A Life Lesson:The Golden Rule

In my College Prep class, we were asked to write our personal philosophy. For the first few days, I didn't know what mine was or if I even had one. But I got to thinking. And thought about how we're always tod to treat others the way we would want to be treated.
And this is what I came up with:

A Life Lesson: Follow the Golden Rule

For 18 years I have lived and breathed. I have walked, I have learned, and I have regrettably, treated someone wrong. I have not treated them right, and I have not given them respect.

In elementary, we were always taught to follow the “golden rule”, as cliché as it may sound. “To treat others as you want to be treated” I remember countless times of being told that, and I never really listened. But I understand it now.

We all want respect, whatever age we may be. But if we weren’t to treat each other with respect, we would lose motivation as well as trust and confidence not only in ourselves but others as well. We need to treat others as we would like to be treated because it motivates people, makes them realize that they can be their absolute best that they can be.

To provide an example of such behavior,  I’ll give an example of something that I did for quite a few years at a nursing home outside of Adel where my mother stays. Every time I walked in the doors to go see my mother, there were people always around, of all ages and conditions. There used to be a few in particular people, a frail little old lady who’s name I do not remember and Tina, a woman in her 40’s with down syndrome.  

The frail old lady always talked to me when I came in and I always returned her questions, no matter how many times she had asked me them, with a smile and a heart felt answer. Just by doing this, you could tell that it brightened her day. I remember a few years after she and I had been talking, she walked up to me around Christmas time and handed me a crocheted baby doll. Even though I was too old for baby dolls anymore, I accepted the gift anyway. I’ve still kept it til this day.

Tina, the woman with down’s syndrome, was always in a depressive mood. The first few years I went to see my mother in this place, I saw Tina usually sitting in a corner pouting. I remember one day she looked so sad that I just went over and gave her a hug. She was shocked at first but then realized what I was doing and hugged me back. When I released the hug, she had the biggest smile on her face and tears were running down her cheeks. Since that day, she’s always waiting near the doors to make sure that she always got a hug from me. Just to see her smile and know that I was making a difference and giving her hope in her life, made me feel so much better about being there.

A little respect and good treatment can go a long way. It can make you feel like a better person and can even change someone’s life, inspiring them to do better.

This is my personal philosophy, whats yours?