Telling a secret

Telling a secret can be transformative; it can change

 our relationship with people we know, and even 

those we will never meet. More than once I have watched

 strangers inspired by a shared secret self-organize 

into purposeful communities of kindness.

One of those stories began some years ago 

when I pulled from my mailbox a postcard 

of smiling friends made by a photograph. 

The words taped to the photo read “ I finally got the

pictures developed and I’d love to give them to you”. 

I shared the secret with my web friends hoping someone

would recognize one of the young people at the table

and we could return all the photos to them. 

Messages poured in that week from my friends 

but no one was able to identify anyone in the picture.

However, one of the messages came from a student, 

who was inspired to do more. Believing that everyday

 people can sometimes make a worldwide impact on 

the web with a good idea and determination, 

he designed and created a website, he called it, 

" I Found Your Photo " and when I helped him spread 

the word, we were both surprised by how many people 

in the world  wanted to help.