Monday, August 24, 2009

Law of the Garbage Truck

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 the parking space right in front of us. My 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 us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and 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's 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 blessed, garbage-free day!

Author unknown

2 comments:

Jerry and Suzy said...

Ain't it the truth. We faced a similar thing in Hawaii as we were leaving. The garbage man dumped all over the poor representative at the counter. When it was our turn, I smiled and said, "Having a bad day?" She just grinned, handled our problem (too many cases of pineapples to bring home)by grinning and waving us through.

Thanks for the reminder to grin and wave!

The Red Brick Farmhouse said...

I loved this post! What does it do for us if we get angry right back? NOTHING!

When life hands you garbage.....smile and wave! :> )

Blessings~
Laura