“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 you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.”

That’s the central idea in David Pollay’s classic, The Law of the Garbage Truck.

The next time you find yourself at the end of a demoralizing, exhausting day, think back over why it was that way.

Some days, it’s obvious. We got hit with one of life’s big ones – the death of a loved one, end of a relationship, loss of a job, betrayal by a friend, etc. Things like that will knock anybody down.

Some days, it’s not obvious. We didn’t get hit with one of the big ones. So why do you and I still feel like we got knocked down?

Because we got dumped on.

And it doesn’t take long for that garbage to pile up. For it to become overwhelming.

If you’re seeing a lot of garbage in your life, consider what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel.

“The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more given to you.”

Jesus is pointing out one of the fundamental principles of life. What we give is what we’re going to get. And we’re going to get back even more than we give.

If we’re seeing a lot of garbage in our lives, you and I have to be honest with ourselves.

Is it really just everyone else dumping on us? Or are we doing the dumping, and just getting back even more than we’re giving?

If you and I are tired of seeing a lot of garbage in our lives – before worrying about anyone else’s dumping – you and I need to stop our dumping first.

This is the higher standard that Jesus is calling each of us to.

If we have any hope of living the positive version of what Jesus is saying. If we’re going to be His. Then we’ve got to stop living like garbage trucks.

There’s nothing wrong with avoiding other people’s garbage.

But if we’re serious about doing it, then stopping our own dumping is the first step.

If you want corn, you know what to plant. If you want apples, you know what to plant. It’s how things work.

The thing is, it’s not just plants that work that way.

Maybe you call it karma. My grandfather liked to say that “it all comes back by return mail.” St. Paul said “as ye sow, so shall ye also reap.”

Whatever you call it, it’s how life works.

And it’s why St. Paul tells us that our duty as Christians is to “encourage one another and build each other up.”

When you really put the effort in to do something well. Or to make something to the best of your ability.

You know how great it feels when someone tells you how impressed they are with it. It only took them a moment. But you feel 10 feet tall.

When you get hit with bad news. Or something goes horribly wrong. Or maybe you’re just having a having a bad day.

You know what a blessing it is for someone to have a kind word for you. It may seem like the smallest thing to them. But to you it means the world.

If you and I want to live where that happens. Where encouragement is the norm. Where support comes when needed. Then we need to be the ones who start it.

So how do you start it? By grounding yourself in gratitude, gratitude to God for all that God has done for you.

Do it by thanking God for each thing that God has given to you. List out each thing. Start small, and thank God for each one. You won’t be able to do it for more than a minute or two before God will change your whole perspective.

If you keep it up, you will find that – even in the middle of life’s hardest things, death, illness, divorce, job loss – God will ground you in this quiet joy. A joy that overflows. A joy you cannot contain.

That is what you start with. That is where the support and encouragement that you can give will come from, the joy that comes from grounding yourself in gratitude for all that God has done for you.

That is what you plant. And it will change the world.

Dumped on

Plant