Out of all my Mother would try and tell me, “Treat people the way you wish to be treated,” stuck in my mind the most over time.
Countless times experiencing new people, realizing “What goes around comes around”. I began to see how “We’re all reflections of one another”, intentions for another person are setting yourself up for a boomerang; so it seems in the end.
Thinking of someone else, thinking of yourself, either way, it all comes back around, returning to sender the way we handle different experiences. The most complicated being the times when we’re expected to “be the better person”, even to our enemy. Forced to see past the personal disturbances, before becoming what we hate, after it mariates in our subconsciousness.
My middle school to college friend was diagnosed with Weed Induced Psychosis. It took our friend group by surprise; Each outburst was talked about over Gossip and sips of Iced Coffee.
The closest of her friends knew Schizophrenia was hereditary in her family, but it took over 1500 mg. of THC one night to cause the Psychosis to be noticeable, and eventually diagnosable.
One by one her friends left her because they didn’t want to deal with the outbursts, that came with her struggling to quit weed completely. I understood why, everyone our age smoked at the time, it was hard to escape what triggered her episodes.
Regardless I made sure she had a place to stay, a friend, and someone who knew her before the diagnosis, that would treat her with respect.
Our friendship ended when she tried to ruin my reputation by spreading lies, that formed out of thin air, then proceeded to want to fight after running into each other months later. I had to understand it wasn’t a personal vendetta, only the Psychosis, and I ended our friendship. Even after running into her later in life, I had to express, “We didn’t leave off on good terms, please just stay away from me.”
One day, her friend was my server and told me how she smashed the window, to my first car while I wasn’t home. I always had to understand, she doesn’t have control over her thoughts and actions. She’ll always be my friend, but as we evolve as people, we also grow apart from one another.
Leaving off on the best foot possible is hard, especially with someone who makes you hate them. Treating people the way you want to be treated, is the best way to make the world a better place, simply by setting the example.