Compassion and the Golden Rule

If I were to ask you to make a list of people you love and care about and whom you would defend and make sacrifices for, it would likely be easy for you to come up with this list. If I ask you to write a second list, this time of people who you don't like or push your buttons or you don't care much about, it would be likely that you can also easily come up with such a list. Consider for a moment, though, that those who are on the second list may be on other people's first list. Given that, doesn't it show that whom we care about is based on our own arbitrary standards and not on the inherent value of those beings? Given that, doesn't it say something about the falsity and misguidedness of our perceptions?

The focus of the month is compassion, and compassion is but the golden rule. Do unto others what you wish would be done unto you. It does not set conditions or segregate by lists or qualify by certain criteria. Do unto others-- all others. To practice compassion then means that we have to let go of the divide that exists in our hearts of who deserves care and consideration. To practice compassion then means that we have to let go of the idea that there are two or more lists or groups, and we treat one group differently from the other.

All war ever waged in history is because of this division, this mentality that one group is more important than the other. The only way we can stop external violence is to start to build compassion internally, to be guided by an internal compass of connectedness. When we decide that we will no longer live with different standards for different beings, that we will no longer discriminate and hate, that we will no longer pick and choose who deserves care and understanding, then the seed of compassion will inevitably grow. We then respect the golden rule-- do unto others-- and embrace it completely and unconditionally.