Do you want to know a secret?

“Do you want to know a secret?

Do you promise not to tell?”

~ Beatles, 1963

OK, you can tell; after all, I’m choosing to share some secrets with you. Oh, but wait, there is a preamble to my sharing. I suspect each of us has secrets regarding things we do that might appear embarrassing to others. OMG, what would people think if I….fill-in-the-blank? But wait, those things give me happiness! Yeah, well - back to what others might think. (I clearly have no self-esteem issues🤥) I certainly can’t speak for you, but I’m going forward with bringing some of my secret passions out of the closet. You can make your own discernments regarding how embarrassing they may or may not be.

Here we go!

I love October because it brings Fat Bear Week. Yes, you read that correctly - “Fat Bear Week.” Should you care? Or even bother to read this screed about Alaskan Bears Really, Really PORKING Up For Six Months Of Hibernation? That’s up to you, of course, but let me also offer a vastly different frame of reference to put this in perspective: “Hurricane Ian, Florida, and Ukraine.” At the end of the last sentence, I found my breath catching in my throat, unable to exhale fully. Just thinking about “Hurricane Ian, Florida, and Ukraine” leaves me short of breath. That’s why it’s so worth celebrating Fat Bear Week. Because I can begin breathing again. Something all humans deserve, even in difficult times.

What helps us breathe more easily in our lives? (Well, just writing this sentence elicited a gentle sigh from me.) Each year about this time I post on our neighborhood listserv an announcement regarding Fat Bear Week and the Fat Bear voting brackets. Granted, we live in the South and these Alaskan brown bears do not (by a long shot.) However, there’s something so endearing about watching bears, after 24/7 salmon-fishing for 3 months in rushing cold water, drag their huge hibernation-laden bellies up river embankments, occasionally having to maneuver around protruding rocks which create obstacles for low-hanging bear tummies. (I thought that sentence would never end!)

Please, please don’t tell the bears I’m giggling in delight at their hibernation coping mechanisms. Totally Unenlightened Human here, but it is funny, AND gives me joy. Joy in a world burdened with devastating hurricanes and unjust war. Joy….because I’m being authentically myself even if it’s embarrassing.

One more secret for the record. I’m a cheerleader! No, no, I don’t have pom poms and cannot do splits (no way.) But, I can, and do, cheerlead people in congratulatory ways. Huh? If you’re sharing with me an activity that takes courage, spunk, or chutzpah😉, my supportive language generally sounds like this, as my voice gets louder: “Go, Susan! That is so great! I am so proud of you!” Of course, I’m also wondering if I sound like a berserk teenage cheerleader to those with whom I’m speaking. Just as quickly, I release my self-critical thoughts and return to cheerleading. (And feel great afterwards.)

Seems apropos to close with another line from the Beatles song, Do you want to know a secret, “You'll never know how much I care.” Even with qualms and possible embarrassment, openly sharing some of our small, impassioned-with-goodness, secret behaviors is truly caring and supportive of others and ourselves. A two-fer for a world in need….

❤️Enjoy reading “This Being Human Thing?” Please consider sharing with others. Who couldn’t use more heart and humor?