"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."
-Mahatma Gandhi
The golden rule states that you should treat people the way you want them to treat you. The one thing the world most commonly doesn't realize is that this doesn't mean you should treat the other person the way they treat you. If someone hits you, don't hit them back. Kill them with kindness instead. Follow the golden rule and treat them the way you would rather be treated. Be the bigger person, and if your eye is "taken" by someone, don't take theirs in return.
This is a great quote!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am not sure if the phrase 'kill them with kindness' is quite the right one to use in this situation. I think instead, you treat everyone with kindness and consideration. As you note later, that it is important to treat others as you yourself want to be treated.
Another thing I have learned is that often people lash out or treat someone unkindly because of something going on in their lives. Here is an example. Recently, a man was arrested on an airplane because he was so annoyed at a crying baby that he yelled at the baby, called the baby racial epithets (a disparaging or abusive word or phrase), and slapped the baby. Certainly, there is no excuse for this behavior. However, it was revealed that he was on the way to say goodbye to his dying son and take him off life support, as his son was in a coma and had no brain activity. Again, not an excuse, but something that I often think when someone has lashed out to me with unkindness is that they may have had something terrible happen to them, or had a very hard day, so it is even more important to demonstrate and practice the golden rule.
You are very good at this, by the way - treating others with kindness and treating others the way you want to be treated.