【推荐2】Like everybody else, I was addicted to my devices. When realizing its harm, I decided to make a change.

“I’m doing Tech-Free Sundays now!” I told my mother, on the Saturday night before my no-tech journey started. “Oh,” she said. “So are you giving up, like, the wheel?” I defined my terms. No: computer, phone, iPad. No: email, Twitter, Instagram. Yes: wheels, modern medicine.

But when I woke up in the morning, I failed. The problem was my work: I needed to meet a deadline. I thought I could just use the computer for work, and wouldn’t check Twitter. And I didn’t, for many hours. And then I did. It was right there! And though I checked it very briefly, just in case anyone was mad at me, the spell (咒语) was broken.

But the beautiful thing about Sundays is that there is always another one. The next week, I changed my approach: no tech, at all. This time, I was prepared. On Saturday, I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish over the weekend, and then worked my way through all the parts that require technology. And then I put my phone down, and when I woke up on Tech-Free Sunday, I did not pick it up again.

Instead, I finish a book—one with paper! Do you know how pleasurable it is to read a book by touching it? It is a delight, like petting a very literary cat. However, the trouble came when I went to meet a friend. I was running late, but had no way to tell her because my phone was at home.

Was I relaxed on such a Sunday? It was an unfamiliar feeling, but I was. I felt a sense of control over my life. But because life is nothing if not a learning process, the next weekend, I told everyone who might need to get in touch with me that I would not be reachable on Sunday.

【推荐1】Travelling seemed like falsehood to me. I grew tired of backpackers expressing too much praise about how petting a baby elephant in Thailand “transformed” them. Globe-traveling to me held no more promise than finding a few bills in the pocket of an old coat. I needed something deeper than an Eat, Play, Love moment.

One day, Vasilis, my Greek best friend, reminded me of our decade-old promise: after our final exams, I would visit his hometown in Athens. Maybe, it was time to make good on that promise.

I finally boarded the plane. Vasilis picked me up at the airport. I smiled, thinking how improbable this moment seemed all those years ago.

The decade-long wait proved to be well worth it. Every step through the ancient streets revealed new wonders. However, none of them truly mattered. What would forever alter my perception of travel was a chance encounter with a local.

Vasilis and I were wandering Athens when a special sound caught our attention — a rhythmic clinking disturbing the quietness of the residential street. Curiously, we followed the sound to a humble workshop. Inside, a welder (焊工) gave no mind to our presence behind him. He wore no flashy protective suit — this was just another day for him, another dance with fire and metal that had become second nature. Under the sunshade, his orange cat rested in the comforting warmth...

As the man continued welding, I felt a bit of envy. I envied his peace and contentment. I admired the simplicity he embodied. I imagined the welder happy, finding fulfillment in his craft (手艺) and returning to his loving family...The moment moved me to tears. Leaving the workshop, rain blending with tears, I realized how easily life’s poetry could pass unnoticed.

Home again in Montreal, I stop simply pursuing better things, better experiences and better people that are never grasped. I realize the real journey is inward — to appreciate life’s ordinary magic. That sure beats petting any baby elephant. I may not have returned home “transformed,” but I’ll always think of the welder and his cat.

【推荐2】In May 2019, a friend who had previously been involved in the Restless Development Sierra Leone Business Brains project encouraged me to apply for the “Saving Lives II” project. Seeing this as an opportunity to move closer to my ambition of working in the medical field in the near future, I eagerly seized the chance. Fortunately, my performance during the interview led to me being awarded the role.

Following the basic training, I was sent to volunteer in Kurubonla, a remote community located in the northern region of Sierra Leone. This assignment presented challenges such as limited road access and communication networks. At first, I felt concerned about being sent there, but with a determined mindset, I set out on the journey, driven by a passion to contribute to my country’s development and to push my personal boundaries.

As I got to know the community, I quickly realized that the challenges extended beyond language barriers and cultural differences; there was also a sense of isolation from my peers. However, I refused to allow these challenges to stop me. I threw myself in my duties, working together with local leaders and community members to identify the most pressing needs. Together, we carried out the projects aimed at improving healthcare, education, and infrastructure (基础设施). Additionally, I organized workshops and training courses to share my knowledge and skills with the locals.

Over time, I witnessed the positive impact of our collective efforts. Healthcare facilities improved, the number of students in schools increased, and the overall quality of life in the community showed signs of improvement. These achievements were not solely mine; they were a testament to the cooperative spirit and commitment of the entire community.

【推荐3】When I first set foot in Western Australia’s Pilbara, a landscape holding 3.5-billion-year-old clues to the beginning of life, I was very disappointed. The year was 1994. I drove excitedly out of the west coast town of Port Hedland, but all I saw for the first 150 kilometers were a few dead trees and smoky dust across the burnt, flat plain. And the heat!! I’d never experienced anything this terrible before. Or breathed air so thick with biting flies.

But as we continued to head south on the highway to. Marble Bar—the hottest town in Australia—some low, broad hills started to rise from the horizon. As we continued down a dirt track into the hills, the burnt plains gave way to grass-covered hills. This grass is called spinifex, an amazing but cruel creation. It grows as bushes up to one meter in diameter (直径), with round, fine leaves with needle-sharp tips. The tips will go through just about any piece of cloth. My guide wore thick gaiters (护腿) to protect his legs. But he had failed to inform me of the risk. Without any gaiters, my skin was covered with needle tips that remained in my legs for months.

The land, ultimately, proved worth the discomfort. Here I was walking over some of Earth’s oldest, best-preserved rocks that contain evidence of life from almost the very beginnings of time on our planet.

This area had changed much from when it was first formed 3.5 billion years ago. Back then it would have been a black volcanic land, with no color from vegetation. Over the hills I might have seen a green, iron-rich sea under an orange sky heavy with carbon dioxide and without oxygen. Several billion years after that, the world would turn cold and become covered in a global ice sheet, destroying almost every living thing. When it melted away, oxygen levels rose again. Life really got going. Animals slowly occupied the land, so did new types of plants. The greening of our planet began, and a wide variety of organisms (有机体) appeared including. unfortunately for me, spinifex.

【推荐1】“I wish I grew up back in your childhood,” my 14-year-old son said to me. He has an iPhone that is newer than mine. He has many kind friends. There are many forms of entertainment today and he can find nearly all of human knowledge through the Internet. However, he wishes he grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. “Why?” I asked. My son’s answer involves freedom, risk and over-involvement of adults in kids’ lives.

My son has heard his dad tell stories of summer days at the river with his friends. They would jump off the wooden bridge into the water below. My son lives just a few blocks from the same river and the same bridge. The town hasn’t changed, but times have changed. My son knows that if he and his friends try to jump off the bridge and swim as his dad did many times, the most likely outcome (结果) is that some kind adults will call the police.

At 14, an age at which, in generations past, most boys were contributing to the well-being of their families by working, and my son is ready, able and willing to put his skills and strength to the test in the real world. However, he, like so many other American boys and girls, is prevented by a culture that seems to have raised safety to the highest regard, without considering how a lack of risk might negatively affect kids’ development.

Let kids try some risky things — cutting the lawn; using tools and sharp knives; starting a fire; cooking — under the supervision (监管) of an adult who tells them safety rules. Allow your kids to gradually take more responsibility. A kid who helps prepare and cook meals will be better prepared to cook independently.

Above all, encourage and praise your kids’ determination. Their desire to deal with challenges and take risks will serve them well in the years to come.

【推荐2】If parents praise everything their children do, it doesn't build their confidence and finally the Praise becomes meaningless.

Most parents and educators agree that praise is developing children's confidence, so the more praise, the better. Although praise is obviously good for children, if adults praise everything children do, the praise can finally lose its effect—youngsters will constantly seek praise.

Rather than responding to all of children's work with phrases such as “Good job” or “Nice work”, teachers should consider comments that describe the contents and encourage children to continue to improve, the researchers advise.

“Too much praise doesn't make children happier, achieve more or become more capable,” said Marshall Duke, a psychologist. Identifying a child's strengths and developing those strengths help build confidence more than constant praise does. Praise also loses its effect if the praise is the same for all the students. For example, if all the students in a class are told their paintings are great and students know some are better than others, the praise will lose its meaning.

“There is a need to have more room on either side of 'good'.” said Duke. “It's necessary to make detailed comments. Saying the truth properly is far more beneficial than empty praise.”

Adults have gotten into the habit of not telling children when they are wrong, and that will not help them deal with problems. Duke added, “That's not how the world is.”