It was a dark and stormy morning.

Wait. That’s a lie. I just wanted it to sound dramatic. Let’s start over.

It was a dewy and moderate morning, and I was rooting through the recycling in the backyard.

Maybe I should back up.

We took a vacation and had house sitters in while we were away.

After we returned, I was getting ready for work the next day by preparing my lunch ahead of time. Something crucial was missing. I have this little bottle that originally housed a sample of oil or vinegar from one of those oil and vinegar stores. It’s my favourite little container for taking homemade salad dressings to work. It’s the perfect size for 2 servings of dressing. It’s dark glass so the light won’t damage the precious oils. Lastly, the lid fits perfectly and it’s never leaked on me in the 4 years I’ve been using it for this purpose.

But it was gone. All the drawers, all the rummaging. Alas. It was nowhere to be found.

I asked the husband if he knew. He had a good thought to check the glass recycling box. There it was, mingling amongst its glass brothers and sisters, probably wondering what it did to deserve being tossed in this graveyard.

Finding the bottle was a positive step but sadly it wasn’t with its lid. And it’s useless without the lid.

I text the house sitters. Hmm... not sure!

It was a dewy and moderate morning, and I was rooting through the recycling in the backyard. I was throwing old salad containers, jar lids, and empty coconut milk cans on to the gravel and grass. Finally, there, at the bottom of the icky, sticky, blue bin was my bottle’s little black top hat.

You’ve heard the adage, “One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” This was literally true in this case. That bottle means a lot to me.

It means self-nourishment, and nutrition.

To them it was just garbage.

To me it’s about creativity, trying new dressings, and flavours.

But to them, nothing more than counter-top clutter that needed to be discarded.

I’m about to make the leap to the “lesson” of this article. Ready? Here it comes.

What means something to you might, might have absolutely no value for others.

What works for you might be the hardest thing for different people.

What makes sense to you might be impossible for others to comprehend.

What lights you up, might frustrate those you care about.

And of course, vice versa to all of the above.

This is reality.

The world is made up of different people who hold different value systems and views.

It’s really stressful (on both people) to want someone to be different from who they are.

Stress causes disease. I have articles on that here, here and here.

Since I’m on a mission to help as many people as possible be healthy, happy and doing what they love, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make this connection for you.

You can reduce stress in your life by sticking to your side of the street, and not worrying about what the folks around you are doing, thinking, how they are spending their time or who they are loving. Let them rummage through the recycling if they want. Let them pursue what makes them happy, even if it doesn’t include you or you don’t understand it.

You can reduce stress by reducing the number of people, situations, and things that you judge for not matching your own values.

Think of all the energy and anxiety that you’re spending on wishing the things in your environment were different than they are. Imagine what energy you’ll gain when you let that all go.

Even if you think it's really stupid.

I figure, as long they're not deliberately hurting anyone (including themselves) just let them be.

How to let things go:

Humans are meaning-making machines. We take it all personally, when most things have nothing to do with us.

1. If you’re not feeling good about something another person “did” then take a step back. You’re not feeling good because you’re putting meaning on what happened.

2. Challenge yourself to come up with SEVEN POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS of the situation. That’s right. SEVEN. I bet by the time you come up with 7 you’ve forgotten why you were mad or triggered, and very likely have found compassion for the person who “did you wrong.”

Your treasure might be someone’s trash, and that’s okay.

Your trash might be someone’s treasure. And that’s okay too. Make the choice to let it all be okay.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear from you. Do you have something in your life that no one else understands, or judges you for? Where do you see yourself doing that to other people? Have you tried the seven interpretations technique? What happened when you did? How did you feel? Let me know in the comments below.

If you liked this then please send it along to a friend who might need its message.

To your healthy, thriving, delightful life,