The sooner you learn that other people's secrets aren't yours to share, the better off you'll be. Just stay out of the gossip ring. It's negative and it ruins people's lives.

I'm willing to bet a lot of money that you are a good person. Most people are good once you get to know them. Some are misunderstood or make stupid choices, but they are still good at their core. You probably don't want to destroy someone's life by sharing their secrets.

Or maybe you do want to destroy someone's life. If that's the case, calm down and rethink this one. Once a secret is out, there's no taking it back. And if they trusted you enough at some point to share their secret with you, you owe it to them to keep it. Even if you aren't friends anymore.

Also, remember that chances are you've shared some pretty deep secrets with them, too. I've never seen anything as stupendous as two ex-friends blurting each other's secrets to the world. It's devastating to watch.

You may also want to reflect on what people may think about you as you're sharing the secrets of others. I don't know about you, but I would never tell anything personal to someone if I had, at one point, heard them sharing the secret of someone else. People who do that are untrustworthy.

My Advice: Keep other people's secrets. The only secret that is yours to share is your own.

Author's Note: The only exception to this rule is when a secret involves abuse. Then please, please tell someone who can help. Poeple you could tell include: anyone in the health care profession, teachers, principals, social workers, counsellors, youth and recreation workers, peace officers, anyone who works with children...and, of course, the police. At least in Canada, these people are required by law to report abuse to Children's Aid.