Two excited kids begged their father for his permission to see a film. Having read some 1about the movie on the Internet, he firmly 2 their request with the reason that the movie presents immorality as being 3. “But dad, those scenes are only a few minutes of the 4film, in which good 5 evil eventually. In addition, there are other inspirational 6 like courage and determination making up for its 7!”
But the father didn't 8, and the two teenagers were discouraged. They had just thrown themselves down on the couch when they heard the sounds of their father preparing something in the9. One of the teenagers said, “Dad must be feeling 10, and now he's trying to 11 us with some tasty food.” Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm cakes and said, “Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much.”
The teenagers smiled and 12 with each other knowing 13. Dad was softening. Looking at the mouth-watering cake, the two boys were getting impatient about the father's long speech. “But I want to be 14 with you. I added one ingredient(配料) that is not 15 found in cakes.”
“To make it more delicious? Oh, come on, Dad! Please just tell us what it is.”
“OK, if you 16. That 17 ingredient is dog waste.”
Both teens 18 stopped chewing the cake, spit it out and dropped the 19 cake back on the plate.
“DAD! Why did you do that?”
“That is the same reason why I won't allow you to watch that movie. You won't 20 a little dog waste in your cake, so why should you put up with a little immorality in your movies?”
Lately I've been concerned about the environment. Last weekend I participated in the great Canadian shoreline 1. On that day, my mother and I arrived at 9:30 a.m. More than fifty people 2 and all the volunteers were divided into groups.
The shoreline has four sections with the last two being the most 3 terrain(地形)—steep hills, lots of trees and rocks. We chose section four and after a brief speech from the organizer, we set off. We saw a lot of waste along the way, like newspapers, ropes, bottles, caps, bricks and cigarette ends.
4, we filled almost 30 bags with 160.5 kilos of garbage, including 5 1,000—1,200 cigarette ends. It was amazing how much we were able to 6. I couldn't believe the 7 we made — the shoreline looked clean! 8, we had to leave the bricks as they would have broken our garbage and recycling bags! I did find one tire but it 9 so deep in the mud and dirt that I couldn't dig it out, 10 with the help of one of those metal rods.
11 the waste was easy; it was trying to keep a record of everything we found that was the 12 part. We had a sheet with many categories (种类) of items to 13. It's great to get all 14 but it wasn't much fun for the volunteer stuck 15 recording all the information. Our purpose was to make the shoreline 16, not to write lines and lines of what we have discovered.
We often hear some people 17 about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I'd like to say the only way to change things is by 18 rather than complaining. We need to teach by 19 . We can't blame others 20 we start with ourselves. I was very happy to make a small change by cleaning up a little bit of our shoreline.
When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000m race. My job was to 1 water to the runners. I remember being so 2 to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! So the next year I 3 up for the race.
That first 10,000m race was quite an 4. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. 5, I didn't know if I could finish. Then came a defining (决定性) 6.
At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me, very, very fast, and I felt 7 because I was 50 years younger than he but I couldn't even keep up with him. I felt 8 for a second.
But then I 9 something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had 10 abilities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my 11 was only to finish.
After a minute, it12 me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into 13.
I 14 that I would not give up on running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare 15 and one day I would be one of those 70-year-old persons who were still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my 16.
In life we all have those moments where we 17 ourselves to others. It's only 18. Don't allow those moments to 19 you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. With the proper preparation and training, you can improve your result to 20 anything you want in life.
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery(彩票)are1for about 3 weeks. And then they go back to their2state of being before they won the money. I3 that they would have been happy for a much longer time.
The reason for this is that4 we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves，like winning the lottery，or getting a new car or house，it never5.The resulting feelings of happiness are often fleeting(飞逝的).We cannot 6 them for very long. In some way，it may be a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is7 to us at any moment. True happiness has8 to do with what is happening outside，it is an inside job. Happiness is a9.
We can make the decision to be happy for one day，when we10in the morning，every morning. We can find something that brings us great11 ， like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and12 the birds sing，or watching the dog or cat play，and just13the moment. It is our14state and we need only allow it in. At any moment，we can15 ， take a deep breath，nd remember who we really are，and why we came here，and that truly is to16 joy and the aliveness of being.
“Happiness is like a butterfly which，when run after，is always17 our reach，but，if you will sit down18 , it may fall upon you，”said Nathaniel Hawthorne，an American novelist. So，today，no matter what is going on in your own19 ， stop and take a few moments to breathe deeply and just20 to be happy，whatever that means to you.
Once upon a time in a land far far away, there was a 1old man who loved everything. Animals, spiders, insects…
One day2 walking through the woods the nice old man found a cocoon(茧) of a butterfly. He 3 it home. A few days later, a small 4 appeared；he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours 5 it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to 6making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go 7farther.
Then the old man decided to help the 8, so he took a pair of scissors and9 the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then came out 10.
11 it had a swollen body and small, shriveled(皱缩的) wings. The old man 12 to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would 13 to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened ! 14 , the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(爬行) around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to 15.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting 16 and the struggle required for the butterfly to 17 the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid(液体) from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its 18 from the cocoon.
Sometimes 19 are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any challenges, it would weaken us. We would not be as 20 as what we could have been. And we could never fly.
Dear son,
The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.
If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I 1 teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I 2 the same things thousand and one times, do not 3 me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story 4 you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a 5, neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I 6, in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my 7little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking (嘲弄) smile. I taught you 8 to do so many things: to eat good, to dress well, to confront life.
When at some moment I lose the memory or the 9 of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you 10 to me.
If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well 11 I need to and when not. When my 12 legs do not allow me to walk, give me your 13, the same way I did when you gave your first 14. And when someday I say to you that I do not want to 15 any more—that I want to rest forever, do not get angry. Someday you will understand.
Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, 16 my mistakes, I always wanted the 17 thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, or angry for seeing me 18 you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you 19 living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and 20. I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.
I love you, son.
Your father
My parents ran a small restaurant in Seattle. It was open twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. And my first real job, when I was six years old, was 1 the diners' shoes. My father had done it when he was young, so he taught me 2 to do it well, telling me to 3 to shine the shoes again if the customer wasn't 4.
I was proud of working in the restaurant 5 I was also working for the good of the family. But my father 6 said that I had to meet certain standards to be part of the team. I 7 to be on time, hard-working, and polite to the 8. I was 9 paid for the work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of suggesting to Dad that he 10 give me $10 a week. He said, “OK. How about you paying me for three meals a day you have here? And for the times you bring in your friends 11 free soft drinks?” He 12 the amount of money I owed him, about $40 a week.
I remember returning to Seattle after being 13 in the US Army for about two years. I had just been promoted to Captain at that time. And full of pride, I walked into my parents' restaurant, but the 14 thing Dad said was, “How about your 15 up tonight?” I couldn't 16 my ears! I am an officer in the Army! But 17 didn't matter. As far as Dad was concerned, I was just 18 member of the team. I reached for the mop(拖把).Working for Dad has taught me that the devotion to a 19 is above all. It has nothing to do with 20 that team is for a family restaurant or the US Army.
Sleeping in Class
I can still remember it as if it happened yesterday. I was a college freshman and had1most of the night before laughing and talking with friends. Now just 2 my first class of the day my eyelids were feeling 3and my head was drifting down to my desk to make my textbook a 4. A few minutes’ nap time before class couldn’t5, I thought.
Boom! I lifted my head immediately and my eyes opened wider than saucers. I looked around with my heart 6 quickly trying to find the cause of the 7. My young professor was looking back at me with a 8, boyish smile on his face. He had 9 dropped the pile of textbooks he was carrying onto Ms desk. “Good morning!” he said, still smiling. “I’m glad to see everyone is 10. Now let's get started.”
For the next hour I wasn’t sleepy at all. It wasn’t from the shock of my professor's textbook11either. It was12from the attractive discussion he led. With knowledge and good humor, he made the material come alive. His insights were full of both wisdom and loving kindness. I13the classroom not only wide awake, but a little 14and a little better as well.
I learned something far more important than 15 in class that day, too. I learned that if you are going to do something in this life, do it well, do it 16, and make it an 17 of your love. What a glorious place this world would be if all of us did our work joyously and well. What a beautiful world we could 18 if every doctor, teacher, musician, cook, waitress, poet, miner, farmer, and laborer made their work an expression of their love. Don’t sleepwalk your way through life then. 19! Let your love fill your work and your soul. Life is 20short not to live it well.
I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. That day, I took a1to Grand Central Station. We were driving in the 2 lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right 3us. My taxi driver slammed (猛踩) on his brakes and almost4 the car's back end by just ten 5!
The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident,6his car and started yelling bad 7at us. The taxi driver just smiled and 8 at the guy. And I mean he was 9So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost 10 your car and sent us to 11!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the law of the garbage truck.”
Many people are like garbage trucks. They 12 around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of 13 and full of disappointment As their garbage 14 up, they need a place to dump it, and if you agree, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump their15 on you, don't take it 16 You just smile, wave, wish them well, and17 You'll be happy at what you do.
I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and 18it to other people? That day I said, “I'm not going to do that anymore.”
What about you? What will happen in your life if you let more garbage 19pass you by? Life's too short to wake up in the morning with 20
From the window of my room,I could see a tall cotton-rose hibiscus.In spring,when green leaves was half1by mist,the2looked very fascinating dotted with red blossom.This inspiring3of mine often set my mind working.I gradually regarded it as my best friend.4,when I opened the window one morning,to my amazement, the tree was almost5recognition as a result of the storm the night before.Struck by the sight,I was6with a sadness at the thought "all the blossom is condemned to fall".I could not help7with emotion: the course of life never runs smooth,for there are so many ups and downs,8 and turns. My life saw my beloved friends9one after another.Isn't it10to the tree shedding its flowers in the wind?
This event11as time went by. One day after I came home from the countryside, I found the room stuff(窒闷的) and12opened the window. Something outside caught my eye and13me.It was a plum tree all red with blossom set off14by the sunset.The surprise discovery overwhelmed me with pleasure.I wondered15I had no idea of some unbending life growing over the fallen petals（花瓣）when I was grieving for the hibiscus.
When the last withered(枯萎的) petal 16, all the joyful admiration for the hibiscus was 17as if nothing was left,until the landscape was again filled with the red plum blossom to remind people of life's alternation and continuance. Can't it be said that life is actually a symphony, a 18composition of loss and gain.
Standing by the window lost in thought for a long time,I realized that no19in the world remains unchanged. As long as you keep your heart bathed in the sun, every dawn will present a fine prospect for you to unfold and the world will always be about new20.
There is usually a turn at some point where we will need to look toward the future. But how do we make a 1 and set ourselves up for success?
I recently brought this 2to a friend of mine, David, who advises and invests in companies. I asked him how he had moved so 3 between opportunities and always seemed to find success with them. I was expecting some words of 4 that would make it all 5. What I wasn't expecting was a word from a movie.
He told me about The Gumball Rally, a movie about a group of 6who take part in a secret cross country race. In one particular7 an Italian participant 8a car and the first thing he9 is rip offthe rearview mirror（掰断后视镜）. The other man in the car asks, “Why did you do that?” And he 10 “What's behind me is not 11.”
And that was David's 12.
After further conversation I fully 13the thought behind Raul Julia in his role as the Italian racer. Raul was in the driver's seat. He was going to 14the race, against all difficulties, and the only way he was going to do it was by 15 ahead, not behind. Setting ourselves up for success, is to actually focus on the 16 at hand. What's behind us is not important; being 17 is.
So I challenge you to think about your last big win, or even big loss, and be 18 with yourself. Have you allowed yourself to fully seize your next opportunity, or are you still thinking of old memories, old 19? Or, are you focusing all your attention on the now and the 20? Because at some point or another, we all need to drive like the Italian.
One of the easiest things in the world is to become a fault-finder. However, life can be 1when you are not busy finding fault with it.
Several years ago I2a letter from seventeen-year-old Kerry, who described herself as a world-class fault-finder, almost always3by things. People were always doing things that annoyed her, and 4was ever good enough. She was highly self-critical and also found fault with her friends. She became a really 5person.
Unfortunately, it took a horrible accident to change her 6.Her best friend was seriously hurt in a car crash. What made it almost 7to deal with was that the day before the8, Kerry had visited her friend and had spent the whole time criticizing her9of boyfriends, the way she was living, the way she related to her mother, and various other things she felt she needed to 10It wasn't until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry became 11her habit of finding fault. Very quickly, she learned to appreciate life rather than to 12everything so harshly ( 刻薄) . She was able to transfer her new wisdom to other parts of her13as well.
Perhaps most of us aren't as extreme at fault-finding, 14when we're honest, we can be sharply 15of the world. I'm not suggesting you16problems, or that you pretend things are17than they are, but simply that you learn to allow things to be as they are—18most of the time, and especially when it's not a really big19.
Train yourself to "bite your tongue" , and with a little20 you'll get really good at letting things go. And when you do, you'll get back your enthusiasm and love for life.
Eleven years ago, it seemed as if the world came to an end. My husband of 19 years, the father of my two sons, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Over the 1 of seven months, Bill went from 2 easily at tennis to needing my help to go to the bathroom.
It was the best seven months of my life. Maybe I don't actually 3 that. But it was certainly the time when I felt most 4. During those seven months, I came to 5 that whatever else I did in my life, nothing would 6 more than taking care of my husband. I discovered that the minor complaint of an annoying coworker, or a flat tire pales in 7 with the beauty of sincere laughter, the 8 of a bakery. There were moments of 9 laughter, and tenderness in every day. I found I could train myself to see beauty 10 bother.
In the days after Bill's diagnosis and brain surgery, being his caregiver also meant being fully 11 as much as possible. During his last weekend, when we had dinner together a relative visited. I 12 that she'd changed her appearance, and not in a good way. It was the kind of 13 I'd usually keep to 14. Just then, Bill voiced 15 what I'd been thinking, in that truthful way he had, and I found myself 16 out loud. I thought I could live with this man forever, but he 17 in four days.
Eleven years later, I haven't made much achievements. 18 every day, I try to be the person I became during those seven months. I try to be a little less judgmental, a little more generous, a little more 19 for the small moments in life.
I am a better person for having been Bill's caregiver. It was his last, best 20 to me.
I believe we can create our own happiness. I believe the real magic in the world is done by humans.
I was sitting in my 1 at a stoplight listening to the radio, thinking how happy and warm I was in it. It was 2 outside, and I thought, "Life is good."
Now, this was a long line. As I 3 , I noticed two people huddled (挤在一起) together at the bus stop. The couple seemed to be doing their best to keep 4. To my eyes, they were unhappy and uncomfortable. They looked 5. Their coats looked like they came from a bargain store.
But then I saw their 6. Yes, they were huddling, but they were also laughing. They seemed to be sharing a good 7, and suddenly, instead of pitying them, I envied them. I thought, "Huh, what's so funny?" They didn't notice the wind. They weren't looking at my car thinking, "I 8 I had that."
You know 9 a single moment feels like an hour? Well, in that moment, I realized I had 10 things were all bad for them, but they weren't. And I understood we all have the 11to make moments of 12 happen.
Now, maybe that's easy for me to say. I feel lucky to have a house with a roof and a wife who 13 me. I felt this 14 even when I was working at Long John Silver's. In the beginning, it didn't seem like a promising job. But 15 I had a job. And frankly, it was 16. After two weeks, I knew all I needed to know, and it freed my mind. The job allowed me to 17 about what my life could become.
The first year I worked there, we got robbed. I thought I was going to die. But everything 18 out all right. A lot of people 19 life as a series of miserable tasks, but after that, I didn't.
I believe this is 20 all of us can do: Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of luck. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves.
We will meet many people in our life, and each person's 1 counts. When I was nine years old, one day while I was studying in class, a new student arrived. I thought it would just be a 2 student, but he was 3.
His name was Derek and he had autism (自闭症). He 4 had random outbursts (随意发作) during class and we would stand there, doing nothing 5 we didn't know why he was doing that. When he sat down at desk, we would try to get away from him. 6 class, we would play jokes on each other, imitating (模仿) Derek, and 7 at him.
Then one day, Derek's mom came to our 8 and talked with us. She told us that Derek wasn't just having random outbursts-he was trying to 9. Then she chose volunteer and filled that classmate's 10 with soft sweets. When we found the volunteer had great trouble in trying to speak, the mother explained that was what Derek was 11 every day. We all understood her meaning.
After this 12, no one tried to make fun of Derek or run away from him. We 13 his outbursts in class and he became one of our 14. Having a class with Derek has taught me to have a (n)15 mind to those who are different from us. My 16 in having an autistic classmate has 17 me with a good lesson.
Now 18 I meet a child who's 19 differently, I always remember what I have learned in my third grade and head for him or her 20.
When I was younger, I was very sporty. My dad is a runner who has greatly1 me. My great hobby between the ages 11 and 14 was cross-country 2. However, when my family 3, my new school didn't pay attention to4, and had no after-school activities like football or running.
Over the next few years, I 5 exercising except during P.E. lessons at school. I was 6 that I could eat what I wanted and didn't put on any weight. It looked like I was healthy, but in reality I was very7.
When I started university, I decided that I would try and get fit, but by then I was worried about 8 in front of other people. 9 , this year, one of my New Year's promises has been to try and get in shape(健身). This 10 came after I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and was very out of 11 in less than one minute! I considered 12 running again, yet my housemate tried to practice yoga, so my New Years13 was delayed.
Finally, one of my friends14 a swimming pool close to my house that she had gone to a few times. Now, I love 15, and I find doing laps in the pool very relaxing. Experts say everyone should do 30 minutes of proper 16 every day, so I'm starting with an hour three times a 17 and building up every day. I hope that I will soon start to feel the18 of regular exercise, and will become fitter and 19 . In the long term, I know it will be very good for me, and 20 many health problems that often occur in later life.
Mother's action sometimes really touched me. Many years ago I joined her in 1 some money to build small houses for six poor families. After their houses were completed, with 2in their hearts, we were invited for their house-warming ceremonies. We felt satisfied after seeing them with 3 over their heads. This was the time when I was still 4.
Several years later, my parents passed away and I also left my work because of age. In order to 5 the change of my life, I took a meditation(冥想) trip to Thailand. Every year plenty of 6 meditators go to the meditation centres there and are given separate living areas, where two people 7 a single room with a bath and toilet, 8 the local meditators stay together in a large hall.
That year, the meditation centre was completely full. 9, many meditators had to share the cottages nearby. But, to my surprise, I was allowed to have a cottage only for myself. How 10!
In the night when I was in bed, I began to think about why I had been treated 11. In a flash, I remembered the happy faces of the people to whom my mother and I had gifted homes, which included 12 six pieces of my mother's land from her parents. To me this was a tiny village.
That 13 struck me so much that I realised the effects of kind acts ripen in this life itself. I am grateful to my mother and her ancestors and theirs, etc. for their life style. I am sure it will 14 from our generation.
When you give, give with a pure heart—don't expect anything in return 15 the possibility that someone may repay your kindness one day.
Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have got something about the 1 to two of her country's problems: garbage and poverty. It is called the Chip （薯片）Bag Project. The 26—year—old student and environmentalist is asking a 2 of local snack lovers: Rather than throw empty chip bags into garbage cans, 3 them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the 4.
Chip eaters 5 their empty bags at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where
Oleita and her volunteer helpers 6 them. After they disinfect （消毒）the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, 7 them flat, and iron them together. Then they use cotton and liners （衬层）from old coats to line the insides. It takes about four hours to 8 a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, 9 on whether they're single—serve or family size. Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has 10 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be 11 to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. However, that's only half the 12 for Oleita. "We aim to make a（an）13 not only socially, but environmentally," said Oleita. "It is worth 14 chip bags and using them to help the homeless. 15, they would land in the garbage.
As a descendant（后裔）of an immigrant family from Barbados, my childhood was different from that of my peers. My mom had rules for the home that seemed extremely 1. I must be home before nine. I was only 2 to watch television two hours a week. In the summers, I had to write book reports besides participating in a leadership camp.
In addition to these, what I felt unreasonable was that my mother 3 me to have role models. She'd always say, "You're allowed to respect certain 4 of a person, but you can never place that person on a pedestal（崇高地位）." Mom would then 5 that when you idolize people, their greatest accomplishments can unintentionally become the ceiling of your dreams. So while as a 1980s 6 I loved Oprah Winfrey, a famous talk show host, Mom 7 to have me strive to be like Oprah. She always said, "There is only one Oprah and only one Dana. Imagine your own success, Dana."
But in my late twenties, I lost touch with mom's 8. I wanted to be the best, and I 9 myself trying to make real the visions others had for me. Many times, I was 10 for meeting some established standard of success. That led to bonuses and promotions, which made me feel accomplished. But gradually, my sense of 11 disappeared. I came back to my secret reality of feeling 12, and a bit bitter at myself.
Then in my mid-thirties, I began to stop 13 other people's intentions. I 14 understand that Mom didn't want any person — no matter how 15 — to have control over my thoughts, dreams and ambitions. As my mom said, "All the tools you need to live your calling are already within you, Dana. No one else can live your life's purpose better than you."
