You evoke and bring to light a situation that for many people is a way of life. Whether is a way that serves them or not, is a whole other story.

For me personally, while I definitely treat others the way I would like to be treated, I don’t do it because I hope they treat me back the same way. I do it because if we are all ONE, then technically I am treating myself how I want to be treated.

I know for some people being in a “tough” life situation equals staying and dealing with it, while for others, as for your dog it equals removing oneself from the situation.

For us as human beings, I think it boils down to a mixture of things, depending on the situation. Today knowing what I know about me, myself, life, the afterlife, chakras, energy, etc, etc… I have to say that I am not longer comfortable staying in any situations that “remove from my being”, rather than add to it. I am not saying that I would bail at the first sign of problems, but I have come to a place where I think I know enough for me when it is right to stay, and for how long to put one’s energy into dealing with something, versus when we should let the other person be, but remove ourselves from the situation. I guess it kind of is like you mention – “using our common sense”. I have learned that allowing any kind of abuse to continue on, is actually a form of abuse in itself. If we know better, we should act as the person who helps the situation…helps both parties grow and evolve.

I know that religions have played a huge part in distorting the Golden Rule, and while some people feel this is how it is meant to be, I can’t say I agree for too many reasons to mention here.

So thank you once again, for raising a very important topic, that I don’t think many people consider in the light that you have shared with us here today.

“The only way out of the dream is to begin your own dream.”

I work toward this every day and have recently been thinking that dreaming should be a little more fun than I’ve let it be. It certainly is for my youngest son, who starts each day in a fresh way, almost like a new person ready for a fantastic adventure. He sees joy in the smallest and sometimes oddest of situations.

Only yesterday we were watching the cooking channel (his idea, not mine) and pretty soon, he’s convinced me to send away for the bake-a-huge cupcake tin, because “Nothing like that has ever been seen before!” Today he asked if he can write me a song for Christmas just so I have something original to remember him by. (Like he’s actually going to move away some day? He’s already planning how he’ll take over the downstairs when he’s in college.)

When a teenager, my oldest son modeled dream-making through reactivity. Cool was anything that wasn’t aligned with his mother; anything that wasn’t about mom, was cool. I remember the day he came home with a pierced ear. I told him it was marvelous, and I meant it. The earring disappeared within a few days, lost in space. Time marched forward–we both survived the “years of the grunting,” as I called them, during which time I catalogued about 63 different types of grunts and their meanings (I had to; it was his sole form of communication) and eventually, he discovered he could create a new life from the inside-to-the out, not only the outside-to-the-in. Ironically, by the time he’s done with college, we’ll have “shared” the same major, minor, and many of the same interests. He even uses a meditation tape, although he insists that he skips over the section that mentions the word “chakra,” since I write books about “that kind of nonsense.”

I think –maybe–the Golden Rule is really more about being who we really are, regardless of the stuff the stuffing comes from.

In my experience, gratitude and compassion and forgiveness and many of these practices are not something we do but something we stop doing. When we stop holding on and are able to let go, we see that gratitude is as experience is the love of life, and compassion is the ability to see all points of view when we are no longer attached to our specific ones, and forgiveness is releasing the need to forgive or be forgiven.

Seen this way, it is never about what rewards we can muster out of these practices.

Thanks for an important article.

k

I like the 4 sided look at a saying or situation…there are 4 directions so if one looks at 4 different possible ideas or interpretations they might see the greatest possibility or opportunity arise for wholeness?

The part of the conversation that struck me in particular was the advice of others about what another “should do.” My own experiences and observations have shown that so much of the advice in this vein is with the best interests of the other in mind, but what’s missing is the understanding that perhaps staying IS in the individual’s best interest. Just because one would leave, doesn’t mean that’s the same path another would feel comfortable taking. While one might seek self-preservation by leaving and searching for new pastures, another may feel that as a form of loss. One might opt for comfort while another might choose deeper knowledge of self and relationships and how all the minutia work together.

If we are to grow, to learn, to expand our understanding of how every single thing we do and think affects another, sending the ripple effects into the cosmos, then a participating in a “trouble” may be the best way to learn. Often, the greatest growth occurs as a result of the most intense hardship. Sometimes, the most loving act one can do for oneself is to withstand the hardship just long enough, using every thought-tool they can conjure to discern and assess the truths they uncover, to find the most brilliant, amazing and empowering ah-ha! moment they could ever imagine. From that point, it’s amazing how incredibly quickly new understandings occur, how rapidly the corresponding shifts occur in another (if willing), and how AMAZING the turnaround results! This has been my own experience. When love is the focus, when looking in all directions equally, Light can be found. With a focus on love, miracles happen.

I do believe, though, that who and how we are is attracted back to us in the form of complementary energies. If we feel we’re undeserving, I think we attract those people and experiences that highlight our beliefs that we’re unworthy. Likewise, when we love ourselves enough to believe we deserve the very best in life, I believe that’s what we attract to us.

Thought-provoking article; many thanks for such a good read!

A spiritually mature person wants nothing back for the good they do and the love they give. Yet they couldn’t keep blessings from themselves if they tried. (just my opinion)

Great thoughts to read today and reflect upon. Keep shining your love out into the world!