We often make things complicated, but there is really only one important rule for life: Be good to people. We need to be good to ourselves, and we need to be good to others. (This is another way of saying “Love people and love yourself” or “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Of course we might have different ideas of what it means to be good to people, but here’s the cool thing: when we REALLY desire to be good to people, that desire will even help us to overcome our differences.
If we really desire to be good to people, here’s what we will do:
1. We will treat everyone with respect, whether we like them or not and whether we agree with them or not.
2. We will listen to people.
3. We will care about people’s hopes, dreams, feelings and opinions.
4. We will work to relieve people’s suffering.
5. We will act in a way that brings good to others as well as ourselves.
If we really desire to be good to ourselves (because we are a person, too), here’s what we will do:
1. We will respectfully communicate when people are hurting us, and we will respect ourselves. We deserve to be treated well, just like everyone else.
2. We will listen to ourselves.
3. We will care about our hopes, dreams, feelings, and opinions.
4. We will work to relieve our suffering.
5. We will act in a way that brings good to ourselves as well as others.
Take a minute to imagine what it would be like if took as our life motto “Be good to people” (ourselves and everyone else).
A message from Cool-Hand Chameleon:
Um, I LOVE Cool-Hand Chameleon! And I love this guide! This should be printed and posted at public locations, like bus stops and post offices and in courtrooms and the walls of Congress! Thank you again for all you do and put into the world!
Thank you so much, Jack! I love Cool-Hand Chameleon, too :). Thank you for all your lovely encouragement.