In India, I learned that a lot of what I considered garbage was valued by others. If I discarded a bent paper clip, someone might use it to repair a shoe. A bottle cap could fill a hole in a wall. A tossed orange peel might be eaten by a cow roaming the city streets. Returning to the United States, it took a while for me to stop throwing my banana peels and apple cores on the street. As I made the transition between these two worlds, I realized that garbage, like everything else, is relative. It depends, just as beauty does, on the eye of the beholder. Breathing in pain and bringing everything to the path means there is no garbage, because everything is good for something. Whether we experience blue skies or storms, whether we are in the groove or in a ditch, whether we have difficulty or delight, all that we encounter can be fuel for awakening the heart of compassion.
— Aura Glaser, A Call to Compassion