The Law of the Garbage Truck

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This snippet was read by my yoga instructor at my last class. It was a good thing to help let go of junk from the day and focus on the present. I think it is good advice that I want to remember for work (among other things). A bit of Googling revealed the source – a book with the title “The Law of the Garbage Truck” by David J. Pollay.

The Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and took off for the airport. We were in the right lane when suddenly a 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 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. 

I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ Then my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck”. 

He said some 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.

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

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Okay, first off, those of you who I know too well should get your mind out of the gutter after reading that title and actually check out this article: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. You may have heard many of these suggestions before, but putting it into one list seems to make more of an impact. A lot of what is listed can fall into ‘live in the moment.’ This is something I’ve spent a lot of time on lately. Part of it comes from my yoga classes, where my instructor takes a meditative approach. Part of it comes from reading Zen Habits, a newly-discovered (for me) blog of thoughtful articles on simplifying life.

Whatever path you take to get there, I highly recommend investing time to take care of yourself. Get healthy in mind and body. Watch the stress disappear.

Something to think about after the consumerist craze of the holiday season.

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Our Fundamental Being
Evelyn Underhill

We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have, and to Do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, on the material, political, social, emotional, intellectual, even on the religious plane, we are kept in perpetual unrest: forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in, the fundamental verb, to Be: and that Being, not wanting, having and doing, is the essence of the spiritual life.

Source: The Spiritual Life