Five-minute free writes, Day 20 -"Tell"

There's a term that gamblers use, describing expressions or movements that give away clues to opponents' hands in cards - it's called a "tell."

I'm fascinated by the varying degrees to which all of us can read the expressions and body language of others.  I'm not particularly good at it, although with close friends and family members whose faces I've looked at many, many times, I can sometimes figure out when I have said something hurtful or with which they deeply disagree.  When this happens, I begin to worry; how can I make amends without letting the person know that they have reacted in a way this is detectable, when they really wished to hide their feelings?  It feels almost intrusive to actually approach this directly.  So I just try to be extra warm in my response, extra apologetic, extra agreeable, hoping in this way to repair any damage I may have done.

Perhaps we should spend more time watching and listening and less time lost in our own thoughts and worries. I do keep looking for the actual key to world peace, wishing that it were a lot less complex than it appears to be.  Could this be a good starting place?