7 August · Tone can disappear between words.

Fear

A short message has left me worrying that they're upset with me.

A little room to breathe.7 August

Fear

“people are almost always better than their neighbors think they are”

George Eliot — Middlemarch, 1871–1872Chapter Lxxii.Read the source ↗

Tone can disappear between words.

A brief reply can sound colder on a screen than the sender intended, especially when you already feel uncertain. Text gives you limited information; checking what someone means can be kinder to both of you than building a whole conflict alone.

ONE SMALL STEP

Ask a neutral question about the message rather than responding to the tone you imagined.

A little room to breathe.7 August

A spark of light in your day.

A spark
of light
in your day.