Living the Way We Like Others to be.

A typical pastime among many of us is categorizing people. We have acquired the tendency to label our fellowmen according to our impression of them.

By way of illustration, most of us have developed a shameful impression about policemen. Whenever we see them accosting a jeepney driver, the thought that instantly comes to mind if the common indiscretion in the performance of their duties.


Many of us have formed the habit of interpreting and forming conclusions from what we see. We can easily create an opinion and come up with a conclusion even without the benefit of investigation. And this is often the cause of conflict and problems in our relationship with one another. Such situations are worsened by our minds that have become one-tracked and opinionated.


Of course, there are some values in the ability to evaluate and categorize, for we need to be distinctly discreet with this thoughts that we allow our minds to feed on; that is if we are to be constructively efficient in our work. However, when it comes to interpreting the actions of our fellowmen for the purpose of judging them, a good deal of caution must be exercised. Remember that not all that glitters is gold, and just because a fruit is green does not necessarily mean it is sour.


When we evaluate our fellowmen according to how we like them to be or according to the ideals that we nurture in our minds, we are creating models. Unfortunately, our models cannot exist.
Why?
Because they can only exist in our imaginations. And so no matter how intense our desire is for people to be according to our ideals, we can never expect them to be.


However, we can live the way we want others to be and through our interpretations with our fellowmen, we can demonstrate the ideals we desire of them. This is what the Lord meant when He said: "Do unto others what you want others do unto you..." [Matthew 7:12] -the Golden Rule.