When I was young I
had an unwarranted impression of myself and an impression of others that
allowed me to think it was alright to mock certain people based on looks,
station in life, character traits, physical characteristics and other factors. I was foolish, unkind and wrong.
In some ways I was
kidding around and simply trying to be funny.
At the time, I would have said, “Relax, it’s just a little good-natured
joking around.” But it was at the
expense of others and it was not right.
It was definitely a violation of this guideline: Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you.
Fast forward to the
present and one of the strange, difficult lessons of my life has been the
recognition that a number of things I once mocked in others are things that are
now—to my chagrin—true of me.
It appears that I
might be experiencing a variation of this principle: You reap what you sow.
