I was out for my morning walk. It was a lovely still morning with a pale, almost white sky and a bank of gray clouds tinged with pink on the edges above the tree line.
Nothing was really on my mind. I was enjoying the feeling of walking and the silence of the morning.
And then the garbage truck turned the corner.
As I walked, it gained on me.
Eventually, it was right beside me, huffing, puffing, groaning, and stinking.
After a few minutes, I couldn’t take the noise and smell anymore, so I stopped walking. I took pictures of the sky for a bit until I thought it was far enough ahead of me not to matter too much.
I said “Hello” to the neighbor with his dog and turned the next corner. I could see the garbage truck up the road and tried to slow my pace, but eventually, I was only a few houses behind it.
Then I remembered what the wise ones say, “Whatever is going on in your life, learn from it.”
So I turned away from the silent, peaceful morning and beautiful sky to the garbage truck's lesson.
As I watched, it lifted its loader, dumped the trash into the back of the truck, and then closed the top. You’ve seen what happens, haven’t you? Pieces of paper, a plastic bag, and a few other pieces of garbage floated behind the truck as it moved away.
Ah ha. The lessons.
I have two of them for you!
Be careful as you are busy throwing away what you no longer need in your life—you know, those thoughts, ideas, and actions that once might have worked but no longer do—that what you throw away doesn’t impact someone else because you were not careful in how you got rid of it.
I took EST (now Landmark) when it was a new baby idea. A ton of garbage ideas came up, and I worked to eliminate them, but sometimes I was not careful.
Maybe it was my youth. Perhaps it was because I had so much to throw away or because I wasn’t wise enough, but I wrote a garbage letter to my parents and mailed it.
Although it felt true to me then, it was still garbage thrown at my parents. I have never forgotten how truly uncaring it was. Although I apologized later, nothing would ever remove that smelly thing.
Be careful where you put your garbage.
Here’s the second lesson from the garbage truck.
If you walk or drive behind one, garbage will come at you.
Besides the practical meaning, this also means that if you listen to others as they work out their garbage moments—whether you do it as a profession or as a friend or family member—be careful.
Don’t let that garbage stick on you.
Don’t take it as something you must fix or feel guilty about.
Garbage is garbage. It gets thrown out to stay out.
I guess there is one more lesson here.
If we didn’t pick up things and ideas that are not useful to us, we would have less garbage to throw out. It’s unnecessary to buy everything being marketed to us, either as a physical object or a mental idea.
Be thoughtful about what you choose to let into your life—you will have much less to throw away. And there is much less of a possibility of hitting someone else with it.
Thank you, garbage truck! As smelly and noisy as you were, your lessons are sweet.
How about a FREE Daily Nudge, to help you notice some of that garbage?