state of grace

We make assumptions every day: 
about people within our own circles, 
the "others" around us, 
celebrities, 
the president, 
about why they do the things they do, 
say the things they say, 
what they are thinking, 
what their motives and intentions are, 
we presume we understand where it ALL stems from. 
It gives us a 'misperception' of being 'in the know,' 
and so, being somehow 'in control' or 'of interest and import'. 
When we or someone else make a statement of assumption about another, 
it is fair and kind and loving to ask,
"Do you know that to be absolutely true?" or 
"How can you know that?" or 
"Do you KNOW that person?" or 
"Have you spoken intimately with him or her?" 
The answers to any or all of those questions define an assumption 
and help us see what is worthy of our time and energy to comment on.