“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
It’s not “Do unto others as you think they deserve,” or “Do unto others as they have done to you in the past,” or even “Do unto others as your personal philosophy dictates.”
It’s so simple. Treat other people how you want them to treat you. If we all did this, the world would be a much nicer place. It’s not complicated.
Oh, sure. I hear you saying, “But what about masochists? They want people to hurt them!”
Yeah, ok, great. You’ve uncovered the super secret hidden flaw in humanity: Nothing is applicable to everyone. Sure, there will always be people who don’t fit the mold, who abuse the system or get left out. But that doesn’t mean the system doesn’t work. Millions of people fly on airplanes every day and sometimes one of them crashes and people die. But it doesn’t mean airplanes don’t work. You take the good with the bad. That’s just the facts of life.
I’m not saying the world will be perfect and without crime, hatred, war, poverty, suffering, etc. But I’m saying it would at least be better. If we stopped worrying about whether or not we were getting our fair shake, and started focusing on whether or not our neighbor was getting the fair shake we would want. Stop asking for things and start giving them.
Be the change you want to see. Someone once said that, I think. Snoopy, maybe.
It’s worth thinking about.
The Vulcan Buddha 