Law of the Garbage Truck

published February 25, 2011

by the Stockton Sentinel,

Stockton, Kansas

            Last week was extremely busy and then we were out of town for the weekend. Now that I’ve given my excuses, I’ll tell you that I don’t have “original” content for my column this week. Instead, I’m sharing with you a story that came to me by email, so I don’t know the source. It’s a message to take to heart and worth passing along. The story goes like this:

            One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space, right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the black car by just inches. The driver in the black car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

            My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.

            So I asked, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost crashed into your car and could have sent us to the hospital!”

            This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call “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.

            The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So… love the people who treat you right; pray for the ones who don’t.

            Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

            Have a garbage-free day!