Law of the Garbage Truck

There are times when you come across people who take out their anger on you for no reason at all, and you are left wondering what did you do to cause so much anger in them. Going by the first principle that I have control over my thoughts and actions, not on him, what should we do in such a situation? How can we deal with such people effectively? Should we fight back, try to pacify him or let it go? I have been pondering over this question for a long time. This week I came across an inspiring story that has a good solution for this puzzle. I am sharing the story below with the hope that it will be helpful for you.

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. I mean, he was really friendly.
I asked him, 'Why did you just do that? This guy could almost ruin your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me the Law of the Garbage Truck. He explained that at times people behave like garbage trucks, running around filled with the garbage of frustration, anger, envy, hatred, and disappointments. When this 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. 

This powerful story has two important lessons for me:

1. Next time I come across a person like this, I would remember to greet him with a smile, wish him well, and move on.
2. Unknown to myself, there might be situations in which I may be acting as a Garbage Truck myself, dumping my anger on others. I would learn to recognize such situations and correct myself immediately. 

Bottom-line is - Positive people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

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Thanks a lot Jagminder Chugh for sending the inspiring story that became the basis of this post.