Bit #16: Remember the Golden Rule

Little Life Lesson and Bit of Grace 16: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Follow the Golden Rule. There is a reason it has stuck around for centuries.

This is really an easy one that ties everything we have been taught together. Stop and think before you act or speak on if this is how you would like to be treated.

(Photo courtesy here)

Check out this amazing photo. Last week, a year's worth of rain fell in just 6 hours in the Phillipine capital. This photo embodies the Golden Rule and all that we should strive to do. People are working together to help rescue those boys from the flood waters!

We are all humans and will make mistakes, but just think of how fabulous the world would be if we all followed the Golden Rule.

Would I want to be yelled at by someone because their drink wasn't exactly correct? "No, so I better not yell at this poor girl. I have already screwed up 7 things this morning."

Would I want someone to be rude to me because they are mad about something completely unrelated to me and the situation that I am dealing with them? "No, so I should remember that the next time that I am having a bad day."

Would I want to hurt someone's feelings by saying mean things? "No, so I should remember that and try to always lift someone's spirits."

Would I like to be shot today? "No, so I better not shoot anyone else."

See it's REALLY EASY. Stop and think about it each day and eventually it will become a habit and will stick to others too.

Have a great day!
{Editor's Note: Here's a little history on this idea. The Golden Rule is also known as Ethic of Reciprocity. Thanks to wikipedia for the 411. Ethic of Reciprocity is an ethical code that states one has a right to just treatment, and a responsibility to ensure justice for others. Reciprocity is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights. A key element of the golden rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people, not just members of his or her in-group, with consideration. It exists in both positive (generally structured in the form of "do to others what you would like to be done to you") and negative form (structured in the form of "do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you"). While similar, these forms are not strictly the same; they differ in what to do with what you would like to be done to you and the other party would not like to be done upon it. The Golden rule appears to have an evolutionary basis. The golden rule has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard which different cultures use to resolve conflicts; it was present in the philosophies of ancient Judaism, India, Greece, and China. Principal philosophers and religious figures have stated it in different ways, but its most common English phrasing is attributed to Jesus of Nazarethin the Biblical book of Luke: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The "Do unto others" wording first appeared in English in a Catholic Catechism around 1567, but certainly in the reprint of 1583.

Versions Of The Golden Rule In Different Religions _________________________________________________________________ HINDU: This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others which if done to thee would cause thee pain.

ZOROASTRIAN: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.

TAOIST: Regard your neighbour's gain as your own gain, and your neighbour's loss as your own loss.

BUDDHIST: Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful.

CONFUCIAN: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

JAIN: In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.

JEWISH: Whatever thou hatest thyself, that do not to another.

CHRISTIAN: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.

ISLAMIC: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

SIKH: As thou deemest thyself, so deem others.}