We do not know as much as we believe we do; we are only fooling ourselves. Human beings have a tendency to act like they know something when, in fact, they know nothing of such. Acting like we “know”  is an integral part of small talk and gossip. Acting like we “know” soothes our insecurities and lack of self-worth.

If we know, we have something to add to the conversation. If we know, we are more interesting and relatable; thus more liked. If we know, we receive attention. Knowing allows us to deny that one pathological thing about us. Knowing makes us look better than we feel we are.

Some of us internalize our own bullshit. In this case, the stuff we know as “true” are simply beliefs. Beliefs that are influenced by a variety of factors such as our ego, the media, generational trauma, familial traditions, our past life experiences, and our ongoing interpretation of experiences in the present moment as they occur.

Some of us make up stories and exaggerate details to satisfy our need for attention. We want the listener to think we are interesting. We believe this will make us worthy of being liked and accepted by another. In this case, we lack self-worth and self-love. As a result, we seek validation from others since we have a particularly hard time giving it to ourselves.

A lot of us gossip. We gossip about people we know, acquaintances, and people we have only seen on a screen or in a picture. We present gossip as if it is fact, but the information we provide is assumptious, subjective, and originates from a narrow perspective.

Instead of buying into the information that a gossiper is giving you, become curious about the gossiper. In a life where there is so much introspection to be done and personal evolution to be had, any individual who thrives on putting others down is the one to caution against. In the case of gossiping, we are avoiding and/or denying the inner work that is necessary for us to feel more whole and, instead, we resort to a type of instant gratification – at the expense of another – to satisfy our own perceived deficiencies.

Knowing is mostly subjective. Most of what we think of as “fact” varies upon the individual and their series of unique circumstances from birth to the present moment, alongside our individualized level of consciousness and the personal demons that we attach ourselves to.

Knowing has the potential to be dangerous. This is when we start to see phenomena such as the American who believes that China and Russia are “bad”, the gossiper who recklessly spreads polarity, and the expansion of false information that paves the way for fear and hatred.

But this American has never visited China or Russia, nor have they ever personally known someone who is Chinese or Russian. Their only source is American news, social media, and gossip.

The gossiper barely knows the person (or people) whose character they are destroying.

And the storyteller wants other people to think they are “cool” simply because they are unable to give themselves a sense of worth and wholeness.

But the unknown is peculiarly intelligent. And there’s a particular wisdom involved in realizing (and admitting) when we don’t know something; either because the knowledge is beyond our scope, above us, or unable to be perceived in the present moment (i.e., predicting the future as if it were fact).

Knowing can keep us out of the present moment, thus preventing us from entering the unknown; where all possibilities exist. For example, we have a tendency to “know” what the “future” will be and we use the “past” to validate this conviction.

But nowhere in this process do we acknowledge the present moment for its power. Instead, we fool ourselves into believing that we are living the present moment simply because we are physically in it; as if that were the only criteria. But we never embrace it nor profit from it. Because although we are physically in it, we consistently place ourselves in the past/future both mentally and emotionally; so much so that it creates conviction and determines our outcomes.

This happens when we feel like our life is a broken record because our routine is repetitive. As a result, we begin to predict the future as if we already know how our day is going to go and how it is going to be before it has transpired. We know exactly how each day is going to go before we even start it, and we wake up with emotions of dread toward a day that hasn’t even happened yet.

We are always predicting the future and our proof is the past; hence keeping us out of the present moment. A lot of us do this because we believe that no other possibilities exist; we chalk this up to imaginative thinking, delusion, or “child’s play” (i.e., magic). This way of being kills any chance for the new, the exciting, change, opportunities, and possibilities.

When we live in the past-present and/or present-future (physically in the present but mentally and emotionally attached to the past and/or future) because we know, we have convinced ourselves. When we have convinced ourselves, we have conviction. When we have conviction, we close the door to any and all possibilities other than the one we have already convinced ourselves of. And the one possibility that we allow ourselves to be open to is ironically the one possibility that we don’t want.

We are the creators of the one possibility that we desire to escape from.

Furthermore, we think of the future as a thing that exists separately from the present moment; a specific point in time that is ahead of the present moment, so to speak. However, there’s never a time when we say nor feel that we are living in the future moment, because there is nothing else but the present. The future is more of a thought, a concept, an illusion, if you will. The future exists in our mind when we worry, anticipate, or dread something that hasn’t happened “yet”. The past exists in our mind and is solely dependent upon the memories we prioritize.

So, for what it’s worth, our state of being in the eternal present will determine whether we have good or bad memories in the future. And the state of our being in the eternal present will determine the outcome of our future.

However, if our state of being is not maintained in the eternal present – if our state of being is locked in the past-present and/or present-future – then we will never form new & beautiful memories nor will we experience a desired future outcome. Because when we predict, we are not open. When we predict, we collapse all possibilities to one outcome. When we predict, we do not trust. Instead, we try to control.

Yes, most of us have a schedule that we abide by. But this is two-fold. For starters, many people fool themselves into believing that all of their “to do’s” are required. However, some of these “to do’s” are nothing but choices that they perceive as required; they are merely attachments to which they can liberate themselves from.

Secondly, the part(s) of our schedule that is currently necessary to abide by only dictates where we should physically be at a particular point in time. However, it does not govern how we think (our attitude and perspective) and how we feel (our emotions). Our schedule is also not responsible for expectations and predictions; we are the creators of both.

If we are successfully able to differentiate what is necessary and what is not, then we will have allotted ourselves room to make choices toward our heart’s desire. Thus paving a path toward a new timeline in which our “future” will reflect our dreams and authentic self. The key is to embrace and honor baby steps as opposed to feeling discouraged over the lack of instant gratification.

The “knowledge” you hold on so tightly to in order to feel right, to be accepted, to uphold a sense of self-worth, and to maintain a social position is actually destroying you and the vast possibilities that you are both capable and deserving of.

So next time you wake up knowing that today is going to suck because xyz, next time you talk shit about someone else, next time you try to persuade someone into agreeing with the social position that you have blindly attached your identity to, next time you find yourself making up stories or exaggerating details just so people can think you’re interesting, and next time you assume that you’ll never have a certain something just because your past has proven you so, KNOW that this “knowledge” that you cling so tightly to will end up proving you right.

And this will be the moment when you realize that you don’t want to be right.

And next time you’re in a social situation in which you have a choice whether to just go along with conversation for sake of being social or blatantly admit that you have nothing to add because you genuinely do not know, I encourage you to pause before taking immediate action.

Because if you know that you mostly don’t know sh*t, your humility will expand. Your perspective will broaden. Your trust in the unknown will increase. This is when you embrace the eternal present.

And you will profit.

There is just so much to say. I will continue later. Thank you for reading.