The Law Of the Garbage Trucks

王馬堯

Sixteen years ago I learned an important life lessonin the back of a New York City taxi cab.

I hopped in1 a taxi， and we took off2 for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when， all of a sudden3， a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes4， skidded， and missed the other car by mere inches！ The driver of the other car， the guy who almost caused a big accident， whipped5 his head around and started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean， he was actually friendly！

So， I asked him， “Why did you just do that？ This guy almost ruined your car and couldve sent us to the hospital！” And this is when my taxi driver told me about what I now call， “The Law of Garbage Trucks6.”

“Many people are like Garbage Trucks. They run around full of garbage， full of frustration7， full of anger， and full of disappointment8. As their garbage piles up， they need a place to dump it， and if you let them， theyll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you， dont take it personally9. Instead， just smile， wave， wish them well， and move on. Youll be happier because you did.”

Wow. That really got me thinking about how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me？

And， how often do I then take their garbage and spread it onto other people：at work， at home， on the streets？It was that day I resolved， “Im not going to do it anymore.”

Since then， I have started to see Garbage Trucks everywhere. Just as the kid in the Sixth Sense10 movie said， “I see dead people，” I can now say， “I see Garbage Trucks.”

I see the load theyre carrying... I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver， I dont make it a personal thing； I just smile， wave， wish them well， and I move on.