Today's Thoughts: The Golden Rule

I have been struggling a lot recently. Questioning... Finding it hard to put my thoughts into words. I had to take a step back, do some serious "soul-searching", and really think about some heavy hitting topics. I even took a little mini-vacay from Facebook because I couldn't stand to read the hate and ugliness that was being tossed around so frivolously. Just this evening as I was visiting with my family, I found it very difficult to verbalize my thoughts, which is not a predicament I find myself in often... And then on my drive home, with my sweet baby girl snuggly and sleeping in the back seat, I turned off the radio and drove in silence for a while. That's when it hit me: THE GOLDEN RULE.

There is a very clear reason to me now why I have taken things so personally as of late. I can't understand why everyone is so quick to snap judgement on anyone who thinks differently than they do. I don't understand how people who consider themselves friends can so carelessly post such cruel comments and tear each other down, over something that none of us really even understand.

My sudden epiphany requires a bit of a back story.

I grew up being raised Catholic. Went to Catholic church my entire life, went through all of the sacraments, and at a certain point in high school, made the realization that the particular church we went to was full of more hypocrites than truly honorable and faithful followers. We stopped going to church for a while then. When I went to college I tried to go on my own one or two times, but did not try very hard because it never "stuck". But deep down, I have always felt a very strong connection to my Catholic upbringing. I don't necessarily agree with everything that is taught, but I LOVE the history of the religion. I love the tradition. I love attending Mass and feeling like I am a part of something bigger than myself. I really love knowing that despite my being a "bad Catholic" ... it is a part of me that I am not willing to give up.

I'd like to think that even though I may only go to church on Christmas and Easter, I try to live my life with the morals that church gave me. I try to be a good person, I try to give to others as often as I can, I try to love all of God's creatures, even my enemies, because a life full of selfless love is a full life. It took me a long time to get to this point. My hands are unclean, I strayed often and still do. But I try.

Now - part of what has really made me feel personally targeted as of late, is because of those feelings and beliefs that I have described above. Does any of that sound bad to you? Does my background in Catholicism rub you the wrong way? Do you think that because I am a Christian that automatically makes me a bigot, a hater of the gay community, a conservative, "stick-up-my-butt", intolerant and in general worthless human being?

Because if you had read some of the things that I have read recently, that's what you'd think, too.

Here's reality:

I am and will continue to be a very faithful person. I am not ashamed of that part of my life, I am proud of it and plan to raise my children to know the same. But I was not raised by parents who thought that being Catholic gave me the right to place judgement on anyone for being different, in any way at all. I was taught to take the goodness of my religious education and to LIVE this rule every day of my life:

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.

Ring a bell? The Golden Rule? Where did this one go?

That right there is why I have been struggling to comprehend what has happened in our social media world over the past several days. To me, actions will always speak louder than words, but use those words incorrectly and you will find yourself in a world of trouble. So tell me, when did we forget to treat others how we would like to be treated? If you want to be treated well, do well to others. Seems too simple? 

THAT'S JUST IT - it really is that simple. Treat others the way that you want to be treated. Do right to others and they will do right to you. There was even a super sad/extremely inspiring movie starring a young Haley Joel Osment to emphasize this very concept (Pay It Forward... HOT Helen Hunt alert!, FYI...). 

Regardless of my upbringing, I have never looked at another person and thought that because of the color of their skin, the capacity of their mind, their gender, their sexual orientation, ANY difference that they may have physically or not, that they were less than me. I treat everyone the way that I want to be treated. I try to put as much good out there as I can with the hope that one day that will all be returned to me. In my imaginative mind I love to think of what the world would be like if we all remembered this rule and tried to live it out every day. 

This is why I have struggled. I have been very bothered by the behaviors I have seen, by the words I have read, and by the lack of compassion for humanity. We DO NOT all need to believe the same things. We DO NOT all have to agree on every topic. That would be boring. But... we DO need to try to be more kind, less judgmental, and more aware. We all need to learn to take a step back and breathe before quickly responding with truly hateful words. 

Do I live this as often as I would like to? No. Again, I am not perfect; my hands are unclean. But I try.

SO I pose a challenge to everyone who happens to read this... In the spirit of the holidays, let's all make an effort to live by The Golden Rule. Try it out for a few days. Speak to someone you disagree with in a less aggressive manner. Show compassion to an enemy. Do something you would not normally do. For the good of someone other than yourself. Just give it a try. 

The outcome is bigger than anything we could possibly hope for.

'Tis the season.