Keeping Secrets is a pleasure...
"She told me that you told her the secret I told you not to tell her."
"Well," replied Seeta in a hurt tone, "I told her not to tell you I told her."
"Oh dear!" sighed Geeta. "Well, don't tell her I told you that she told me."
Let's not overlook this topic as being "too simple". The lessons learned might help to mastering the more advanced methods of keeping your secrets!
NOTE: The examples cosen are taken from my wife's school days as an English Teacher. Despite your feeling that you've grown up let me suggest that with regards to this topic...things are likely to be the same in your office today as they were in your School days!!
The keeping of secrets or otherwise is a time honoured social tradition! The telling and keeping of secrets is one of the basic human traits, The recognition that you have portions of your life that you want to keep private and secret from others, (including parents), is in fact, one of the milestones in our psychological development.
From our youth til we die, we 'share secrets' with others! These secrets range from casual, gossipy to heart-rending and life altering secrets. Can anybody give us the rules/guidelines governing the task?
We are always told that we should be "trustworthy" and "keep a secret" as 'one'! Someone tells you a secret. You keep it - End of story? In real life are things that clear cut?
The contradictions are obvious. Start of life. We insist. Almost often a confusing ritual. Sometimes we're allowed/expected to keep a secret, while other times not so! We are praised for keeping one secret, while we are punished for not doing another! Are we ever explained the difference between these two extremes? Rarely!! Do our parents atleast know?
This lack of clarity only gets worse as we grow. The rules and guidelines blur. Social pressure to share your personal secrets blends with social pressure to reveal secrets you know about others.
--
Subrahmanian SH
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