Once upon a time there was a rubbish bin called RB. RB was in a busy park in the middle of a very busy city. Many people used him. Every day men would have to come and empty him and everyday people would fill him up again. Some days RB got so full that the rubbish overfowed and he was surrounded by rubbish.

Overtime RB got very dirty and smelly. Because he didn't feel very good about what he did "I'm worthless after all" he stopped bothering about being cleaned. Why bother if he was going to get dirty anyway?

Interestingly the more RB became depressed about his life the more frequently the men forgot to empty him, and the more frequently people just dropped litter as his feet. It was a viscous circle – the more rubbish and less clean he became the more worthless he felt and tired with life. "Why Bother" it wasn't as if others noticed and what service was he really being?

One night RB has a strange dream. He was in park with other bins and these bins gleamed and sparkled and radiated with enthusiasm, joy and, this is what surprised him the most, LOVE!!

The next day he refected on the meaning of the dream. This of course had him thinking about the work he did. He realised that providing somewhere to place rubbish was useful. He realised that as people did this perhaps he could be of even more service:

What about encouraging people to have less rubbish.
"Take the paper home to recycle"
"The can, the bottle, the paper, the packet can be recycled"
"Use tap water why buy water from the other side of the world"

Then he realised he could offer help in other ways
"Why not eat fruit instead of those sweets you've just eaten without thinking about it"
"Send the letter you've just written don't throw it away"
"Don't give up on your studies – take the book back and try again – you can do it"

Of course the more advice RB gave the more people came to him. In fact he was so popular that the men even gave him some friends from another part of the park. Once his friends arrived he shared with them what he knew. They supported each other, gave ideas to each other: composting, recycling, alternatives, keeping going, mending, repairing.

RB, the very Resourceful Bin, never knew the full extent of the ripple effect his actions had. He certainly felt better and enjoyed each new day. The other bins also said they felt the same. They could see that the park looked more beautiful and that more people visited to share in that beauty. They would never know of the other bins whose lives were changed when they heard the stories. They would never know of the peoples lives they'd changed by the advice they gave and the way in which it was given. They just gave themselves in service and trusted that that was enough.