“There are two different ways of describing how you came to know something. One way is to say you found it out. The other way is to say it occurred to you. Reason is involved in both. To say you found out that So-and-So was the best friend you had suggests that you reasoned your way to such a conclusion. To say it occurred to you suggests that althought the conclusion was not reached by reason, it was not incompatible with it. It occurred to you as distinct from you found out suggests knowledge given as distinct from knowledge earned. It suggests inner meaning as distinct from outer semblance. For example, I found out that Francis of Assisi gave all his money to the poor, called sun his brother, and preached sermons to birds. But it occurred to me that he must be a saint. Or an idiot.”
(From Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner, p 97)
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