Secrets

Secrets are to some extent the opposite to good communication, in fact, they undermine good communication, they, in fact, lack communication, they are about control and power. We are of course told there are good reasons for secrets and possibly there are, all about control, in some instances, but who decides.
In writing this I gave some thought to the different types of secrets that exist if that is the right phrase.
Do secrets exist or are they so hidden and out of our consciousness, that they fail to exist, but that's another story for another day.
The type of secrets that come to mind immediately are;
(1) The secret of Fatima, (Whoever she is)
(2) The secrecy of confession,
(3) Client confidentially,
(4) Business secrets, as opposed to secret business.
(5) War secrets.
(6) The secret of the mind a writer explores.
The end of a good book can be a secret until you work it out and the same goes for the crossword.
The ending of a good play can be a secret unless you have seen it a million times, ie; Uncle Vanya, Juno, and the Paycock, etc.
Government ministers always have secrets as do good spies.
Often secrets are shared amongst friends and then passed on, as a secret, again and again, and again, etc,  etc, becoming less and less of a secret as they are shared.

How many times have you heard the immortal words,                                                                        

 "Don't tell anyone"                                              

"Who me, ye know you can trust me, mums, the word". Of course, you can't, the secret is passed on and on and on, a bit like Chinese whispers. Maybe that's what secrets are, Chinese whispers.

There are a few people who feel they have been burdened with a secret when it is shared by a friend, particularly deep private ones. The agony of carrying this confidence can be monumental, but the real secret is what you don't know, isn't that what secrets are. Once shared, no longer a secret, just a burden.
Your friend has told many other friends and they are all inflicted with the worry gene, the burden of the secret and here you all are, unable to communicate, keeping it all in and your friend knows, that you all know' 'The Secret',,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that's real power and control.

Sometimes secrecy is used to hide unlawful and immoral acts or activity under the guise of protecting business or individuals. We have seen this with bankers and the clergy in recent years, where secrecy is used to protect advantage and privilege.

Of course, secrets can be fun, like at Christmas,  Birthdays and other celebratory times.
Maybe it's not the secret that's fun, more the unravelling of the mystery, when the gift or present is opened, a secret no more.
The anticipation can be fun, the knowing, that the secret is finite and all will be revealed in time. In the case of Birthdays and Christmas, we are only too aware of the timeline.

Some of the most frustrating secrets for me are "What time will the bus arrive" or "How much will the €1 ticket from Ryanair really cost me.

Amongst the most beguiling of secrets are the ones in my head, as I try to write.
It's a journey I know that will bring me somewhere secret, a place or time I never envisaged when I started. The only way of unravelling this secret is to 'go with the flow and enjoy'.

Sometimes when I think I have arrived, the pen changes direction and away I go into a secret world with many chambers and crevices. Even when I arrive there, I'm not sure I have arrived, have I?

I like to think, that the real secrets are within myself and they challenge my creativity, to dig deep and even deeper trying to unravel them.

I'm not sure that I ever do?

JC-Dublin-A City defined by a sense of mystery?