There were many pseudo-Confucius sayings doing the rounds when I was at school. And I had forgotten about them, until recently, when my amused son came home from school and told me a “confucius say” joke that he had just heard.
To be honest, I don’t know for sure exactly what Confucius said, just that he was a wise man who lived long ago and whose teachings are still followed by many today. He made his mark in life properly if I, a woman living more than 2500 years after he did, am even aware of him. He gave people something to think about because he got his thoughts ‘out there’.
If only we all had the time to sit down and think about the things we have learned in life; those revelations that have hit us unawares as we were distracted with the nuts and bolts of each 24 hours we needed to get through. How many valuable thoughts get lost and forgotten every day? We seldom take hold of our own insights, and even more rarely do we write them down for others to profit from.
The thing is, we all have valuable pearls-of-wisdom and insights we could share – whether down-to-earth practical advice or more philosophical discoveries. If we only we could see these pearls in each other, we would realise that even our enemies, whose faults or differences we resist looking past, have something useful and beautiful inside of them too:
We have all learned from struggles and come out stronger.
We have shared in the discoveries of those who have gone before us.
We each have encouragement or advice to assist a fellow human get through their day.
We can help one another avoid the mistakes we ourselves have made.
We are all in this same earth-boat together.
All just human – sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.
All at the mercy of sickness, death and hatred – sometimes fighting back, sometimes unable to.
All alive and wanting a better life – loving, dreaming and hoping.
All craving acceptance, respect and understanding.
The world would be more peaceful if we would treat one another as fellow earth-sailors.
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
– Confucius. (The Chinese Classics–Volume 1: Confucian Analects by by James Legge)
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
– Jesus of Nazareth. (NIV Bible– Luke 6:31)
