Four beggars usually met at an old house at the end of the day. One day, they were very angry because none of them had got much in their begging bowls.

“I only got this piece of meat today,” the first said. “I hardly got anything,” the second said. “I just picked up these few vegetables outside the fruit and vegetable store.” The third complained that all he had been given was a handful of herbs(香草) that he couldn’t eat on his own. The fourth beggar had not done much better. “I only got the handful of old, dried beans, but they aren’t very nice!”

As they sat around the fire, one of them had a great idea. “Let’s put all that we had together and boil them. In this way, we can make a tasty dish and share it.” They all agreed.

However, the first beggar thought, “I don’t want to share. I’ll just pretend (假装) to throw my meat into the pot. They’ll never know and I’ll eat my meat later.” So he pretended to put the meat into the pot. Now the same idea had also hit the other beggars and the house was so dark that no one could see what the others were doing.

Finally, one of them suggested that the dish should now be ready and, in turn, each of them helped himself to a bowl. They drank the hot water in absolute(绝对) silence, learning that selfishness doesn’t taste all that good.

Sixteen years ago, I was in a taxi. 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. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes(刹车) and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident started yelling (喊叫) bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved (挥手) at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined (损坏) your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “ The Law of the Garbage(垃圾) Truck”.

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage becomes more and more, they need a place to dump (倾倒) it. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy with what you did.

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do anymore.”

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t.

One day, many years ago, when I was working as a doctor in England, a teacher brought David into my office. He looked sad and he looked at his own feet. Then I heard his sad experiences from the teacher.

David lost his father when he was two years old and then lived with his mother and grandfather. When he was at the age of 13, his grandfather died and his mother was killed in a car accident. He refused to talk to others from then on. How could I help him?

David didn’t say a word. As he was leaving, I said, “Come back next week if you like.” To my surprise, he came again. I asked him to play chess with me. He agreed. After that we played chess every Friday afternoon in complete silence. Usually, he arrived earlier than the time we agreed. It seemed as if he liked to be with me. But why didn’t he ever look at me?

Months later, when I looked at his head, he suddenly looked up at me. “It’s your turn,” he said. After that day, David started talking. He finally got friends at school and he even joined a Chinese club. He wrote to me a few times. Now he is living a new different life.

Maybe I gave David something. But I learned a lot from him. All we need is a friendly touch and an ear that is used to listen.