The Golden Rule

The Fetzer Institute (a nonprofit foundation focused on increasing awareness of the enormous power of love and forgiveness) informed me that today is Golden Rule Day.  I confess to having a quirky interest in the seemingly innumerable official and unofficial special “days” that keep cropping up, a growth spurt likely attributable in large part by a combination of social media and the e-card industry.  Who can resist Pulaski Day (March 5), or Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day (February 23)?   Who comes up with this stuff?

Although not as obviously eccentric as some, Golden Rule Day nonetheless caught my eye.  But what really got my attention was a poster that Fetzer used to illustrate its Facebook announcement, a poster that answered the question “Who comes up with stuff?” in a way that struck me in both its simplicity and its profundity:

When it comes to the Golden Rule the answer to "Who comes up with this stuff?", it seems, is: "All of us."   From all cultures and traditions, among deists and atheists, monotheists and polytheists, in the East and in the West, regardless of the name of our prophet or whether we even have one, no matter our colour, whether our religious or spiritual tradition predates the written word or is of a much more modern vintage, one tenet is so pervasive that it approaches universality: treat others as you would be treated.  Such a simple concept, imperfectly practiced to be sure, but immeasurably powerful.  The perfect and logical expression of the selflessness of self-interest.  An adage that many of us learned in our youth and have recited so many times since that our tone is now sometimes weary, or cynical.  

One simple rule that holds the key to a world of harmony, where everyone is respected, every life has value, no one knows want, and we all enjoy the same opportunity for personal, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment.  In short, the key to a socially-just world.  

One "golden" rule that is shared by people in virtually every corner of the world.  I believe passionately that each of us has the power to change the world and that we do so every day of our lives in ways large and small.  On those days when we look around with dismay and despair at the cruelty, inequity, and pain that plagues so much of our world and its people, remember that we are all united in professing the solution: treat others as you would be treated.  If we each harken back to this seminal teaching, our unity of purpose and action will change the world.

Kathryn