No.66: Sunday, 8th. February 2026

My partner often used to tell me that I am “over sensitive” in a way that suggested it was a bad thing. She was right but, like a lot of things in life that seem on the surface to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’, they are often a double-edged sword.

I am feeling a bit ‘down’ this morning following a brief encounter with a ‘friend’ yesterday, although thankfully I know I shall overcome it in very little time.

Essentially it boils down to this: we are two very different people who have very little in common. Our ‘core values’ are different and there is rarely any ‘common framework’ for a sensible discussion to take place, even if it were to be one where we would amicably disagree. The result: it is best to say as little as possible, and to think very carefully before saying anything at all.

So, my being over-sensitive is to some degree what has created this rift and which causes the mental discomfort I feel after any encounter. It is, in part at least, my fault. I can ‘hold my own’ in a conversation with someone I might disagree with, but who bases their opinions on knowledge, facts and insight. We remain good friends. But I am utterly incapable of engaging in conversation with the ‘friend’ of this little story, whose ‘opinions’ are usually based upon prejudice and misinformation and an absence of evidence. I wish I could, but I don’t know how.