Violent negative demands

So much to love about CS Lewis, and when I read such things as this, I smile and I "get" it (from the chapter titled Light and Shade in Surprised by Joy, which is really a very interesting chapter:

At the same time I now see that my view was closely connected with a certain lop-sidedness of temperament. I had always been more violent in my negative than in my positive demands. Thus, in personal relations, I could forgive much neglect more easily than the least degree of what I regarded as interference. At table I could forgive much insipidity in my food more easily than the least suspicion of what seemed to me excessive or inappropriate seasoning. In the course of life I could put up with any amount of monotony far more patiently than even the smallest disturbance, bother, bustle, or what the Scotch call kurfuffle. Never at any age did I clamour to be amused; always and at all ages (where I dared) I hotly demanded not to be interrupted.

I did this test to see whether I was a Highly Sensitive Person recently. Apparently if you score over 14 you are highly sensitive, and even being fairly reluctant I scored 20. Oh well. And some of it rang very true (like my extreme aversion to watching violence – believe it or not I haven’t even finished watching the latest version of Les Miserables, which I kept stopping because I thought it was violent). I guess it is good to be aware of your points of difference.