【推荐1】One day, when I was working as a psychologist(心理学家) in England，a boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me. “This boy has lost his family,” he wrote. “He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm

very worried about him. Can you help?”

I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn’t have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically.

The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon -- in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.

Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?

"Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with," I thought. "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.” Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.

"It’s your turn," he said.

After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.

Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one -- without any words -- can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.Ziyuanku.com

【推荐2】Jim Denevan is an amazing artist whose work is admired by all, but owned by none — that’s because all of Jim’s art is created on an unusual canvas (画布) — the soft sand. He sometimes spends days working on a piece, only to see it washed away by the sea or a storm and that is just the way he likes it.

Denevan discovered his artistic talents about ten years ago, when he was wandering aimlessly on the beach with a stick. He ended up drawing a 12-foot-long fish. Since then, Jim has traveled over 1,800 miles while creating over 600 pieces of sand art.

Over the years, his drawings have become bigger, but the tools he uses haven’t changed — All he needs is a stick, a garden rake (耙) and most importantly, his lively imagination!

Just like any good artist, Jim is quite particular about the “quality” of his canvas, sometimes walking for miles, in search of perfect sand. His latest piece of work, which is also the world’s largest freelance (自由职业的) drawing, was created in the desert sands of Nevada. It took Jim three trips, eight days and over 100 miles of walking to create this 3-mile work of art. It took the storm just one night to destroy it! However, Jim says he actually enjoys watching the waves or rain wash his paintings away.

Jim’s art has become very popular over the years and was even the topic of a documentary named “Sandman” in 2005. Jim Denevan is not just about art in the sand — he is also an excellent cook and founder of an organization called “Outstanding in the Field”, whose motto (座右铭) is to celebrate food at its source. Accordingly, group dining events are held outdoors on farms, with the diners being treated to a delicious meal. The events, which are held in different farms throughout America, are always sold out the minute the schedule is announced.

【推荐3】Not long ago, a good friend of mine asked me to help him in a halfway house in Nashville. I agreed and made my way there one evening.

When I got there, I sat with my friend and talked about how he ended up there. As we talked, another man came up, lighting up his cigarette as he sat down. He had dark, leather skin, and looked like he had endured the sun, the rain, and the wind for long, long time. I couldn’t tell how old he was, but I was sure that he was younger than he looked.

Through a bit of conversation, I found out that he had been on the streets for many, many years.

Without my asking, he started describing life as a homeless man. How he got food; how he stayed warm; how he got money. And he told me something that caught my attention.

He said, “You want to know how I keep my stuff safe at night?”

“Sure, “ I replied.

“I put it up in the trees.”

“Why is it safe in the trees?” I asked.

“The homeless are always looking for treasure on the ground--- coins, something someone’s dropped, half-smoked cigarettes. I know if I put my stuff in the trees, they’ll never find it because they never look up. Never. “

Profound words from an unexpected place. And his message is for all of us.

We all have our particular search. We’re looking for treasure on this earth. But what we are REALLY looking for is right there above us. There’s really nothing we need on the ground.

In fact, it’s surrounding us.

【推荐1】Having a healthy family life can lower risk of heart attack and boost your chance of living longer.     1    .

Caring for an elderly loved one is a wonderful way to show compassion and service, and it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice everything.     2    . Kids and marriages can be powerfully impacted by how these decisions are handled，both negatively and positively. They thoroughly think through the potential impact of moving an aging parent into the home or providing extended care. A good boundary with an aging parent is to do occasional outgoings.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude

Healthy families set a culture of being grateful for the things you appreciate in life, big and small. Set up a respectful space where at the end of each day, each family member share what they are grateful for.     3    .

Keep treats out of sight(and out of mind)

What you see is what you want to eat.     4    . Put the sugary treats out of sight and leave colorful fruits and vegetables out on the counter or on the most visible shelves in the fridge so that you're more likely to reach for a nutritious snack.

    5    .

Healthy families will create a safe environment for healthy communication, where each individual feels like their feelings are acknowledged. When conflict arises, they don't have to agree with each other but they still need to acknowledge each other's feelings. They still feel their opinions are valued. They also learn tools for how conflicts can be resolved. No one shuts down, or runs away when there is disagreement. They work it out.

【推荐2】Thousands of people impact all aspects of our lives, be it the weatherman at the TV studio in a neighbouring city, or the technician at a phone company across the continent, or the woman in Tobago who picks the mangoes for your fruit Salad. Every day, intentionally or unintentionally, we make a large number of connections with people around the world.

Our personal growth and evolution (and the evolution of societies) come about as a result of connecting with our fellow humans, whether as a band of young warriors setting out on a hunt or as a group of co-workers heading out to the local bakery after work on Friday. As a species (物种), we are instinctively (本能地) driven to come together and form groups of friends, associations and communities. Without them, we cannot exist.

Making connections is what our gray matter does best. It receives information from our sense and processes it by making associations. It grows quickly when it’s making connections.

People do the same thing. It’s a scientific fact that people who stay socially and physically active live a longer life. This doesn’t mean staying with the same old crowd and going around on an exercise bike. It means getting out and making new friends.

When you make new connections in the outside world you make new connections in the inside world—in your brain. This keeps you young and alert (机警的)—Edward M. Hallowell, in his book Connect, cites the 1979 Alameda County Study by Dr. Lisa Berkman of the Harvard School of Health Sciences. Dr. Berkman and her team carefully looked at 7,000 people—aged 35 to 65, over a period of nine years. Their study concludes that people who lack social and community connections are almost three times more likely to die of medical illness than those who have more contacts. And all this is independent of socioeconomic status and health practices such as smoking, alcoholic beverage consumption or physical activity!

Other people can also help you take care of your needs and desires, whatever it is you’d like in this life—romance, a dream job, ticket to the Rose Bowl—the chances are pretty high that you’ll   need someone’s help to get it. If people like you, they will be willing to give you their time and their efforts. And the better the quality of harmonious relationship you have with them, the higher the level of their cooperation.