Some people read you wrong on purpose. No amount of footnotes fixes a reader who likes the wrong ending.
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS MEANS
Explaining works on misunderstanding, not on intent. Once somebody has decided what you are, new information gets folded into the existing story rather than replacing it, so each clarification becomes fresh material. Nothing you add will close a gap that was chosen rather than accidental.
Tell the difference by trying once, plainly, and then watching what happens. If the account keeps changing shape in order to stay unflattering, stop supplying it. Spend the effort on people who are genuinely confused, and let your ordinary conduct answer the rest.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Where has more explaining only made the misreading worse?
MORE IN MEANING & PERSPECTIVE
- Your cousin has an apartment, your friend got engaged, and you just learned to boil pasta. Different clocks, same sky.
- Holidays with relatives can be warm and still end at 9 p.m. Loving them and leaving on time aren’t opposites.
- Not everyone is going to get you. Some people are reading in a different language.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.