Kasey Castleberry sent a joy and a concern:

It is easy to be misunderstood.  When something happens (seen, heard, felt) that gives us pause, we should ask those involved what they mean, what their intentions are.  Often we find the answers are quite different than the “stories” that we may have created ourselves.  If we do not ask, it is all too easy to imagine the worse.

Worst of all are the silences, those times when a clarification is requested, but it goes unanswered.  This happens more than I like with email, and I am struggling not to create the untold stories of those who have failed to reply, for whatever reasons, good or bad.  Without responses, the silence becomes deafening as countless possible stories slowly parade and then rush through my mind in rapid succession.  “Did I say something wrong?”  “Are they angry?”  “Should I run away?”

This is a concern in that the stories, unnecessarily, have been left to me to devise.  It is also a joy, because it is a chance to learn.  It is an opportunity to let go of expectations.  People will respond or they will not.  That is out of my hands.  How I react and feel, however, are completely within my control.  I create my own personal reality, no one else’s.  I can be joyful in that.