Love one another as oneself

At one time most families raised their children in a particular religion, and while religion has been at the base of many world problems and some the teachings may be totally unacceptable to us, the teachings of most religions contain a good basic guidance to living a decent life.
So while one may not follow a particular religion,  one can identify teachings which speak the truth to all.
The ten commandments are a good example. One does not need believe in a God to see that some of these form a good example to all men and women, and form the basis for living decently with ones neighbours and the community.

Honour thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thous shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet . . .

Buddha taught that happiness comes from a peaceful mind, and that we should overcome anger,  jealousy and ignorance, and try to develop love, compassion and wisdom.

Many people today who say they do not believe in religion, perhaps seeing themselves as atheists or agnostics, are still following religious teachings that began to be formed by man from earliest times.
The basis of our laws today comes from religion - so while you can dismiss the importance of religion in your life, you cannot ignore the fact that certain laws you live by were formed from religious teachings.

How does one live as a decent human being? It's all a matter of balance. We know there are people in the world who live by their own rules but we have made a choice which is not just a matter of obeying the laws laid down by our society.

Our humanity tells us to respect the feelings of others, to be non-judgemental, and  be as generous  towards the faults of others as we would want them to be with ours.
Of course there are those who see themselves as decent human beings but also believe they are perfect and have all the answers - and there lies their fault for no-one is perfect. We are all human and humans make mistakes. We are all vulnerable and none of us are better than another.

'Love one another as oneself' is surely an essential aspect of living a decent life, and this begs the question: do you  secretely believe you are better than most?  And what does that say about you?