A joke from a friend and the same joke from a stranger land totally differently. Context is half the message.

REFLECTION

WHAT THIS MEANS

The words are identical and the meaning is not, because meaning includes who is speaking and what history sits behind them. A friend has years of evidence that they are on your side and a stranger has none, so the same sentence arrives as teasing or as an attack. Nobody is being oversensitive when they notice that difference.

Check your standing before you say the funny thing this week, especially with somebody new. If you have not earned the joke yet, wait. And if a line from a friend stung more than usual, say so plainly rather than storing it, because that is what the history is for.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Which comment hurt you mostly because of who said it?

MORE IN PERCEPTION & ATTENTION

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.