Junk In the Trunk, Anyone?

This post, “Junk In the Trunk”, is a blog post similar to an article of mine printed in anewscafe.com, a wonderful local online news magazine. I’m reposting it here for your interest and enjoyment!

We hear that it’s important to let go of old irritation, anger or grudges. Why? Because if we tote around this so-called “junk in the trunk”, it has a negative effect on our own health and happiness.

And it tickles me how often this kind of ‘life lesson’ smacks me in the face.

Here’s the story of my ‘life lesson’:
My son and his children were visiting me, and we all went over to visit a friend. As life happens (and every parent knows), it suddenly became time for the little one to fill his diaper. This gift was especially ‘ripe’. Because this was such a stinky event, my son asked for a trash bag, and we put the soiled diaper in the trunk of my car to dispose of when we got back to my house.
But when we got back to my house, we totally forgot about that diaper! And that evening, when I made a quick run to the grocery store, yikes! did my car smell. I took some wipes and wiped down the little one’s car seat, thinking that was the problem, and opened the car windows. No luck.

Happily, about three hours later, it finally registered what that horrible smell was – that stinky diaper in my trunk! The smell was so strong that the whole car was now stinky. I had to laugh. That “junk in the trunk” was my problem. Dump the junk and life would be good.

Suddenly, I realized that diaper is just like our lives. If we carry around stinky junk – old grudges, irritation, anger – from past events, it’s like we are toting around that smelly diaper in our trunk. And as that stinky diaper was kind enough to demonstrate, that ‘junk in the trunk’ will spread its odor throughout our whole car – or our whole life – until we take it out of the trunk and put it firmly in the trash.

Now that I’ve tossed out that particular junk in my trunk, the smell is gone and my car smells good again. And as I start examining my personal ‘trunk’, tossing out old anger, etc., my life will be much more pleasant, and smell better, too. Time to toss the junk in the trunk!