Sep 27 2006
Trash Talking
I was out one night with a group of guys. One guy says to the other, “Hey, you gotta meet this gal - she’s a horse enthusiast like you. She has a couple of ‘em.”
The other guy responds, “Yeah? What kinda horses she has?”
The first guy says, “Quarter horses I think she said.”
Horse Guy snorts, says, “Quarter horses? She’s no enthusiast.”
The first guy, who just wanted to introduce two people who he thought has similar interests says, “What do you mean?”
Horse Guy leans forward, both forearms planted firmly on the table, his head slightly cocked ’cause he’s gonna impart some wisdom our way.
“Quarter horses! Those are trash horses.”
The first guy looks puzzled.
Horse Guys says, “Saying she’s an enthusiast is like saying a guy who drives a Ford Taurus is a car enthusiast!”
And with that, he crosses his arms and leans back.
Wow. Horse Guy uttered 2 dis(missals) in one sentence.
I thought, jeez, I wanna draw and quarter(horse) this guy, he’s so judgmental.
Don’t think I didn’t immediately get the irony.
I have been trying to get rid of my need to judge others, define others, label others.
It’s awful and it takes up way too much processing in my head.
Hearing Horse Guy reminded me of when I was with my father. I was looking out a window at this line of silvery grey eucalyptus, the kind with the scimitar-shaped leaves, the kind that look like loosely twisted lengths of silk from a distance. He was angry with me. He’s usually angry. In an attempt to find a neutral subject, I remarked on the beauty of the trees.
His response? “Eucalyptus! Those are trash trees!”
The lessons I’ve learned.
What is trash? It’s “something worth little or nothing.”
Who am I to call anything trash? Who am I to judge? I’m constantly comparing myself to others, comparing everyone to everyone else.
Trash trees. Essentially, giant weeds. Weed: a plant that is not valued where it is growing.
A weed is merely a point of view. Or as Ella Wheeler Wilcox said, “A weed is but an unloved flower.”
I cringe at how judgmental I am. I really want to let it go, to accept people as they are. I’m working on myself and I know that the effort is worth it.
Someday I hope to see fields of flowers wherever I go.