If you go through the rooms of most people’s houses, you’ll see more or less the same things – a living room with sofas and a coffee table, a kitchen stocked with cookware and utensils, bedrooms with beds and dressers.
But look in the closets and you’ll get a different story. You might find the world’s largest collection of airsickness bags, go-go dancing outfits, or a guitar that hasn’t been played in years.
Though hidden from view – the contents of closets can be the most interesting things you’ll find in someone’s house. Whether you find evidence of eclectic hobbies, strange fetishes or supplies from old jobs or business ventures, closets can reveal a lot more about the people living there than what’s in the rooms.
If you make small talk with most people, you’ll hear about many of the same things – jobs, family, relationships and the weather.
But many people also have closets within their minds, whose contents are kept hidden from view – painful or embarrassing past experiences, dreams and aspirations, strange habits, personality quarks, vulnerabilities, etc.
We’ve all got quirks and quarks that make us different from those around us. We keep them in both physical and mental closets. They’re often the most interesting facets of our lives and personalities. So why do we keep them hidden?
One reason is fear of harsh judgment by others. After all, who wants to be told that their hobbies, habits, dreams or desires are silly, freaky, or unrealistic?
Here’s a personal example of what happens when you come out of the closet:
At age 15, I discovered I was gay after some intense months of questioning. But I wasn’t ready to deal with the consequences of being gay. For the next six years I lived in the closet – I acted “straight” and let people come to the conclusion that I was a “normal” guy who liked girls. Only my closest friends knew.
At age 21, I fully emerged from the closet and started living as an openly gay man. I expected some sort of disastrous Armageddon as a result of coming out, but it never happened. Most of my friends were really supportive. In fact, my life gradually flourished after coming out of the closet.
When I didn’t have to keep telling lies everywhere I turned, I could focus on living in a way that acknowledged who I really was. I felt much more comfortable and relaxed around people when I wasn’t trying to keep up a facade – I had sterilized so much of my personality in an attempt to fit in. I became closer with many of my friends because there was a greater degree of honesty and trust in our relationship. If I stayed in the closet, it would also be harder to attract intimate relationships.
It’s possible that some people will disown you when they find out what you’ve been keeping in your closet. Not all of my friends could tolerate the fact that I was gay, and to this day, it remains a touchy issue between my parents and me. When I visit them, the issue is treated on a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell basis.
Still, if I was sent back in time, I would definitely come out of the closet again, and probably much sooner.
What part of yourself are you keeping in the closet?
It may be a hidden talent or ability.
It may be an aspiration to do something big that will change the world.
It may be an incredibly strange hobby.
Imagine all the things you’re missing out on because you won’t come out of the closet about who you really are: a new career, new friends or even a new relationship.
Some people may shun you for who you are – but will you pay the ultimate price of staying in the closet, in order to avoid that?
Staying in the closet is based on a mentality of fear – that who you are and what you do is unacceptable. Would you rather shun yourself and present a facade of what you think others expect of you, or would you rather live true to who you are, leaving the door open to others to judge you if they so choose?
You may think you’re doing yourself and everyone else a favor by staying in the closet. But in fact, you’re doing quite the opposite. When you try to forsake your unique quirks and quarks, you sterilize the best parts of you.
Don’t stay in the closet forever. That which you think may bring disdain and scorn upon you, is often a gift in disguise. In 100 years from now, what will be the most memorable thing about your existence on this planet? The fact that you live in a house with a double garage, or the fact that you maintained the world’s biggest collection of stuffed skunks? 
Photo Credit: Flickr
Discover your life purpose and your innate soul gifts, and how they will help you build a fulfilling career and relationships. Book your intuitive reading.
Sign-up for the IntuitiveWu.com Newsletter and receive your FREE e-Book, Intuition 101: Develop Your Psychic Abilities
I'm Bing Wu :) 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, yes, you are so right. I’ve been keeping my creative talent in the closet for so long. I was always secretly so ashamed for some reason of being creative/artistic that I never developed my skills and tried to cover it up by studying business. Ugh. But it’s funny, isn’t it…. it really does make me laugh a bit. Now I don’t know, maybe I will go back to school and retrain. The great thing is that at least I don’t feel like I have to pretend anymore.
Hey Jayvant! Thanks for dropping by. Join the club! A lot of us have studied and trained to do things we didn’t originally want to do because it seemed like the “right” thing to do.
I wanted to study psychology in college but my dad made it clear he wouldn’t pay for it because he thought psychologists did more harm than good. So instead I went into science, and later switched to economics when I convinced him it had something to do with picking stocks and making money (though I actually did want to study economics).
It’s never too late to come out of the closet. You’re always better off acknowledging the truth of who you are, even if to be faithful for that has some inconvenient implications – such as going back to school. Better that than live the next 50 years unhappy