It won't take you long to realise Post Secret is no ordinary website
Post Secret started as a ‘life as art’ project by Frank Warren. He confessed that he was saddened every time he saw an inspired advertisement, as it signified ‘an artist swallowed by America’.
Frank asked people to submit postcards stating a secret for an art exhibition he was contributing to in Washington.
The exhibition closed... but the postcards kept coming. Week after week, Frank received cards some telling of laughter, and a lot of heartbreak. Cheating partners, a death in the family, youthful apathy, depression and suicide attempts were snuggled between the frame of a 4-by-6-inch postcard.
Heartbreak wasn’t the only theme that came across in the cards. People vented their opinions on world issues such as the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. They talked about joy and celebration, frat parties, weddings, orgasms, pets, sex and chocolate.
One postcard featuring a forlorn looking girl slumped over a bench said ‘I still pick out names for the children I would have had with you’. On the one immediately above it was a woman’s open mouth blaring the words ‘I used your toothbrush because I couldn’t find mine’.
Frank admitted that the project would never have had a start if it hadn’t been for ‘one particular regret’, a firm reminder that great art has humble beginnings.
Perhaps this is what keeps the postcards flowing, the many big and small mistakes we make every day that eventually become too much and spill over. Post Secret provides the mop for wiping up the puddles while at the same time satisfying the inner voyeur inside each of us.
After all, there is a freak and a geek living inside everyone, and maybe seeing your deepest and darkest thought submitted by somebody else confirms that ‘normal’ is by definition, a matter of opinion.
A google search of the word ‘secret’ uncovers websites ranging from secretadmirer.com to one on self-mutilation. A bizarre mix but one that reflects the reality of living. Psychology has been divided on the topic of keeping secrets. Some literature advises that all healthy people hold back a few things from each other while others say all relationships must be based on total mutual honesty.
All this, of course, has made me think about the secrets we all have, the regrets we share. Often when playing drinking games between friends or as part of getting to know someone, you’ll stumble across a version of the question: ‘Do you have any regrets?’. There is even a philosophy question that asks you to stand at the end of your life and look back – what were your best moments and what would you do if you could start over?
We are confronted every day by choices – what to do, where to live, who to marry, when to have children and how we can be happy while following what seems to be a generic life script. We want to shine, make a contribution or leave behind a legacy but don’t know how.
So maybe a good way to start is by making a postcard of your own. Write down a secret, something you’ve never told a single soul, that you wouldn’t utter even if you were sleepwalking. It could be about a lost love, someone you’ve never released, something you’ve done which you could not forgive yourself for, even just an event you’re bursting to tell but can’t...and post it to Frank. It’s the beginning of the puzzle, for in our secrets lie either our dearest dreams or what holds us back.
It won't take you long to realise 
The exhibition closed... but the postcards kept coming. Week after week, Frank received cards some telling of laughter, and a lot of heartbreak. Cheating partners, a death in the family, youthful apathy, depression and suicide attempts were snuggled between the frame of a 4-by-6-inch postcard. 
Perhaps this is what keeps the postcards flowing, the many big and small mistakes we make every day that eventually become too much and spill over. Post Secret provides the mop for wiping up the puddles while at the same time satisfying the inner voyeur inside each of us. 
All this, of course, has made me think about the secrets we all have, the regrets we share. Often when playing drinking games between friends or as part of getting to know someone, you’ll stumble across a version of the question: ‘Do you have any regrets?’. There is even a philosophy question that asks you to stand at the end of your life and look back – what were your best moments and what would you do if you could start over? 
So maybe a good way to start is by making a postcard of your own. Write down a secret, something you’ve never told a single soul, that you wouldn’t utter even if you were sleepwalking. It could be about a lost love, someone you’ve never released, something you’ve done which you could not forgive yourself for, even just an event you’re bursting to tell but can’t...and post it to Frank. It’s the beginning of the puzzle, for in our secrets lie either our dearest dreams or what holds us back.