I hope I never stop pursuing Secret Projects.
You know the ones…
When you’re six years old, collecting buttercups and dandelions outside to bring to your mom, and you’re so excited to show her how much you love her that you burst into the house with the mud still on your shoes.
Or when you wake up extra early to drive out for that special cup of coffee for a surprise breakfast for a friend or spouse. You wouldn’t normally be up and out of the house at this hour, but you are, because of that little thrill you get about this One Thing for someone else.
I always used to think it would be so neat to make my own Valentines; not the kind you buy in the Superstore, with sticker labels and matching pencils, but the real, legit, old-fashioned-with-my-markers Valentine’s Day cards. And this year, I finally did them. For about a week, I had purple, pink, and red construction paper littered over the carpet, complete with heart stickers and scented markers. Every night I did a few more, always starting with the same heart template, and adding whatever took my heart’s fancy. And I had So. Much. Fun.
I’m sure some of those Valentines went straight into the trash bin, but I don’t even mind. My grade 3 students gave me the opportunity – the “excuse” – to do what I really wanted to do and pursue that Secret Project.
I think as adults, we’re always considering the peer pressure audience – worrying or wondering what others would think if we went out of our way and did something unusual, no matter how enjoyable. When I baked cupcakes “just because” and brought them to school to share, four different people asked me, “But why?” as if it was silly and ridiculous. Whatever their skepticisms, they still seemed to enjoy the red velvet smothered in cream cheese.
And those Secret Projects aren’t always just for other people. Directly, they affect you as you discover your interests and curiosities, but indirectly, you bring what you learn with you into every relationship you build upon. We need, as Julia Cameron writes*, “to excavate our buried dreams”, and I completely agree. I recently talked with a colleague about all of the things she wanted to do when it was “all over” and she was done teaching: travel to Europe, take cooking classes from a famous chef, learn about art history…
And I kept thinking – what’s stopping you? Maybe logic and finances won’t allow you to jump on the first plane out of here, but why not work towards it? Feed the creativity, and take the first steps on that Secret Project – the one no one else knows about behind the elementary-teacher-of 25 years? Why not take a cooking class in the city? Buy a new cookbook? Visit a museum? Make a Pinterest board of places to visit?
We are created as BEings – to love and to truly live, pursuing the life that God has so richly blessed us with. These Secret Projects help us discover who we are, connect with those around us, and share love in a world where too many people push their little ideas behind daily deadlines and wishful thinking. Our hopes and interests should get beyond Secret One Day’s and become Secret Projects Today that help us learn how to live– however small, messy, or unconventional … and enjoy every step of the process.
Yes, I hope we all never stop pursuing Secret Projects.
After all, it’s part of the most (Un)trivial Pursuit there is.
*The Artist’s Way
