Wednesday, October 29, 2008

THE LAW OF THE GARBAGE TUCK

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 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 takeover 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!
Source-email

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quite inspiring. Thanks for sharing :)

Reminds me of somewhat (un?)related lessons learnt during childhood. I used to lose every game in carom. Would start well but somehow would still end up losing the game. My uncle then explained - "You go after the difficult coins ignoring the ones close to your side. You take the coins close to you for granted thinking that you can take them anytime later in the game and in a way, end up wasting your opportunities on those difficult ones.".

But then, yeah, I continued to lose. Changing this strategy didn't help for I wasn't good with aim n shoot thing :D

Renu said...

Thanks Pieush for visiting me !

Ur uncle was right, but then first we must see our aptitude also, may be u were meant for something else:)
Everybody is good at something, its only a question of finding that thing:)

Monika said...

wow!!! that was quite some gyan from the taxi driver and worth every word

Sukku said...

That's a nice way at looking at life...thanks for sharing....btw is there any place that I can dump my garbage...lol

Amrita said...

ahan quite inspiring.....

Ekta said...

hey wow
what a lovely anecdote!
grt story!

Jayashree said...

Very insightful....I only wish more people would think that way.

Anonymous said...

wowwwww...wht a beautiful learning lesson
thnx for sharing this wonderful email with us :)

The law really makes a lot of sense..reminds me of MUNNABHAI :P

An aggressive driver puts himself n every1 arnd him in danger..and it only earns him some high blood pressure and a gr8 deal of wear n tear on his own vehicle..

Anonymous said...

Claps & shakehands - Taxidriver And thanks to you for sharing such a lovely message.
Thanks a lot !

Salomie said...

This reminds me of a lesson we had in school, where the point was to smile and be polite to people, even if they weren't polite to you. Seeing your positive attitude, perhaps they would be motivated to smile and be polite to someone else, and maybe that someone else would do so for yet another person and so on....basically spreading happiness forward.

I don't remember a lot of what I learnt in school :), but this is one of those few things I never forgot and try to practice.

Mana said...

The main mantra is patience which is required in any field we work :) But the frustration make us puke our anger very soon. Controlling anger is a mastery which this guy has done :D

Renu said...

Sukku; Very valid question:), I think we shouldnt create any garbage or may be make a vermipit:)

AMRITA: yeah it is:)

EKTA: Thanks Ekta !

Jyashree: yeah, these road rage happening everyday..is very bad.

SWATS: its my personal feeling also that we dont get anything by anger only loose, and there is nothing and no situation too frustrating to deal with if we remain calm. Our temperament if short, only aggraavates the adverse situations whereas politeness and sweetness alleviates the negativity from life:)

HOBO: the pleasure is all mine and i want to propagate this thinking:)

SHALOM: yeah we hd that moral science, but teachers dont give much importance to these subjects, whereas they have a very important role in building character.Good deeds and thoughts always make a chain and spread like that.

MANASA: yes yuou are right, patience is the key to everything, spome people are very patient in their professional life but reverse in their personal things and vice versa:)

Renu said...

MONIKA: Sometimes very simpl people tell us something very profpound and valuable:)

Anonymous said...

a vey good message

sansmerci said...

really inspiring .. i needed to read this really :)... m kinda filled with diappointments and a lot of garbage i throw one everyone on the street ... this so opened my eyes.. i really will think twice next time ... thanks a lot renu .. as alwyas ur full of wisdom n pass on everythin u get to read too :)

Renu said...

Sansmerci: I am very happy to know that u liked it, I am ot full of wisdom:), I just want to spread positivity and happiness, thats what my blog-line says.

Renu said...

CHRIZ: Thanks Chriz !

J P Joshi said...

Every time I am ready to throw my garbage while driving on Chennai roads, I will think twice from now onwards...thanks to most appropriate response of your taxi driver, and of course you for sharing this beautiful opportunity for looking at life from a new angle.

Padparadscha said...

What a lovely story ! Not throwing garbage and not taking garbage either, that's a good challenge.

Cess said...

omg that was hilarious, wow this taxi driver is awesome, i wish i can act like him, i ll try to remember it ;)

C.
PS: i m safely back to rainny and cold dublin btw ;(

Jiggy said...

yes..a good lesson...
in today's fast paced life full of tensions, people find a reason and a sink to release their built-up frustrations...sad, but true...

Pixie said...

Very nice... I mean, how many of us would adopt such an attitude.
Thank you for sharing it... it's again food for thought.

Renu said...

J.P.Joshi: Welcome to my home:), These are the small things in life which make it so beautiful:)

Helene H: Yeah, its a big challenge, but will make life so pleasant.

Cess: Welcome back:) i was missing u.At ur age its difficult to remember:)

REBEL :The ultimate aim for everybody is to be happy, then why make it so fast oaced that forget the happiness itself?

PIXIE: its a food for thought and I know its little difficult to follow in the young age, but now I follow it , as I have reached a stage, where I have done most of the things I wanted, and whtever is left, I dont care now:),I desire nothing, atleast nothing beyond my means and learned acceptance:)

Ugich Konitari said...

What astounding and great advice from the taxi driver , and how I wish all of us would remember to follow it in our lives. These are such troubled times in all our cities, I am sure this law of the Garbage truck needs to be followed by all, if things are to improve.......

Renu said...

UGICH KONITARI: yeah, i feel so sad to see the road rage today where people stab and shoot for a liitle bit of overtaking or scratching as if life has no meaning them, they dont realise that they are starting a chain of destruction, whereas the taxi drivers like this are starting a chain of peace.

Niedhie said...

Wonderful line - "Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!"

Lovely post!!

Just call me 'A' said...

i've read this garbage truck theory before. i wish everyone would apply it. how nice life on the roads or anywhere else would be.

Renu said...

NIedhi: This is the beauty of thids story:_

JUST CALL ME A: If we keep on repeating, one day we would start applying also:)

D said...

Wow! It's so true, isn't it? Road rage needs to be curbed and if we can apply this theory, it's surely going to help.

Renu said...

Thanks D for visiting my home, hop eto see u often. I also feel very distressed with the road rage, thats why I put this up.

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