disturb me even more.

This also depends on the kind of a secret. For example, if I am an employee in a business or company and the place has rules, methods, and operations privy only to me and a few others, then when asked about it, I can say, "Sorry, I can't answer that. It is company policy." In this case, I don't have to lie.

In the prompt's quote, Robert Frost says, "the secret sits in the middle and knows." Yes, it does stay there inside the mind knowing, while the person who is trusted with the secret tries to suppress their thoughts about it. This is because the mind would drift to the secret and to the feeling of the guilt for keeping something from others and not being authentic and open.

Then, why do people share secrets in the first place? Some people may feel if they show trust in a person, they might win them over to become close friends. Then, for the person who is trusted with the secret, if they don't share it with spouses, close family members and friends, or parents, a sense of unease or being not trustworthy could develop. Therefore, both keeping and sharing others' secrets can put a person in a difficult position.

So, for me, it is best to tell someone upfront that I do not want to keep their secret in the first place. I believe my approach would work, at least for me.