A few years ago, my neighbors left their teenage daughter home alone on a Friday night…so of course she had a party. It wasn’t the kind of epic party you see in the movies, but it was fairly loud around their pool that night. I wasn’t surprised by any of that, but the surprise for me was the empty beer cans, cups, and cigarette packages I found in my yard the next morning.
Does Trash Simply Disappear?
If you’re at a party and simply throw your trash over the fence, do you think that it somehow simply disappears? What did they think would happen to the beer cans, cups, and cigarette packages? Would they evaporate? Would the grass hide them? Would I not have to pick up their garbage the next morning?
We may not like something, and we may try to wish it away, but that does not make it disappear.
Do Mistakes Come Back to You?
I suppose they did not think I would do or say anything and that the secret party would remain a secret. Well, I had no intention of saying anything—I didn’t care that they had a party. What I did care about was the trash in my yard. So, that morning, while my coffee was brewing, I collected all of their detritus and neatly dropped it into a new pile back on their side of the fence. Likewise, I didn’t care if she came out to collect the mess before her parents returned home or not—but her mess remained her problem.
We cannot hide from our mistakes—they exist, whether we like it or not.