【推荐1】Picture yourself sitting at home in a quiet reading book, ignoring the world around you, engrossed in a tale. You read the brief introduction of a book, instantly became interested in it and now you’re in the middle of an absolute page-turner. But, there’s a hot debate - physical books vs. e-books vs. audiobooks. Does the device you’re using to read affect your reaction to the book?

Generally, reading uses several areas of the brain, including attention span, reasoning, reading fluency, memory and language comprehension. Reading is known to strengthen communicative ability, vocabulary and increase emotional intelligence and social perception. So, whichever way you’re reading, there are definitely benefits.

But, let’s look at the pros to reading with your eyes - that’s physical books and e-books. They can help to retain information better. This is because when you can actually see the words; your attention is held more closely. Add to this the fact that with physical books you can go back and find any part you missed, especially if your mind wanders, which it likely will at some point or other.

On the other hand, there’s the audiobook. Headphones in, you’re switched off from life and the story really comes alive, almost like watching a film- in your head. From a scientific perspective, listening to an audiobook is likely to help you develop a greater sense of empathy as you hear the emotion of the narrator. We can more easily understand inflection and intonation. Hearing the story engages different parts of the brain, heightening the intensity and imagery, making you enjoy it more. Yet, going back to attention span, with an audiobook it’s true that it’s much harder to go back and listen again.

All in all, it seems that there are advantages to both physical books and audiobooks. Perhaps, next time you find yourself browsing bookshop shelves, also consider the format. It may just change your whole literary experience.

【推荐1】I was driving to town on a beautiful summer day. The sky was full of clouds. The sun was dancing through the green trees with its golden light and I was smiling at the wonder of it.

Suddenly, a truck rounded in front of me, two feet over the center line. I pulled my wheel to the right as I just missed the truck on one side and a ditch on the other side. I noticed the other driver looking at his cell phone totally unaware of the near miss. I closed my mouth in order to avoid saying the words that I promised myself I would no longer use.

Later in town, I was coming out of a store when a yellow butterfly started to circle around my head. I smiled peacefully and held out my open hand. To my joy, the butterfly landed on it briefly and swung its wings before flying away. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed this small wonder, but the only two people near me had their heads down, looking at their cell phone screens.

I began to think that life is what happens while people are busy looking at their smart phones. Now I know that social media, computers and smart phones are all necessaries in our lives, but it doesn’t mean that they have to control our days or take over our lives. Amazingly, they all come with a power button. We can turn them off anytime we wish to.

Don’t let your smart phone take away your smart mind. Don’t let technology take over your soul. Use it when you need it, and turn it off when you don’t. Turn your heart on more and our phone on less. Share your kindness, your joy, your hugs, your laughter and your life that make others smile.

【推荐2】Time was introduced to us when we were just kids and only knew the playing hours, but when we grew up, we got our own senses about how important “The Time” is. There is a story on time management which can give you some guidance.

A philosophy professor, once, decided to teach the students a valuable lesson about Time Management, so he stood before his class with some items on the table. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a big and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in size. He then looked towards the class and asked the students if the jar was full. They all agreed that it was full. Therefore, the professor then moved to pick up a box of pebbles (鹅卵石) and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar gently. The pebbles, of course, rolled through the gaps between the rocks.

He then again looked up to the students and asked if the jar was full. They all again nodded their heads. For the last time, he turned towards the jar, this time, picked up a box of sand, poured it into the jar and shook it lightly. Of course, the sand moved into the gaps and filled up everything else. He then asked students for the last time if the jar was full or not. The students were surprised but responded with a unanimous “Yes”.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to realize that this jar actually is your life. The rocks are the important things— like your family, your children, your health, your partner. If nothing remained but only these, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter —like your job, your career, your house. The sand is everything else, the unimportant stuff.” “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no space for the pebbles or the rocks.”

“The same goes for your life. If you keep on filling the jar with the sand, it means that you keep on spending all your time and energy on the pity things and you will never have room for the things that are important for you. First and foremost, focus on the rocks — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

【推荐3】My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, complaining and cutting one another off with their carts. At one point, two women quarreled for several minutes in the freezer section.

Things got worse at the checkout line. The cashier scanned a man’s discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting on purpose and began to argue.

Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who took him to customer service. Shaken, she moved to the next customer in line.

We’ve all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. My reaction when I see them is both personal and professional. I am a data analyst and sociologist who studies how and why people interact with one another — or why they choose not to. To me, the grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has disappeared. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith — starting with just one person.

Therefore, my wife and I reached the disturbed cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. We learned her name was Beth.

“We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.” I said.

Beth’s face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items. She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.

That is the balancing act, the moment of countering social and emotional pain with healing, that will add up to restore trust across the United States. You can start that pattern in someone else’s life, even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.