“How do you figure out acceptable boundaries around humor?”
The other day, I was texting a friend of mine, and I made a joke that clearly crossed the line.
How do I know this?
I know this because of the response I received in return.
I sat there for what appeared to be the longest five minutes of my life, thinking, “How could I have offended her?”
For months prior to this conversation taking place, we had used similar jokes and BOTH laughed at them.
But this time around, something changed.
It was in that moment I realized that the boundary may shift depending on where the other person is at in their life.
I believe this to be true because I’ve experienced this myself.
There have been times when I found something funny, yet sometime later due to change in circumstances (loss of a pet, or some other unpredictable event) I no longer found it humorous.
With change being constant in life, I realized that nothing is permanent including how well I might have known someone.
This conversation with a friend of mine was a prime example.
When it comes to figuring out boundaries of what is and isn't acceptable humor, is there a fine line or is it constantly changing?
How do you know if it’s a hard line, one that’s not meant to be crossed again, or a line based on current circumstances, one that may be revisited again once circumstances change?
