The Golden Rule

I am saddened and a little troubled by the recent suicide of someone we knew. While we were not close friends, our families have many connections through school, university and business. We also live in the same neighbourhood, a few roads from each other. I am disturbed by the fact that we could be connected to each other, live alongside each other and yet not be able to pick up the deep distress that would lead someone to take their own life.

There are always so many questions for the people left behind and always some guilt about whether we could have done something to help prevent the death. So many people attended the funeral service, which made me wonder why he could not find at least one of us to talk to. 

Technology has made us so available to each other all the time, and yet are we really connected to each other?  We actually don’t even need to talk to each other – we SMS, BBM, send emails from our phones and have information at our fingertips. We need to engage with each other with more than social media, to connect on a personal level. We all have a need to belong to a group, whether it is a family bond, or a group of people with a common purpose or a spiritual group like a church. We need to learn to live with one another, to care for each other and be cared for.

In her book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Karen Armstrong asserts that compassion is a true test of spirituality. We are urged to have concern for everyone, “to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself”. Compassion is common to all faiths. All religions have their own version of The Golden Rule. 

“As we develop our compassionate mind, we should feel an increasing sense of responsibility for the suffering of others and form a resolve to do everything we can to free them from their pain”, she says.

I think tragic events occur to help put us on the right path. Let’s take time to connect, to take responsibility for each other, to care.

Read more about Karen Armstrong by clicking here Charter for Compassion
Contact The South African Depression and Anxiety Group for mental health information and resources.