Why Not Misunderstand?

Someone I know said she tries very hard not to make up the meanings of others' actions, and wishes other people would extend her the same courtesy. It made me think a lot about how we act, think, communicate and respond. It's a subtle thing we do, and so easy to do when one is a sensitive person such as myself. I could immediately think of several things that have happened to me, just yesterday, and as long as 20 years ago, when I have experienced it. Such as the front door slamming (previously wide open until my friend and I got there) when we walked up to the front porch at a party in high school (I think it had to do with high school girls' competitiveness over the interests of the boys they liked). Someone I know fails to say hi or otherwise acknowledge my existence when we cross paths in a restaurant. Receiving a Christmas card from a person who I least expected it from, and wondering if there was some negative mojo inside it, sent with a curse of illness or bad luck for infinity. It is human nature, an essential part of the thought-framing process, to try to decipher other peoples' actions, trying to dissect the intent behind those actions. I think that the best I can do is to follow my own intuition, not to second-guess that gut feeling, and to not look back or return to the scene for more punishment if what I perceive is that it would be better to move on, whether I have a tangible reason or not.