2 . It was a day in late December. The Christmas tree had been taken down. The lights and decorations had been boxed up and put in the closet until next year. And I was feeling a little empty. Surely I wasn't looking forward to the long, cold, dark winter to come. I had always been a light lover on the inside. I tried to take comfort in knowing that a few more minutes of daylight was being added each day, but it hardly worked.

I was both surprised and delighted when I looked, out of my window and saw that a spring-like day had suddenly arrived. I could hear the neighborhood children outside playing in the warm air. I smiled when I saw them and my inner little girl longed to be out there riding bikes and playing games as well.

I tied my dogs for their afternoon walk hoping to enjoy some of the sunshine myself. As I was about to head out the door, however, I decided to do something a little different. I reached down and pulled my shoes and socks off. I hadn't been barefoot outside since the summer. I slowly stepped out on the cool damp grass. It felt so alive under my feet. I laughed as I walked along. I remembered something I once read too, “Walk as if you were kissing the earth with your feet.” And with each step I did so. My walk felt sacred and holy. I felt a oneness with the world and the love of Heaven all around me. With love in my heart, I thanked God for the gift of this day and no longer dreaded the coming of the winter. I thought I had gathered enough energy and courage to welcome it.

AH of us are walking through this life. But it is up to each of us how we do so. Are you going to trip and walk with heavy steps and complain with each step you take? Or are you going to kiss the earth with your feet and Heaven with your heart? The choice is yours.

3 . Australia's biggest soft drink makers, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi, promised on Monday to cut industry-wide sugar use by a fifth over seven years to prevent obesity in a country where nearly a third of the population is dangerously fat.

Australia has the fifth-highest rate of obesity in the developed world, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,a health condition that can exacerbate(使恶化)problems from diabetes to heart disease.

Beverage(饮料)producers in Australia have already seen some consumers switch away from sugary drinks because of health concerns and they have promised the reduction as authorities press for a sugar tax similar to one introduced in Britain in April.

“We think this is a step in the right direction, ”said Geoff Parker, chief executive officer of the Australian Beverages Council (ABC) , the main body representing non-alcoholic drink makers, an industry which generates A $5 billion ($3.7 billion) in annual revenue.“We're certainly encouraging other sectors of the food supply, and indeed other categories to join with us to reduce sugar across the portfolio to help handle what is a really a complex problem and that is obesity. ”

Companies will aim for a 10 percent reduction in total sugar per 100 milliliters in their drinks by 2020 and a 20 percent reduction by 2025, achieved via a combination of recipe modification and increasing sales of low-sugar beverages, the Beverages Council said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said last year drinking fewer sweet drinks was the best way to prevent excessive weight and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, although fat and salt in processed foods were also to blame.

It has pressed for governments to tax sugar.

In Australia, where according to WHO statistics two-thirds of adults are overweight and nearly a third are obese or grossly overweight,the Australian Medical Association has pressed for a sugar tax but it has been resisted by the country's two major political parties. “We don't want to see the price of groceries go up.”Health Minister Greg Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.

4 . Smart phones are dramatically changing the way we walk down the street. Office workers and young people are walking like pensioners (领退休金者) as they check emails and messages.

Scientists have found mobile phones make us walk more slowly, with modest steps, to avoid obstacles. The lead author of the study said the walk is similar to that of someone in their eighties. Researchers found people writing a text message walk more than twice as slowly as those without a phone, finding it harder to stay in a straight line and lift their feet 18 per cent higher above a pavement edge. Their steps are more than a third shorter, as they rely on their restricted vision to avoid falling over while distracted by their phone.

The scientists examined 252 separate participants walking while reading a text message, writing one, speaking on their phone or without their phone at all. Writing a text is the most demanding activity, causing people to look down at their phone 46 per cent more, and 45 per cent longer, than when reading a message. This led people to walk 118 per cent more slowly than when they were without their phone. People walked almost a third more slowly while reading a text and 19 per cent while talking on the phone.

Smart phones were found to prevent people from walking in a straight line, putting them at greater risk of colliding (碰撞) with other people, cars or street lamps. This increased the need to slow down and take more careful steps.

John Timmis said, "The idea for this study came from following someone walking down the street in the afternoon, who was walking as if he had had several drinks. I thought it was a bit early for that, then walked up alongside him and saw that he was on his phone. Simply being on the phone changes the way people walk."

5 . Here are four activities in October. Go and get yourself out of your house.

1. Hope with Every Step 5K Race

It will be held on Saturday, October 3 at Taglienti Field on the Spruce Mountain High School campus. This event is held in honor of Josh Brochu, 13 and his sister Brook Brochu, 10, both of whom have a rare disease that affects children. All the money collected from the event will go to the A-T Childrens’ Project, a non-profit (非盈利的) organization which raises money for medical research and health centers. Visit www.atcp.org for more information.

2. A Free Movie Supported by Farmington Baptist Church

It will be shown at 7: 00 pm on October on 194 Whittier Road in Farmington. The movie When the Game Stands Tall tells the true story of the De La Salle Spartans High School football team, which set 151-game winning streak (连胜) record. Football coach Bob Ladouceur’s belief was always. “We don’t expect you to play perfectly. but to give a perfect effort.”

3. Wilton Free Public Library’s Birthday Party

The library is turning 100 years old! All are welcome to attend the party celebrating 100 years of the beautiful library building. From 10:00 am to 1: 00 pm on October 3, families are welcome to come to the library for some food and fun! There will be historical displays, fun book-themed food, face painting, and games and presents for kids. Please come and celebrate!

4. The Fourth Annual Pumpkin Festival

It will take place on Saturday, October 10. There will be various family activities, including movies, dog shows and children’s gifts. All events will take place in the Front Street Neighborhood. For more information, please visit the website: farmingtonpumpkinfestival.net.

7 . As pianist Mahani Teave was ready to launch her international career,she remembered the moment when the first piano arrived on her remote island. Teave took her first lessons on that piano.

“The future of Teave is only in her hands, ”Bidini says in the documentary. “She's a wonderful package-musically, as a person, the influence that she has in public, the brightness and the power of concentration that she has in public is absolutely first class. "After four years in Berlin, Teave began to feel the island tugging on her heart and her head. She began to think of giving up a promising career that just got off the ground.The memories of her youthful hunger to learn music often troubled her. She recalled the pain felt when many teachers appeared on the island,then suddenly left. “It would get cut off and cut off and it was breaking children's dreams over and over again at her age, " she says.

That's why Teave felt an urge to change her homeland. After a three-year struggle with funding and logistics,a pair of upright pianos were dismantled (拆卸)and flown to the island. With instruments in hand, Teave's dream of building a free music school for kids was beginning to take shape. With donated land, instruments and crowd-sourced funding, Teave, along with her partner Enrique Icka,a construction engineer,broke ground on their Toki School of Music. The island's children learn more than just Mozart and Beethoven. Teave includes her island's traditional music and dance in the curriculum (课程）.

＂I find great joy when I see the children learning and sharing amongst each other, " she says.“And when I think of this space, it's a space we would have liked to have had as children to study. "

Teave may have given up a successful career as a concert pianist,but through her hard won ambition she gained something more-the satisfaction of supporting the dreams of children,hungry to learn music.

8 . Creative and can-do Australians are collecting waste plastics and making new products using homemade machines. Precious Plastic SA is part of an international community of more than 40,000 people working to battle against plastic pollution.

Environmental science student Lucy Dunton said she got the idea from designer and maker Dave Hakkens' video on Facebook. Mr. Hakkens is from the Netherlands and posts videos about how to make things out of waste plastics on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

“We're really interested in doing something, changing the way people think and creating this amazing community, to share skills and advice and connect with like-minded people,” she said. “Plastics can be used to make useful, everyday things as a way to fight plastic pollution. We want to encourage and support those who have started or want to start their own project, by acting as guides and sharing advice and resources.”The group is growing as others put their hands up to offer their time, skills and resources through the website and join the group.     

Environmental science student Aiden Ryan worked with mechanical engineer Luke Christiansen to build the team's compressor (压缩机) in Luke's Dad's storeroom at Holdfast Bay, South Australia. They're now collecting parts for a shredder, so they can stop cutting plastics by hand. Raw materials come from organized beach cleans. They take their collection of plastics back to the storeroom where they are turned into new plastic products such as bowls and plates.

“A bowl could be made out of 10 reusable plastic containers,”Mr. Ryan said. He hopes to start selling the new plastic products soon.

Nic Wipf-Grant, one of the founders of Precious Plastic SA, says it is part of the growing sharing economy.“We want neighbours to share skills with neighbours,” he said. “We want neighbours to bring their plastics over and make bowls, plates and iPhone covers as gifts for their family and friends.”