"The Law of the Garbage Truck"

Yesterday my Dad sent me an email with the following story (some of you might have heard this already):

“Sixteen years ago when I was in New York, I hopped into the back seat of a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My cabbie slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment, our car stopped just one inch from the other car's back-end. I couldn't believe it. But then I couldn't believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the idiot who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.How do I know they were bad words? Ask any New Yorker. Some words in New York come with a special face. And for emphasis, he threw in a one finger salute, as if his words were not enough.But then here's what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said,"Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call: "The Law of the Garbage Truck." He said:"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 look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you.""So when someone wants to dump on me, I don't take it personally. I just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. I'm happier for it."So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? How often do I then take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said,"I don't want their garbage and I'm not going to spread it anymore." I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie "The Sixth Sense," the little boy said,"I see Dead People." Well now "I see Garbage Trucks."I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don't take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University, found in his extensive research that we remember the bad things more often than the good things in our lives. We store the bad memories more easily, and we recall them more frequently.So the odds are against us when a Garbage Truck comes our way. But when we follow The Law of the Garbage Truck, we take back control of our life. We make room for the good by letting go of the bad.The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day.We have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about.”~ On the internet there are two authors shown for the above story - David J. Pollay and Leafie O. Austin ~

I wanted to share that story because I feel this it is a wonderful story that illustrates a principal that I would like to strive to apply to my life. I know it would help me to be a happier person. I included this in a post because perhaps anyone who reads this blog would feel that same way after reading the story.