Imagine

Imagine a world where we all did unto others as we would want done to us.  What if everyone asked that question before doing anything.  Would I want this done to me?  If not, then they wouldn't. Imagine how that single mental habit would change the way societies make decisions?  Would there be such a thing as special interests?  Would people steal, cheat, or murder others if they really abided by that simple rule?  They wouldn't.

But just imagine for a minute, or even longer, what the world would be like if everyone would do that simple exchange.  Exchanging themselves for others.  To remember that everyone wants to be happy.  All the things you want for yourself, others want too.  We are all human beings, and we all want recognition, respect, understanding, kinship, acceptance and love.   If everyone, or even most people would see others with the same respect and love that they would want for themselves, then the world would be radically different. Everyone would be respected. Everyone would be recognized, understood (or at least people would try to understand).  Everyone would feel kinship and acceptance, and most importantly, everyone would feel more loved. By giving, we would be getting.

Today, in our world, we can see the effects of me-ism.  Me-ism is the way of the land here on Earth.  People say that its a "dog eat dog world" out there, and you have to only look after yourself.  If thats true, then why do most people love their kids so much?  How many people charge their kids for every dinner? How many people try to profit from and exploit their kids?  Some do, but most don't, because most parents love their kids.  The fact is, that most people work very hard so that their kids have a good life, or at least a chance at what they believe to be success.  This isn't me-ism.  Me-ism is when we exploit others for our own benefit.  From something as small as when we take a handful of extra sugar packets to the exploitation of entire countries,  me-ism is accumulating more and more wealth, while letting others languish in poverty and starve.  Me-ism is cumulative. If enough people see the world as a place where their needs are more important than everyone else's, then there are things like wars and injustices galore.      

Capitalism is totally based on me-ism.  In fact selfishness has become a terrible cult amoung the capitalist culture.  Adam Smith to Ayan Rand all proclaimed that everything will be just fine if and when we all just look out for ourselves.  But were they right?  Take a look at the world right now.  From climate change to weapons of mass destruction we can see the effects of me-ism.  Communism was supposed to be the antidote to me-ism, but it didn't really work because of me-ism.  Productivity dropped when there wasn't any personal incentive.  Corruption is rampant both in capitalist and communist societies.  Corruption always stems from me-ism. Every wallet that was ever picked was done with a selfish hand. They were only looking out for themselves or perhaps their immediate family.  They didn't imagine how they would feel if they were the one who was violated. Every brutal dictator who committed genocide, was coming from a place of extreme me-ism.  Extreme me-ism is really what people call "evil", but all it is, is extreme ego, or in other worlds, insanity.

The antidote to me-ism is you-ism.  Its really simple.  Exchanging yourself for others is a simple step of the mind.  Its a small leap of imagination, and an opening of the heart.  Instead of going through each day seeing the world as a series of threats and disappointments because "nothing ever works out for me", try going through a day seeing your world from the perspective of "how can I make the world better for him or her?"  Instead of seeing someone else's success as your failure, or shortcoming, try seeing it in the same way a team mate see's another teammates big goal.  Its a win for everyone, because we are all on the same team.
I wholeheartedly recommend trying this for a day or a week, and noticing how your life changes.  Its actually quite remarkable.  When I started seeing other's successes from the perspective that they too deserved to be happy, and we were on the same team, my happiness level went up tremendously.  The joy of their success became my joy as well.  When I used to be jealous that so and so got that promotion instead of me, I was pretty miserable. My world was small.  When I started imagining what it felt like to them when they got that promotion, I too became happy. Its like their joy rubbed off on me.  In Buddhism, this is called sympathetic joy.  Its remarkably easy to do once you start trying, and it will make you more happy than you could ever have imagined.  

Once you start seeing others as being equally deserving of happiness as yourself, then your world will change. More people will become your friend. More opportunities will come your way.  Your world will expand, and become truly meaningful.  Eventually, you will come to know more and more in your heart that others are worth caring for, and aren't that much different then you.  You will be there to feel the pain right along with your friend who just lost their cat. Or you won't think twice about volunteering to help rebuild a friends porch which just collapsed due to a huge snowfall.  The more you give, the more you will realize that you didn't need  that thing after all, and in that way, you will realize that true wealth is a state of mind, not a fat bank account. You will begin to see others as equals. Not equal in the sense of intelligence or abilities, or things, but equals in the sense of their basic life force that makes them another living being worthy of being respected.  You will see in their eyes their true humanity. It will be easy to connect to them, and share a moment of honest mutual respect.  Seeing others as equals will lead to this kind of experience more and more.  This is perhaps the greatest gift of giving. Giving your honest respect for another, simply because you are both alive, will make you realize your own aliveness more and more in your heart of hearts.  I believe this is the true purpose of our lives. To realize what it really means to BE alive.

If you could imagine a world where everyone loved each other as much as they loved their own kids, then you will see a world without crime.  You will see a world, where everyone works for the benefit of others, and in doing so, all needs are met.  You will see a world where everything is free and there is no money. A world without corruption, or pollution, or injustice, or wars, or maybe even fights.  It would be a world where everyone's efforts  come from a place of personal passion and not from a place of greed.  I'm not saying that it would be a perfect utopia, because there is no such thing as perfection in this universe.  There probably would still be some egos that created problems, but those problems would be dealt with in a compassionate way.  For instance, I can envision in this future world, situations where the people who were most impoverished were the ones living in the mansions. They would be served by the wealthy who were only wealthy because in their hearts they would know that they didn't need a mansion to be happy and at peace.  What a turn around it would be.

In this future "enlightened society" I can imagine that when someone was hungry, they would go to a restaurant, and be greeted by a stranger who regarded them as a long lost friend.  The cook would want to serve them the best meal they could because they were living out of the perspective of "you-ism" instead of me-ism.  I imagine that when that restaurant needed more vegetables, they would call a local farmer who would be more than happy to bring some of the highest quality carrots and peppers or whatever they had available, simply because they cared, and saw their role in life as being bigger then simply serving themselves.

If everyone, or even the vast majority of people had this view, then this world would become our reality.  Everything would be free, and life would not revolve around the accumulation of stuff, or the protection of territory.  Life would revolve around being a contributing member of the world.  If everyone had faith that their needs would be met by others, then it would be easy to give away whatever anyone else wanted.  Possessions would really take on a whole new meaning.

This future world is possible, but it will require a fundamental shift in how we as individuals see the world.  We will have to change our minds.  This is what Buddhism is all about; helping people change their minds so that someday, we will all have the chance of living in an enlightened society.