What I Know....

The other day a dear friend wrote “What are the facts, and what am I assuming?” On the last page of every O Magazine publication is Oprah’s article “What do I know for sure?” Ironically, I received my recent issue in the mail on the same day as I read my friend’s Facebook status.  This caused an interesting ping-pong tournament in my head. 

We have constitutions and other documents for our countries, we have laws written, maps drawn, we know the alphabets and numbers – but outside of that, what do we really know?  This is when the answer came to me – it depends on what your source of wisdom is.  For some people, their hearts, souls, spirits and faith are their source of what is true in the world.  For others, it is the absolutes in numbers, laws, and science.  Maybe we aren’t one or the other, but shades of both.  It is in these sources that we are given confidence and certainty that lead us to what we know.

In assuming we trust and have faith in uncertainties and unknowns – we have hope in things where perhaps there is no source of knowledge or proof.  I think this where faith comes in most.  I suppose there are people where what they know and what they assume are based on the same source.  I was not sure where I was on the spectrum.  So, I sat down and wrote what I believe I know and what I assume. 

Here is what I know:

§  God loves everyone

§  Gravity usually wins

§  Evil does breed more evil

§  Cancer does not care about your age or status

§  People are impressionable and sensitive

§  I never knew or understood love until I met my husband

§  I never understood pure joy until I had my children

§  My children are more beautiful and precious than I ever thought humanly possible

§  It is ok to check that your baby is breathing when he/she is asleep.

§  You never understand your mother until you are a mother yourself

§  Working 80-90 hours per week for your job will never prepare you for motherhood

§  Working 80-90 hours per week because it is necessary to get work done and because it is expected is the pure definition of insanity

§  If anyone in your life is toxic, cut them loose

§  Hockey players can be the best brother-figure a girl could ask for

§  A friend who will drive a U-Haul truck across the country and help unload your furniture is a friend worth keeping

§  The test of marriage potential in your partner is how you are together on a road trip

§  If all you want is a job title but are unwilling to do the work, then you don’t deserve the job and you are probably not following the right path.

§  You should be active in fitness – it allows you to have a relationship with your body and understand it better.

§  Taking walks with your husband helps keep the communication open.

§  Microwaves really aren’t necessary

§  If you find a quick fix to a serious problem, then you probably have not solved the problem

§  There is such a thing as reading too many books or seeing too many movies – keep in touch with reality

§  Nature is more beautiful than material possessions

§  Have the courage to do something you desire without seeking approval

§  If it rains, things get wet 

 I am assuming that:

§  The weather reporters and market analysts have the forecast correct – at least for the current day

§  My money is safe in the banks

§  Other people in Germany understand my broken German

§  The love I put out is given back

After writing all of this down, I realize that I know more than I thought.  I had to look deep within my heart and mind, but the knowledge was there. 

Maybe the answer to what we know and assume is only within ourselves and cannot be duplicated or carbon copied to another person.  I am never 100% certain of anything outside of my husband and children, so I will continue to seek for what I know and what I assume and the wisdom to know the difference.