I find it interesting that we as humans all too often assume that we know what another person is thinking. I have an acquaintance who has been convinced for the last few months that he knows what is going on inside my head; he is under the impression that I "don't date". I find that slightly amusing and also a bit irritating at the same time. When he actually vocalized those words to me I was able to point out that I had gone on a date but 2 days before. Another person I know believes she also has the inner workings of my mind figured out, and tells others what she has deduced as if it was fact.

Why do we make these kinds of judgments? I know that I am just as guilty as anyone, but it does irk me that someone will take it upon themselves to declare in words of finality how I feel, especially when that person has never actually found out what I do feel. We all, myself included, need to be careful that we don't make announcements about things we don't understand or have all the information about. Otherwise we plant false ideas in peoples' minds and hearts that may not be met, and in such cases relationships can be damaged.

For example, an experience I had once left me angry almost to the point of physical shaking. I had a conversation with an individual, who shared it with another individual (jumping to a conclusion about me in the telling I suppose), who discussed it with another, who then told a huge group of people. The individual who told many then came and talked to me about what i "supposedly" had said, and to my horror the conclusion that had been reached, totally behind my back, was that I was racist. Things were cleared up (as far as I've ever been able to learn) with the offended individual, and they straightened things out with the other people. Perhaps in that initial conversation I said something that wasn't quite right, I don't remember, but I know I did not say what I was being accused of. I still have difficulty not feeling upset at the two individuals who passed this gossip along without talking to me about it first, particularly because of the magnitude of their accusation. My thanks continue to go to the courageous person who spoke to me about this perceived injustice, for it literally saved my reputation amongst this group of people.

So, to conclude, don't try to tell another person's story. It is their's to tell.