The Golden Rule

If we’re going to talk about community, I need to tell you about my mom.

Growing up, she was our small-town powerhouse. The kind of woman everyone called when something needed doing. She led summer camps, taught Sunday school, organized the soup kitchen, visited the sick, volunteered at my school. People sought her advice because she lived it: quietly, consistently, and with heart. A true matriarch of her community.

She didn’t do it for any awards, or accolades. She stepped up simply because that’s who she is, and being in the community and caring for each other is what she considers the right thing to do. She is, and always shall be, my greatest inspiration.

She’s 92 now, full of wisdom, and has slowed down a bit, though she still somehow finds hungry families and shares food with them. She’s still connected to the soup kitchen, even if she no longer leads it. The wheel of life turns, and we all get our chance to surprise ourselves by stepping up past our comfort zones. Like introverted me is surprised to be creating Hopescrolling and fill in the gap of, ‘well, what’s out there that does make the world a better place, and how can I get involved?’. I probably wouldn’t have started sharing with you if she hadn’t been so honest in living her ethics and being such a strong example. I’m just following in her footsteps.

Last night, I told her I was finally ready to write and put my vision for Hopescrolling and its newsletter, “The Hope Scrolls”, out into the world because I see a gap that needs filling, and since she’s so beloved by her community, I asked her:

“If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?”

Her answer was the simplest and, as I realized later, the most profound piece of wisdom in history, which is probably why every culture has a version of it:

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

At first, I pressed for more. My cynical nature wanted something deeper, some secret recipe for community magic. But she just shook her head and repeated it. Then told me to go think about it.

So, I did. And the longer I sat with it, the more I understood.

We’re living in a world collapsing in on itself. One structure falling while another tries to see if they can use old bricks to build something new, but familiar. And within that ancient phrase are the most fundamental questions we can ask:

Who do we want to be?
What do we want to build?
What’s our underlying Golden Rule?

Her advice doesn’t ask whether you share someone’s values. It doesn’t mention culture, age, nationality, gender, or belief. It doesn’t even care if you agree. It simply asks:
If you were in their shoes, how would you want to be treated?
And then it invites you to live that answer — if for no other reason than so you can look at yourself in the mirror and like what you see.

A lot of information will flow through these newsletters. I've already meticulously sifted through countless pieces of information, both online and offline, to unearth what is genuinely useful, practical, tested and doable. But before we dive into blueprints, systems, and ideas for building our new earth, I want to start with the simplest and strongest foundation I know:

My mother’s advice.
Be heart-centered. Be compassionate.
And always ask yourself —
“What I’m about to do… would I want it done to me?”