How do you know?

Life is a giant mystery where you just don't know? How do you ever know what someone else is thinking? How do you know what you should do in any given circumstance. How do you know anything? Well, the simple answer for a number of problems is simply look it up. For whatever reason though this isn't as easy as it seems. For instance, how long can you use a word, without ever really truly knowing it's meaning before you get called out and have to look it up. You may well have thought the word meant one thing, but it could mean something completely different. Don't be a chump, look it up. On the other hand, there are a lot of circumstances in life when the solution is not a simple as looking the answer up. For instance, how do you know how someone feels about you? Is it through the words they express, the actions they take, or some other way. A persons feelings are so complex and ever changing there may be no way to ever know what they feel. I know that when I came home now for break. There was an overwhelming feeling of joy that I have finally arrived after all of this time. Before I left for home, I was getting calls and having plans made in anticipation of my arrival. These actions clearly express how those around me feel for me. The express conditional statements and actions leave no room for ambiguity. But what about those who don't give express signals. How do we know what the people who give implied signals really mean. This implied signal is both frustrating and confusing. The weekend visit may mean that you are enjoyable company or it may mean your company is something that makes the other person tick. I only get to see my friend when I am in town, I only call when a visit is looming, and our friendship is on a convenience basis. But this doesn't express how I feel. When I see friends from home, I am truly happy to see them and need to be better at expressing my content expressly. I am coming to a point in my life when, (good or bad), I really don't have space in my life for the implied emotions. I really think it is just better to know and define the terms of a relationship with another than grope around in the dark being too afraid to jump in. When you get into a pool, you can either be the one slipping their big toe into the water or the one jumping into the pool. If you only have a toe in the water, you only get a little wet but never really swim. If you just jump, you can either really enjoy the pool or you will know the water isn't right. Life is too short for dipping toes.