One Small, Powerful Rule

Have you ever been in a traffic bottleneck, where you were forced to change lanes because your lane was closed up ahead, only to find that none of the drivers in the other lane would let you over? Maybe they even sped up when you signaled, so that you wouldn't get in front of them. The result was that one lane was at a standstill, and people were impatient and angry.

This happened to me today, and it started me thinking about how different the world could be if we all practiced one simple thing: treating others as we'd like to be treated. The Golden Rule.

That's not the same as being kind to others as long as they're kind to you. It's not the same as treating others well if you think they can do something for you. It's treating others the way you'd like to be treated, whether they can (or will) reciprocate, and whether you'll get any perceived benefit from it.

Just imagine if every one of us actually considered whether we'd like to be treated the way we were about to treat someone else in a situation. Many traffic problems, including accidents, would be eliminated. Fewer people would be injured from faulty products. Fewer people would be laid off from jobs at a moment's notice. Fewer lawsuits would happen. When you really think about it, it's likely that more people would have enough food and resources. Why, maybe war would even go by the wayside.

Treating others as we would have them treat us: All around us, we can see the results of not doing this. Legislation is passed and lawsuits occur to correct the problems, only to create more problems. It's such a small and simple thing to do, yet it seems impossibly difficult.

You may say I'm like John Lennon....But I'm not the only one...