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

 

16年前我学到了人生中重要一课，那是在纽约市的出租车后座上。

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

我钻进了一辆出租车，出发去中央火车站。我们开在右侧道上，突然间，一辆黑车突然从我们前边的空车位闯过来。

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by mere inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped 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!

我这辆车的司机猛踩刹车，车子打滑，和那一辆车擦肩而过，只差几英寸！那辆车的司机，就是那个差点引起车祸的家伙，掉过头来对着我们破口大骂。我的司机只是微笑着，冲他挥挥手。我只想说，他那表现相当的友好！

 

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

 

所以，我问他，“你干嘛那样？那家伙差点撞毁你的车，还差点让我们都进医院！”然后这个司机给我讲了我现在称之为“垃圾车法则”的道理。

"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 need a place to dump it, and if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. Instead, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happier because you did."

“许多人想垃圾车。他们满载着垃圾四处转悠，满载着挫败、愤怒和失望。他们的垃圾堆得像小山那么高，他们得找个地方倾倒，所以如果你由着他们，他们就把垃圾倒在你身上。当有人想往你身上倒垃圾的时候，你别往心里去。相反，就冲他们笑笑并挥挥手好了，祝愿他们好运，然后继续走你的路。你如果这么做了，会比较开心。”

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

哇啊，这还真的让我思索起来，有多少次我由得垃圾车向我驶来

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, "I'm not going to do it anymore."

而且，有多少次我忍受了他们的垃圾，并且再到给别的人：同事，家人，路人。就是在那天我下定了决心，“我再也不这样做了。”

Since then, I have started to see Garbage Trucks everywhere. Just as the kid in the Sixth Sense movie said, "I see dead people," I can now say, "I see Garbage Trucks." :)

从那时起，我到处都看得见垃圾车。就好像电影《第六感》中的孩子说：“我看见死人”那样，如今我说：“我看见垃圾车。”

I see the load they're carrying ... I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

我看见他们满载着那些东西……我看见他们打算卸下来。正像我的出租车司机那样，我不往心里去，我只是微笑，挥手，祝他们好运，然后我该干嘛还干嘛。