KNOWING and BELIEVING @Solsticepublish

There are 2 states of mind humans have in relation to the world.  There are the things you BELIEVE and the things you KNOW.  Webster’s defines these terms as such: BELIEVE = “To accept something as true, genuine, or real.”  KNOW = “To be aware of the truth or factuality of :  be convinced or certain of.”  Is it better to BELIEVE or to KNOW?  Conventional wisdom would tell you that KNOWING is better than BELIEVING because it is something you are sure is so.  Take a book for example.  Before it is published you may BELIEVE that it will have broad appeal.  Belief is good but it is much better when the book is published and sells well.  Then you KNOW that it has broad appeal.  Often times like the one just shown you must have BELIEF in order to KNOW.  In another example, you may BELIEVE you are going to get a promotion at work.  There is much less stress, however, after you KNOW that the job is yours.  KNOWING sounds like the thing to have and that is often true when the result is positive.  When you KNOW something good is about to happen or has happened it can bring joy and happiness.  Prior to their transpiring, you are left with BELIEF which always leaves room for doubt.  So KNOWING is better…End of blog.  Now stop for a minute and consider a different point of view.  It is said that “Ignorance is bliss.”  How is that relevant, you may ask?  What if the KNOWING is not a positive?  Perhaps you BELIEVE you are sick and then you KNOW you have terminal cancer?  Were you not happier before you KNEW the facts?  What if that book comes out and is not well received?  Weren’t you happier when you BELIEVED it would be well liked?  Say you don’t get the promotion.  Weren’t you more jubilant when you BELIEVED you would get it than once you KNOW you didn’t?  There are many positives in this world and many negatives.  BELIEVING and KNOWING trade places frequently in our delicate balance of happy and sad.  You may BELIEVE you will live to be 90 but what if you KNEW you only had two weeks to live?  Your perspective would be different.  KNOWING is a great thing but it takes all the uncertainty and mystery out of a situation.  There are things you need to know.  Most of them are common sense things.  KNOWING is often seen as good because of the lack of surprises.  If we only went through life concentrating on things we KNOW, then change would be very rare.  People inherently want to BELIEVE something.  Often they want to BELIEVE something good like their favorite sports team will win their next game.  KNOWING is good but it doesn’t see you through the tough times because the outcomes are not always positive.  BELIEVING gives us what we need for those times.  What is it that BELIEF gives us?  Hope.  BELIEF is the product of hope.  In order to carry on through adversity, you need to BELIEVE that it will get better.  That BELIEF comes from a deep hope for better times ahead with perhaps a touch of KNOWING thrown in for credibility.  What is KNOWN is yesterday’s news.  What is BELIEVED makes tomorrow’s headlines.  In the end, the more you BELIEVE, the more you will KNOW.