In my May 5, 2012 blog post, I wrote about The Golden Rule. I think that it's very important, especially in today's society, so I thought I'd tackle the subject again.
The reason for my writing this is because of something that came up in my life recently. I had left a message on a man's answering machine a few weeks ago that I was going to give him a free book (Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind) as a gift, since he'd been so helpful with part of my new book. All he had to do was to return my call and give me his address so I could send it to him. Days, weeks went by, and he still hadn't returned my call. I couldn't understand why, as he seemed to be a nice guy. I was starting to get a complex, and I imagined all sorts of reasons why he didn't call. Thankfully, a couple of days ago, he did call me, apologizing for not having called, because he'd written my phone number on a piece of paper and had lost it, but finally had found it. He said he couldn't wait to read my book! We need to give people the benefit of the doubt.
It's amazing how often we jump to the wrong negative conclusions. I guess it's in our negative programming, and we just have to overcome it.
Anyway, the above incident made me think about the way we treat each other in light of The Golden Rule. Wikipedia defines The Golden Rule as, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself." It also goes on to say,..."a person living by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group."
I recently found a great web site "Zen Habits" that has a helpful post,"18 Practical Tips for Living the Golden Rule." It states that when you treat others with kindness, you'll be happier, and you'll make the people around you happier, too. A couple of the practical tips dealing with stopping criticism and controlling others were especially good.
Most religions deal with treating people with kindness and respect:
"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated."
-Jainism, Sutrakritanga
Some examples treating people with kindness and respect would include, to mention a few are:
-Promptly replying to emails, phone calls, etc., especially if you're in business! (Unless there's a real problem like the man I mentioned above)
-Thanking people for any kindness they have shown you
-Complimenting people on things they've done or have
-Helping others
Some specific instances of kindness and respect from other people that have come into my life that make me feel good to remember are:
-One of my former school classmates is always friendly and makes you feel good to be around her, because she focuses on you and makes you feel good about yourself. She has charm, because someone who is charming always makes the other person feel important.
-I recently ordered something handmade online, and the woman who made the item for me, went out of her way to make sure I was happy. She responded quickly to a question I had. (Bet she has a lot of repeat customers!)
-A businessman who sent Greg and me a free $30.00 gift certificate to his restaurant for our wedding anniversary, because something I ordered for Greg hadn't come on time
-People who compliment me on things related to me personally
These people have got it right!
No matter how positive we try to be, sometimes negativity creeps in. We have to be ever-vigilant.
I was reading a few days ago about how powerful our thoughts can be. If we could all just try to be more positive and kind, think how the world could be transformed, one positive thought at a time!
Positive thought: "Thoughts become things." -Mike Dooley, www.tut.com
Thanks for visiting! Until next Sunday, Becky
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