A kind, happy, positive and God loving person treats others with love and respect. However, we come across grumpy, angry and negative persons in our lives who are always ready to pick up a quarrel and who have nothing good to say about anyone. Don’t be upset by such people, they’ve been wired to behave like that because of circumstances or conditions beyond their control. They are like garbage trucks carrying foul smelling waste and ready to dump it at the first opportunity. This reminds me of the story of the taxi driver and the garbage truck.
One day I hopped into a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane, well within the speed limit when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and just missed the other car by a few 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.
Perplexed I asked him, ‘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 disturbed, full of frustration, anger and disappointment. They are like garbage trucks. 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 and move on. Don’t accept their garbage and in turn spread it to other people at work, home or on the streets.
So next time you come across such people, forgive them, smile at them, send them blessings and just move on. You never know that this may change their attitude and their outlook towards life. ~Latika Teotia
