Well friends, I could almost not do this any later. It’s literally nearly tomorrow. And I’m not gonna lie, I considered skipping today. Because, let’s be honest, my handful of readers out there probably aren’t waiting with bated breath for my new Light the World post. And if they are, they’re most likely tuning in for a glimpse of Lizzy, and who could blame them? Plus, I just made approximately 12 dozen cookies (10 different kinds because I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool that for the cookie exchange, I make a traditional Christmas cookie from each of the countries I studied this year?”), so I’m a wee bit tired.

But I would know, and I would mind. For one thing, having one missing day would drive me crazy. For another, this daily post isn’t about me. It’s about Lighting the World, or my corner of it, in any way I can. Besides, I especially like today’s theme:

Jesus taught:

“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
—Matthew 7:12

Every time I think of the Golden Rule, I hear that little song from some movie—My Turn on Earth, maybe?—saying: “The Golden Rule is a terrific tool, it helps you decide what to do…” Now it’s stuck in my head.

But seriously, way too often, humans treat each other like trash. It’s awful. If we would treat others like we want to be treated, we would solve all our world’s problems. It all goes back to loving one another. So simple in theory, so difficult in practice.

I try to practice it in little ways. For example, there’s this person in my life who never asks me how my day is or how work is or just about life in general. Never. After 18 months, our topics of conversation revolve around her. For a while I just stopped talking to her. But I hated that, and now I’m back to asking her how “blank” went (her test, her date, her whatever). Because it’s how I’d like her to treat me (plus, I’m awful at holding grudges). Has she suddenly sprouted an interest in my life? No. But hope springs eternal.

Maybe treating others how we’d like to be treated doesn’t magically make everyone selfless and loving and singing songs together while holding hands in a giant circle spanning the globe, but it does change us, and that’s the point. The power of example is strong, stronger than you realize. Living what you believe is so much better than preaching it. Being kind in actuality is so much better than talking about it. You’ll be happier when you starting treating people as you’d want to be treated instead of keeping score and keeping track of all the slights. If Jesus could do it perfectly suffering what he suffered, then maybe we can do it imperfectly one moment, one person at a time. I love you.

Choose Joy and Light the World.

—A