Day 252: The Golden Rule

The golden rule has been around probably since the beginning of time - if I had to venture a guess.

And it still seems to be somewhat elusive on a grand scale.

I have never, through my limited knowledge or experience, come across a place or time where this guide for being was completely embraced by everyone.

The thought occurred to me recently, that the reason for this might be more fundamental than I would have guessed. Requiring a bit of reverse engineering to get to the root of.

Treat others as you want to be treated. 

But are we treating ourselves as we want to be treated??

Life is a reflection of our inner world. Our thoughts and perspectives color what we see around us. And because of this, our interpretations of life will be uniquely different than everyone else's (for the most part).

If we aren't willing to treat ourselves how we would like to be treated, how can we do the same for others?

It seems similar to the thought, 'you have to love yourself before you can love someone else.' 

I don't think it's the all or nothing situation of, if you don't treat yourself well then you can't treat others well. Because I know from personal experience (a lot of it) that it is MUCH easier to be kind, encouraging, supportive, advocative, etc towards others than myself at times.

Yet, I think the transition of carrying out the golden rule to living out the golden rule occurs when one has learned to apply the rule to oneself.

This makes sense to me.

Think about a time when you felt really happy, proud, appreciative of yourself - and then interacted with others.
What was that like?

For me, if I am feeling good in and about myself, it becomes seemingly effortless and automatic to project those good vibes, feelings and actions onto others.

Thus, my call to action:

Treat yourself as you want others to treat you
- and see what shifts over time.