One day a man hopped in a taxi and told the driver he is in a hurry to the airport. The man explained to the taxi driver that he overslept and now needs him to speed it up and that money is not an issue. The taxi driver proceeded as usual. As they were driving in the right lane suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of them. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at the two of them. The taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And when the man asked the taxi driver, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” This is when the taxi driver pulled over and gave the man a quick lesson about “The law of the garbage truck.”
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
With that lesson, the man calmed down and decided to try out “The law of the garbage truck” himself.
This is from the book The Law Of Garbage Truck by David J Polley and his message is simple, powerful, and transformational.
A very good piece of thought to learn and practice which will help purify our heart and mind and stay cool in any given situation. I agree, it is very tempting to be impulsive and is very difficult to act cool on some occasions and it requires tons of willpower. But this graceful act brings peace of mind, it is worth practicing. Everyone on this earth has some sort of personal crap they must deal with at some point in their lives and that is what triggers the garbage days. Build a positive aura around you and be kind, think about when you meet an angry or hostile person, and try to apply the message.
Take control of your life…don’t let toxic people take your peace of mind. You can’t control the actions or attitudes of others but you can always control your attitude and how you react and respond to those who seem to get under your skin. Also, we must never dump our garbage on other people either.
How often do we let other people’s garbage change our mood? Are you the garbage truck or the enlightened taxi driver?
Have a garbage-free life!! :)
Beautiful message. Keeping our attitude in check and not giving away our peace of mind is one of the greatest and toughest attributes one can develop and follow wholeheartedly. But indeed it is worth it every steps. Thank you for that Garbage truck