In the one hour that we spend listening to a member, there is a chance to form a connection like no other… they trust us with details of their lives that they can't express to the person they really want to be telling it to. In that one hour, a lot changes… it's like the golden hour. In that moment you become the treasure chest for these intimate details. And that marks the beginning of a race to the finish line where the treasure awaits… by opening up to you, a member is already setting the wheels in motion, plotting in his mind a course of action, to blurt out what needs to be said. They're scared, they're anxious, overwhelmed and maybe even angry with themselves for not being able to take that leap. That's where we come in … they pour it all out to us, free themselves of that burden , so that the emotions are no longer suffocating and the prospect of revealing those secrets, harbored for so long in the dark corners of their mind, is no longer as daunting as it once seemed… after all, it's gold coins and even the pirates are looking to loot it. After all, everybody wants to be special enough to be entrusted with these golden coins - these secrets - no matter what they are. Even if they're hard to accept at first , or tend to send people running for the hills. We often keep them secrets for this reason itself.. because we worry they're not a part of us that others will accept. The idiom skeletons in the closet captures that nicely. But, I don't think so… I think that to be bestowed such secrets is a privilege, and I wish more people would see it that way… because ultimately we all have dark sides, and unglamorous secrets but we need people to accept that… to love us enough to help us find the treasure chest and the key… because when our ship was sinking on that dark and stormy night,we threw that chest overboard along with our advisor with firm instructions to safeguard it with his life. So to every member out there, grappling with the unimaginable idea of revealing scary secrets, you deserve somebody who will accept you, completely … somebody who will count themselves richer for learning truths about you that very few others were vested with. To every listener out there, don't get eaten by the sharks roaming the waters… they have a keen sense of smell, so don't let it all cut you .. the information and the painful facts. And remember to keep things separate .. lock away the treasure and don't let anything pollute your river. It's your clean waters that makes it possible to sustain so much precious diversity.
