【推荐1】I walked into a stranger as he passed by me.

"Excuse me." I said.

He replied with a smile and said, "Please excuse me, too. I didn't notice you."

We apologized（道歉） and went for our own ways.

Later that day, when I was cooking, my daughter was standing too near. When I turned to reach for some milk, I nearly knocked her over. "Move out of the way!" I shouted.

She walked away sadly. But I didn't feel like I had to apologize to her.

While I was in bed that evening, my husband said to me. "While dealing with a stranger, you were polite. But with a daughter you love, you were unkind. Your daughter brought you some flowers that she picked herself this afternoon. You will find them in the kitchen by the door. Have you seen the tears in her eyes?"

I quietly went and sat down by my daughter's bed.

"Honey, I am so sorry." I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

She said, "I found them by the tree. I picked them because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue ones."

I tearfully replied, "Sweetie, I'm really sorry for the way I acted today. I shouldn't have shouted at you."

"It's OK. I love you anyway." She said as she kissed me on my cheek.

If we can be polite to strangers, why can't we do the same for the ones we love?

【推荐3】In America, each of the states likes to promote itself with a slogan (口号). I currently live in Utah, where the slogan is ‘“Life Elevated”. It’s a nod to outdoor entertainment in the hill country, including the ski industry. I previously lived in Colorado, a land with red dm. great mountains and golden plains. The slogan there is ‘‘Colorful Colorado”. Years ago I lived in the “Peach State” of Georgia, and I grew up in New Mexico as a little boy, whose slogan is “Land of Enchantment (魔力)”.

We never seemed to get away from dust in New Mexico, so I appreciate the story of a newcomer to the Land of Enchantment who learned about dusty wind. She was visiting an antique shop and the owner wiped down every item before showing it. The newcomer said, “Everything gets dusty here pretty quickly, doesn’t it?” “That’s not dust, honey,” the shop owner replied, “That’s ENCIIANTMENT”. That made the problem more acceptable or at least can be live with. An escalator (自动扶梯) broke, so he posted a sign to warn customers. He chose not to use the traditional “Out of Order” or “Do Not Use” warnings. Instead, his sign read, “This Escalator Is Temporarily a Stairway”. He turned a minus into humor and made it a plus.

And in fact there are sonic things, like the weather, we can’t change. All we can change is our ways that we think and feel about them. I believe one of the best techniques to do this is to find some humor in the situation. Finding something amusing or enjoyable of difficulty, a troublesome problem can be one of the most creative and effective things we can do. Sometimes the only sense you can make of a situation is a sense of humor.

【推荐1】Nine years ago, Catrina Davies, a Cambridge graduate, was living in a houseshare in Bristol.Constant worrying about paying the rent was making her ill with stress and she longed to get back to the Cornwall’s Penwith peninsula (半岛) where she grew up.Priced out of the housing market, she took the final decision to go to live in a shabby, stand-alone shed which her father once used as his office.

“It was full of mice and spiders and there was no electricity, toilet, heating or shower,” Catrina remembers.She survived the first year without electricity and still only uses ten pounds-worth a month.

Over the years, Catrina has upgraded her modest shed with second-hand windows and doors and had a wood burner installed.Her oven is a camping stove outdoors and she does without a fridge by keeping easily spoiled food outside in a Tupperware box.She buys milk from a local farm to make yogurt and grows fresh herbs, salad and vegetables.

Having such an outdoor lifestyle, she’s painfully aware of climate change.“I’ve noticed fewer songbirds and owls.Winters are warmer and weather patterns seem to be changed.The fishermen say there are fewer mackerel (鲭鱼) too.”

“Plastic pollution in the sea fills me with extreme sadness and anger,” she continues.“And the Amazon rainforest is being burned to the ground because of our desire for an endless supply of cheap burgers and cheap leather.Our ecology and housing crises are both symptoms of human greed.”

“To save the planet, we all need to fundamentally change the way we live.Although giving up meat, lots of cheap goods, driving and flying may seem like a sacrifice, it could actually make us all a lot happier in the long run.Many studies show that materialistic tendencies are linked to decreased life satisfaction.When I first moved here, it was only meant to be a stopgap.Six years later, I can’t imagine living any other way.”

【推荐2】America’s latest superhero Austin Perine, who calls himself President Austin, is now taking the country by storm. But he is not a typical superhero. Two things set him apart: He doesn’t fight human enemies, but hunger and homelessness. Also, he’s only four years old.

Our superhero’s origin story started from the day when TJ Perine, his father, took Austin to the Firehouse Ministries, a local shelter that provides housing, food and other services for the homeless. As they drove by the building, they saw a group of 25 homeless men standing on the street corner. That day, Austin used his allowance to buy each man a sandwich and handed the food out himself with his slogan, “ Don’t forget to show love!”

After he returned every week for five weeks in a row, word of Austin’s kindness spread through social media. Austin and TJ could feed 25 to 50 people at a time before, and now, thanks to community support, they can feed 800 to 2,000 people.

But Austin isn’t merely filling stomachs. He has been improving the lives of the homeless people he meets. On that first trip to Firehouse Ministries, TJ and Austin talked to a poor man named Raymont. The respect Austin showed for him touched 41-year-old Raymont, who regained his confidence in life and finally found a job with the help of TJ. All that was made possible because a little boy took the time to care.

Austin’s passion has become his family’s calling. After raising money through a GoFundMe page, Audrey, TJ’s mother established the nonprofit Show Love Foundation, dedicated to fighting homelessness. She now serves as president, and TJ oversees public relations for the foundation full time. They offer medical and mental health care as preventive steps against homelessness.

As for President Austin, he continues to give out food, smiles, and his inspirational message of love. “It makes me feel like I’m saving the day,” he said proudly.

【推荐3】As a teacher we all have those memories of students—we wonder if we were able to teach or reach those students who had a need to get out of their seats every five minutes or so.

I recently received an e-mail from one such student, Paco, Paco’s e-mail brought back memories of one particular class:

It was our high school’s first year of block scheduling our classes were 80 minutes long instead of the traditional 40 minutes. On this particular day, I was being observed by two college professors. Of course, I was proud of the fact that the class was conducted entirely in Spanish and the students felt comfortable expressing themselves in Spanish.

On that day, Paco came running through the door with a toasted cheese sandwich in hand. “ Senora Mike. I’m hungry and I hope you don’t mind if I just quickly eat this great toasted cheese sandwich. ” I said, “Go ahead, Paco. ” Paco sat down and finished his sandwich, Paco had now noticed our two visitors. Of course, our two visitors noticed Paco the minute he ran through the door.

The lesson was going along quite well, and all the students were working in their groups. Suddenly, Paco raised his hand and said, “Senora, esta lloviendo en mis pantalones. ”(“Mrs. M. it is raining in my pants. ”) Now, being Paco’s Spanish teacher, I understood what he wanted. I knew that it was his way of requesting to go to the bathroom. You could just imagine the laughter from the other students.

I always wonder just how much Spanish Paco learned in that class, but I know he learned more than just Spanish based on an e-mail he recently wrote to me:

I know I was a handful but you actually cared. You knew I had potential. So even though I messed up a lot, you never gate up…I’m deeply grateful to you Senora, everything you taught me about Spanish. My attitude and life will stick with me the rest of my day…

You see，Paco was my student ten years ago.

【推荐1】David Rees runs a truly distinctive business. He charges customers $15 to sharpen their pencils to perfections, using a variety of tools.

I know what you're thinking — is this a joke? The 39-year-old gets asked that question a lot. To clarify everything, he even created a special section on his website telling everyone he's actually providing a real service.

You can supply your own pencil or you can have Rees sharpen one of his own favorite 2B pencils. After that, he mails it to you in a display tube with the shavings in a separate bag, and an authentic certificate which just happens to mention the pencil is so sharp as to be a dangerous object.

To achieve the desired result, the master sharpener uses all kinds of tools, including general sandpapers, pocket knives and even a special $450 sharpening machine. "It depends on what the customer wants to use his/her pencil for," he says. "That determines the most appropriate pencil-sharpening technique.

Some customers buy pencils as inspirational symbols while others buy them because of their special memories of classic 2B pencils.

$15 to have a pencil sharpened is a bit expensive though, right? You're not the only one who feels that way, and David's unique business has really angered lots of people, who talk of inequality in America, saying it is so insane for the wealthy to pay $15 to sharpen a pencil. But others will say, "This is just our urge to put an end to the welfare state because new ideas arise along with the business."

David admits his trade is sort of unusual. But there are those who actually value his service, as proven by the over 500 orders he has gotten.

【推荐2】As I walked into my new high school for the first time, I felt uncertain, nervous and lonely. I missed my old friends terribly. My head hurt with the thought of making new friends all over again.

What will my new friends be like? Will we like each other? Will I even make a friend? These questions were on my mind, as I walked over to a group of girls.

I didn’t know anyone in my new school. It seemed like everyone was watching me, as if every head was turning towards me, waiting for me to make a wrong move.

I nervously said “hi” in a low voice, waving my hand at the group. Expecting them to start laughing and making fun of me, I was surprised when they waved back and asked me to sit with them.

As if a switch had been turned off, all the anxious thoughts that had been killing me were gone. A feeling of acceptance and excitement rushed over me as I happily chatted with the six girls, telling them more about myself.

Looking back at how anxious I was upon entering my new school for the first time, I now feel stupid for I had been losing my sleep over something so small. Being myself and being polite had worked out for me just fine. Being confident proved to be the key that fit perfectly into the lock on the door of friendship, the same door that I had been too scared to even knock on before.

I had never expected that by the end of the day I would have any friends at all, let alone six. What I learned from my experience was to welcome everyday surprises with open arms and to accept the good or bad feelings that fill our hearts, the same place where love lives and where new friends are welcomed.