Life Through Polarized Lenses

Whoever coined the phrase "looking at life through rose colored glasses", must not have ever been outdoors with polarized sunglasses. I don't understand the science behind "polarized", I just know that they make colors more vibrant and everything looks better. I spent this morning riding my bike up the right and left forks of Hobble Creek Canyon. The leaves have turned and the colors were amazing. The polarized lenses made it all more intense. A few times I was so mesmerized by the sights that I lost track of what was going on around me. As I rode I thought about the lenses and the way they filter and make things look better than they are. I wished for a lens like that to filter everything else in life. It took a minute for it to hit me that my attitude can serve as the "polarized lens". It may sound a little pollyannish, but I liked the realization that I can choose to see people and situations as better than they really are. The convo in my head reminded me of the "Parable of the Garbage Truck" that my brother in law sent me. Whoever wrote this must have been wearing polarized glasses at the time:

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. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that 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 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.The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks takeover their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so... Love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! Have a garbage-free day!