The holidays are a time of caring and sharing.
Hence I feel divinely prompted to share a golden experience from my childhood.
My thought is that if history would repeat itself using what I learned in that experience, I would hope that many of the problems–such as violent crimes, gangs, drugs, war, hate, racism, etc.–confronting the world today might, to some degree, be neutralized.
My thoughts take me back to when I was in 1st grade.
The first day every student in St. Anselm, on Chicago’s South Side, was given a 3-inch-by-13-inch envelope.
It contained two red pencils, an eraser and a 12-inch ruler.
Inscribed on the ruler was the following: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
That was my first time seeing the “Golden Rule.”
From that day until I left the school eight years later, this practice continued compliments of the Coca-Cola bottling company.
That was more than 60 years ago.
Yet today I very vividly recall how we handled the ruler on numerous occasions each day in class and when doing homework. While so doing, you couldn’t help but notice the inscription and be reminded of how to treat others as you would like to be treated.
Consequently what started out as a constant reminder ultimately developed into a positive pattern of thinking that turned the “I” and “me” in my life to the “we” and “us”.
Therefore I couldn’t help wondering how that masterful plan carried out back then by Coca-Cola could be implemented into the daily lives of students on all levels (grammar school, high school and college) and society at large today.
Just think if a way could be devised to bring this thought to pass.
Then, perhaps, a dream of “what a wonderful world this would be” might someday become a reality.
