If you listened to my Facebook Live video last weekend on ‘Coming from a Space of Compassion‘, I shared about a book I was reading: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong.
Karen begins her books by talking about the Golden Rule: “Always treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself.” The Golden Rule, as we know it, is based on the words of Jesus to his disciples written in Luke 6:31. It is also referenced in the writings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius and in a Hindu text written in about the same time period, the Mahabharata. Similar concepts are expressed in Taoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and many other religions and philosophies.
According to Rabbi Albert Friedlander, who escaped Nazi Germany and who Karen quotes in her book, “The Golden Rules requires self-knowledge; it asks that we use our own feelings as a guide to our behavior with others. If we treat ourselves harshly, this is the way we are likely to treat other people. So we need to acquire a healthier and more balanced knowledge of our strengths as well as our weaknesses.”
To me, compassion starts with the Golden Rule: Treating others as we wish to be treated. When was the last time you thought about this Rule when dealing with yourself or other people?
I see the mean, degrading comments on social media, I wonder when and why we forgot about the Golden Rule. Surely, we cannot be following it when we run down the people we don’t agree with.
And, of course, I am just as guilty as the next person of forgetting this important Rule when I am upset or angry with someone. But, I am choosing to stop, when I am in that state of mind, and think about what comes out of my mouth. Even delaying my response for a few seconds can change what I say or think at that moment …. and thus making my reaction a little more loving.
We can’t change the world, social media, or the people who abuse themselves or others. But we can all decide to change how we act and react, making our world a bit better for those around us.
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