So recently The Golden Rule has come up a lot in conversations so I would like to take a short look at it now cause hey it is on my mind.  ” One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself” or some version of that many are out there.  I think it is a fantastic rule in the broad sense to me it means treat others with love and compassion.  The problem that I think we run into and I say we cause I’m in the boat from time to time, is that we centralize this and put it in line with our egos.  When this rule is viewed with our ego in the forefront it can be far from loving and even cruel.  Just because something is a way specifically you want to be treated does not mean everyone else feels the same way about a particular act.  So it takes understanding(which leads to compassion) when employing this rule properly.  For example when going through a tough situation I dig joking about it, it takes a lot of the bite out of the situation in the beginning especially before I have had a chance to process it.  Like when I lost my job after 6 years and I knew it was coming to an end it became a joke between my best friend and I.  After a long wait it finally happened I didn’t know what I was going to do next and I was worried about it for a long time.  When I phoned my friend to give him the news that this event finally took place he said “It’s about time, want to go hiking”.  Which made me laugh and took a lot out of the situation, he also had the understanding of me and how I am to properly read the situation and respond accordingly.  Now if I responded with a joke when some people I am friends with were going through a serious situation it would hurt them incredibly they would not see the humor because it is not the way they want to be treated.  If I am letting my ego run the show I can say screw them I wouldn’t get upset what’s wrong with them.  Nothing is wrong with them not everyone wants to be treated the way you do and if we view them with a loving heart we can see that.  Nobody is perfect and we are going to hurt some people that is for sure but we can sure cut down on the amount of hurt we cause by keeping and open heart and understanding the people we have the most impact on the people around us that we know and love.  If we have better understanding of the way they would like to be treated it can cause less suffering for everyone in the long run. 

So to wrap it up treat people with love and compassion not specifically the way you want to be treated.  We can go a lot further in our relationships with people close to us if we treat them the way they want to be treated.

What is your take on this one?

Peace Love Das