THE Golden Rule Is Still In Effect

“The Golden Rule” was taught religiously when I was a child. It may have had slight variations in wording, but the thought was the same – don’t do anything to someone else that you wouldn’t want done to you.

As an empath, this seems like simple common sense. I feel the pain inflicted upon others. Therefore, I don’t want to be the cause of pain knowing I could be hurting myself. However, it doesn’t seem that many others feel the same as I do.

Our world no longer lives by the Golden Rule. These days it is more of a Dog-Eat-Dog world. Kill or be killed. Hurt before they hurt you.

My dad would put a finger to his head first and then one to his mouth in a type of personal sign language to us. It meant, to think first before speaking. He recognized that words hurt and he didn’t want us to be the ones to hurt others.

Words hurt as much as physical actions. In some cases, a punch in the stomach might hurt less than the words coming out of the mouth of someone we thought loved us. After a time the pain from the punch will subside. Words that hurt linger on much longer.

The Golden Rule doesn’t just apply to physical actions. It also means words said in anger or hatred. This might be the easiest to forget, but important to remember. In the heat of the moment, we might not consider how our words will be taken, or how we felt when those words were applied to us.

In my life, I have been judged so many times by people who thought they knew me, and I didn’t feel any of them actually knew the true person I am. I’ve had one person call me cold and uncaring, while another called me the most sensitive person he knew. (Both within days of each other!)

I’ve been chastised and disliked for my personal beliefs. If I believed whispers about me, I’m two-faced, back-stabbing, and manipulative. And those words came from someone who told me I was one of their best friends.

So, from my experiences with people, I’ve learned not to listen to anything people say. I treat all people as my brother and I don’t judge anyone. People can change and they do. There’s no room in my life for people who hold grudges.

After I’m gone I want people to be able to say about me, “she loved”. Because that is my end game. I want to love all people, whether they love me or not.

THAT, in my opinion, is THE Golden Rule.