Recently Tim and I found ourselves in front of Duke Chapel. No, we were not there to pray for the Blue Devils during the basketball championship. We were there to launch Project Bloom. That's the name I've given to my effort to get out more & become more involved in our community and all it has to offer. On that night we went to a lecture at Duke's Page Auditorium, located next to the university's chapel.
Once again, I'd found out about an event that was certain to be popular. I snagged our free tickets on-line 30 minutes after they became available. About an hour later they were all gone. What sort of speaker could fill up a 1200 seat auditorium on a college campus in less than 2 hours?
The speaker was the one and only Frank Warren, creator of Post Secret, also known as "the most trusted stranger in America". He told us about the Post Secret project, how it started, his family's reaction, etc. He showed us postcards that could not be posted on the website or included in books (mostly because the images on them were owned by Disney & the like and they didn't want to risk being sued by Mickey Mouse). Towards the end of the lecture, people were invited to step forward and share their secrets with the room. Some secrets were silly, some scandalous, some utterly heart-breaking, and some revealed people at that beautiful stage of recovery when one finally starts to see the light again and feel that glimmer of hope that has been gone for so long. Tim and I both identified strongly with some of those who stepped forward. One of the microphones was set up right beside Tim (he sat along the aisle shown on the right in the photo below*), which made those moments feel all the more intimate and touching. I just barely kept myself from crying.
Of all the stories we heard, the one I found most inspiring was the story of Frank, himself. Frank was a late bloomer. It took him many years and numerous failed attempts to find his way in the world. He even married and started a family decades after most of his friends. As we sat in that auditorium, surrounded by brilliant, 20-year-olds, it was comforting to hear that it wasn't too late ... that these bright young things seated around us were not necessarily the only ones in the room who had a chance to find happiness, success and fulfillment in this world.
*I did not take the photo of Frank. It is from the Post Secret website.
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