Getting All Biblical on Your Asses.

I am not a religious person. Heck, I wouldn’t even say I’m very spiritual. I guess my views are more like “Something’s out there, I don’t know what it is.” school of thought. In fact, I’d describe what I believe in as “The Force.” yes, THE FORCE, like “Use the Force, Luke!” Why am I telling you all this? Well, because I do believe very strongly in the Golden Rule. You know it right? Ugh, if you don’t we’re worse off than I thought. It’s this: “Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” It’s in the Bible, but check it out. I Googled the Golden Rule (It’s also known as the Ethic of Reciprocity, which I also quite like.)  for this blog, and apparently there are versions of this rule in at least 14 other religions. I also really like the Wiccan version “An it harm none do what ye will.”

Many religions use this rule to talk about why you shouldn’t kill other people, which I agree with totally! Not killing people is an important thing. But, here’s the thing: I think you should apply it to everything. Not just how you treat other human beings, but how you treat the world in general. Most of the time, this rule is pretty easy to follow. It’s a lot of not doing things. For example, I would NOT like to get punched in the face. So, I don’t punch people in the face. In fact I’m practicing this rule right now! Look at me! Not Punching! Practicing What I Preach! (Here’s the thing though. There are people out there who actually like getting punched in the face. I’ve read Fight Club! I know these things.  I guess the thing to do in that situation is to only punch other people who want to be punched. Become a boxer or something.) Another example, I would NOT like to live in a world where litter is everywhere. So, I don’t litter. I believe that hurting the Earth does in fact hurt other people.

Now, it’s easy to live by a rule that involves lots of passive action. Not punching, not littering etc. Sometimes though, in order to live by a code you have to act. That’s the hard part. Sometimes you have to tell people terrible things, because you would want them to do the same. Sometimes you have to clean up someone else’s mess even if it’s really yucky, because you want the world to be clean. There are a million examples, and many aren’t cool at all. It can  be fun too though,  it’s not just about shitty things. If you want people to be nice to you, be nice to them, is a great example, if it’s raining and you notice your co-workers car window is down, roll it up! (Unless that’s going to set off an alarm. That would suck.). I also really like feeding people’s parking meters, but apparently that can get you arrested, so be careful with that one.

My point? It’s good to have a code to live by, even if you aren’t a religious person. It acts as a good compass in deciding action, or inaction. If we all lived by a version of the Golden Rule, I can’t even imagine how awesome the world would be. So, the next time you’re having a hard time making a decision just take one second and say “How would I like it if this was being done to me?”

Finally, I also think that the Golden Rule definitely falls into the category of “Don’t Be an Asshole.” So, this post is still helping me fulfill my new life’s goal of teaching the world to act less assholey!

That’s all for today. Peace Out, Girl Scouts.

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