Thinking Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. That was the motto written on a large cement slab at the entrance of Local Primary School, a school I attended many years back, in Mporokoso, Zambia. I cannot remember how many times I read it over the years I attended that school. However, I do not remember ever hearing any of the teachers or administrators talk about or quote it. I wonder whose hands crafted those words on that concrete, the colonialists? May be that was why the local people did not care about it. It was probably considered one of the decorative pieces that belonged to the colonial era, like colonization, discrimination and injustice. As a grown up woman, I stop to reflect on those words and realize they could mean a lot more. For example, we think of them in terms of, we should treat other people the way we want to be treated. That is fine, until you stop to think about how you want to be treated. Is it really the same way the next person wants to be treated? We can approach this statement subjectively or objectively. If we are subjective, then we just assume, what you like or want is what the other person likes and wants too. On the other hand, if you are objective, you may want to know, understand and empathize with others, before you decide how to treat them. I began to understand in tiny outbursts of awareness that, doing to others what we would have them do unto us, is preceded by understanding what they want us to do to them. We cannot use our own emotional or other meters to gauge the needs of others. We have to take a more personal interest. Ask questions, establish the need and decide how to meet it as best as you can. Do not be afraid to ask questions, even the hard ones, all professionals who want to help, do it. Teachers, Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, etc. #beaninspiration
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 13:41:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015