Life experiences

The golden rule

I was taught this growing up by so many different people; from church to school which was all my life really consisted of when I wasn't playing outside with my siblings or doing chores around the house.

Throughout my life this lesson has benefitted me by keeping me conscious of other's perspectives; you never know what someone is going through and we all expect different things from those around us; some expect nothing having been let down so often in life.

I have been one of those people who doesn't expect anything having been let down so often or being helped and having those same helping hands, slap me down and rip away my hope that people are inherently good.

Despite the actions of others, all I can do is cling tight to the ones who truly mean well, and want the best for my life. As for the ones who are only out for themselves, well I can understand that. I don't expect anyone to put their life on hold or to do more for me than they are able. I don't expect my friends to be readily available for me or my family to help me in times of need.

Part of treating people how they deserve to be treated is checking your own ego. Part of treating people how they want to be treated is understanding when someone HAS to be selfish. In hindsight, is it really selfish to make your future success a priority over stroking people's egos by trying to fit in with them in order to make them happy? No.

In order to follow "The Golden Rule" of treating people how you would like to be treated, you must know how you want to be treated. If you treat yourself badly and put everyone else's happiness over yours, how will you ever be happy and how will you really be able to treat someone fairly? Does being fair have anything to do with this rule? Yes.

At the core of our being, we all desire the same things; we want to feel accepted, we want sporadic fun to be had and planned goals to be reached, some of us enjoy watching drama commence and others enjoy being a part of it, some seek to better the community and others seek to better their own close loved ones. We want fairness- we want equality.

Treating someone how you want to be treated doesn't mean you're always perfect because even when someone wrongs you, I know you can understand when they explain themselves- we want remorse for their actions displayed with an apology. We understand bad days and imperfections and that's a big part of this rule.

To this day, I think about this a lot and I've come to the conclusion that "The Golden Rule" is important because more than focusing on others, you're focusing on the relationship you have with yourselves- how you treat yourself extends to how you treat others.

Forgive yourself for being imperfect, understand when you have downfalls, never have too much pride to ask for help, and most importantly- never expect more from someone than you are willing to give.

The only thing I expect from people is for them to be understanding of my individuality, my imperfections and to help me when I fall down however that help looks like to them- that's what I'm willing to give.

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