A tree in our yard decorated for EasterAs the Easter holiday weekend approaches, I’d like to convey my Easter wishes to all of you. I got to thinking about how religion often divides us as people so here are 14 universal principles to live by, regardless of what religion you might follow (or if you are even a religious person). Here are 14 principles or commandments in dealing with people to live by:
- Remember to treat others the way that you wish to be treated. Many of the larger world religions contain some tenant about treating others as you would like to be treated or say something about treating others with respect. Many of the other principles and commandments fall into place if this becomes your cornerstone in life.
- Use religion to unite us instead of divide us. Try to capitalize on all of our individualism and uniqueness. Look for similarities instead of differences. People of all religions and human societies have children, parents, brothers, sisters, concerns about the future and that of their kids.
- Spend quality time with your family and friends.
- Before passing judgment against someone, why not find out their side. There is a Native American expression that says you shouldn’t judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. It very well could be that under the same circumstances you would do the exact same thing or act the same way.
- Practice forgiveness often. We’re often hurt (or feel hurt) by people that didn’t intent that as an outcome, so there isn’t a need to harbor ill will towards that person. Letting go can be healthier for you.
- If you have problems with someone else, try to talk them out. Often, the other person may not realize what they’re doing and the effect that it is having.
- Offer your help to others. We have all been helped or will need help at some point in our lives. Why not help those that you can.
- Share your knowledge and experience in addition to being open learn. You can teach others what you have learned by being a mentor or maybe teaching a class. Keep in mind that you can learn some valuable lessons from some of the most unusual people or circumstances. Realize that there a many different ways to do things and that you don’t have a corner on the market.
- Be generous.
- Be a friend, even to the unfriendly. People often create barriers, and if we can remove some of those barriers, you might just find an interesting person and a good friend under it all.
- Plan for the future, but live in the now. You or the other people you know and care about may not be here tomorrow, so act accordingly.
- Limit your assumptions or make careful use of them.
- Refocus as necessary and be willing to change. While you can never redo a first impression, that impression is really a judgment that can be changed, when new details are revealed.
- Remember that all laws, rules, and customs are created by people. As such we can change any of them when we find them inapplicable due to changes in technology, nature, or society. Slavery was once a legal practice, and in most societies today, it is illegal and frowned upon.
As a bonus, why not invite someone for one or more meals over the holiday weekend (certainly you could extend this beyond this weekend). This could be a friend, co-worker, or stranger.
So I hope that those of you celebrating Easter, have a wonderful holiday weekend. I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and is able to find whatever meaning that they might be looking for. Spring is around the corner (I hope), and Winter is coming to a close, so now can be a time for our awakening. While this isn’t an all inclusive and exhaustive list, the world would be a lot better if we tried to follow these principles. Do you have any other principles for dealing with other people?Be sure to let me know if there are any other topics that you would like to read about at Systems-Overload.If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us or on Digg and pass it on to anyone that you think might appreciate it .Thank you. :)
On Deck…
I’ll be publishing posts about…
- Organizing your thoughts with wikis
- The next in my series of weight loss strategies
Posts
