Why We Struggle To Follow ´The Golden Rule´

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Love is King!

Published by helse on 02/01/2025

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Why We Struggle to Follow 'The Golden Rule'

In the latest post we looked at ‘The Golden Rule’ and the phrase ‘Love is King’ to summarize the common values we consider our unifying moral guideline. ‘The Golden Rule’ appears in over 20 distinct religious and philosophical systems, with variations in wording but consistent in essence.

In this post, I want to explore why our civilization finds it so difficult to put ‘The Golden Rule’ into practice, despite it being a demonstration of humanity's shared ethical foundation.

Our civilization

Where is 'The Golden Rule'?

I want to look for answers to questions like: Why are so many aspects of our civilization based on competition, and not collaboration? Why do we see so much violence, injustice and lack of empathy and compassion? Why do we – in spite of enormous advances in science and technology - observe an ever-increasing number of people living miserable lives with burnout, anxiety, depression or chronic illness? This reality is a clear sign of our inability to live according to ´The Golden Rule´.

I am convinced that the answers to these questions lie largely in the lack of attention given to our emotional and spiritual needs. Too many hearts and souls are undernourished or malnourished. This neglect begins with how children are treated and what they are taught about the values that truly matter in life.

Universal Wisdom

Chinese Proverb

An ancient Chinese proverb says:

When the soul is nourished, the individual becomes beautiful,
when the individual is beautiful, the home becomes harmonious,
when the home is harmonious, the country becomes orderly,
when the country is orderly, the world becomes peaceful.

THIS MEANS THAT THE MORE WE ‘NOURISH OUR SOUL’, THE EASIER IT IS TO FOLLOW ‘THE GOLDEN RULE’.

An ancient Greek proverb says:

"Know Thyself" (Greek: γνῶθι σεαυτόν, gnōthi seauton).

Socrates Know Thyself

The phrase emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and self-understanding. For Socrates, the famous philosopher, it signified the need for individuals to engage in self-examination and understand their own ignorance as the first step toward the understanding of the deeper, divine essence of the self, as well as toward a life of virtue.

At the same time, Plato said: "The city is what it is because its citizens are what they are", indicating that individual virtues and moral excellence are the building blocks of a just and harmonious society.

THIS MEANS THAT THE MORE WE ENGAGE IN SELF-EXAMINATION TO INCREASE OUR SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE, THE EASIER IT IS TO FOLLOW THE ‘GOLDEN RULE’.

Not only the Chinese and the Greeks have emphasized the idea that the cultivation of individual virtues leads to broader harmony in families, societies, and the world. Similar proverbs can be found in many other cultures:

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

India - Vedic Philosophy
“As is the individual, so is the universe”.
This Sanskrit maxim reflects the idea that personal transformation and harmony mirror the state of the greater cosmos. It emphasizes that individual self-realization is the foundation for universal balance.

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

Islamic Thought
"He who governs himself governs the world."
In Islamic teachings, there is a strong emphasis on personal discipline and moral conduct, as the individual's righteousness contributes to the well-being of the broader community.

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

African Proverb
"If the village is healthy, the world will be well."
Many African proverbs emphasize communal well-being and harmony, highlighting the idea that personal and familial integrity ripple outward to benefit the larger society.

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

Biblical Proverbs
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Christian teachings emphasize that cultivating virtues in the individual brings peace and harmony, first within oneself and then outward to families and communities.

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

Confucianism
"Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, bring peace to the world."
This Confucian teaching outlines a progression of influence starting from self-cultivation and extending to societal harmony and global peace.

Why We Struggle to Follow ´The Golden Rule´

Native American Wisdom
"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you."
Many Native American traditions stress that inner peace and balance are prerequisites for harmony with the external world.

Teilhardt de Chardin

Another, more recent proverb I find important to remember, is coined by Pierre Teilhardt de Chardin (1881-1955), a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, philosopher, and teacher:

'We are not human beings
having a spiritual experience,
but spiritual beings
having a human experience’.

Chardin´s wisdom tells us that THE TRUE NATURE OF OUR DEEPEST SELF IS SPIRITUAL. Who we really are, and the deepest purpose of our human existence on this planet, has therefore to do with our soul. Our soul has the purpose of completing a task through its human experiences in the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions.

Understanding this task and how to accomplish it will be part of our next post. For now, it’s enough to know that

THE MORE OUR SOUL FULFILLS ITS PURPOSE, THE MORE 'THE GOLDEN RULE' BECOMES EVIDENT IN OUR SOCIETY.

To summarize:
The reason why The Golden Rule' is so absent from our civilization, is because too many individuals suffer from self-ignorance and spiritual and emotional malnutrition. Malnourished souls are unable to share their constructive nature, thus permitting the destructive tendencies that all humans possess to dominate civilization.

In other words:
DARKNESS EXISTS DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT:
DARKNESS (EVIL) IS DOMINATING THE WORLD BECAUSE TOO MANY SOULS AND HEARTS ARE UNABLE TO SHARE THEIR LIGHT (LOVE).

This fact raises new questions:

What has made the light of so many hearts and souls go into hiding? and: What is preventing them from shining?

We shall try to answer this in the next post.

I invite you to check out my book: “Self-Discovery: The Challenging Path To A Fulfilling Life”

You might also want to consider my audio course on the app Insight Timer:
“Breaking Free From A Culture Of Fear, Guilt And Shame”

I offer individual consultations online.
More information HERE.
Book a session HERE

helse

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