1 . According to some recent research, healthy, stable friendships can protect against depression and anxiety, increase life satisfaction, and improve health. Those who don’t have strong social connections, meanwhile, have a risk of disease.    1    . How can they achieve it?Some experts have shared their favorite ways as follows.

Invest time consistently

Making time for the people you care about and having shared experiences play an essential role in deepening friendships.    2    . So you are supposed to invest time and effort. If you find you continually fail to put in time with your friends, add a section for connection to your to-do list and take action.

Get vulnerable.

One way to grow stronger friendships is allowing yourself to be weak. Start by sharing small opinions, and then dive even deeper by telling your friends what you’re currently struggling with and what scares you.    3    .And eventually, you and your friends will be closer together.

Mix in something new

    4    .That goes for both conversations and activities. Carve out moments of communication that you and your friends are familiar with. And brainstorm new adventures you can take on together, like traveling to your shared dream destination or joining a sport team.

    5    

Every friendship will unavoidably arrive at some situations that are concerning: the highs and lows in life that affect how we label our relationships. Were you there when your friends got a promotion or were diagnosed with something scary? The answer plays a large role in determining how much you value that friendship. Do remember: Your company matters.

4 . Play is part of a parent-child friendship

Play is a crucial element of friendship with children. With babies and very young children, we parents play with them,engaging in back-and-forth activities like hide-and-seek and tower building.     1     They pull us into play, and we feel pleasure.

But delight hits a setback when our child learns how to say “no”. From this point onward —into adolescence —we focus on getting a child to behave.    2     It’s parenting belief, not specifically defined, but often translated into “because I said so”.

While parents must help children learn to meet adult demands, when we limit our parenting focus to “command and control” we can crowd out “delight”.     3     If we can leave space for child-driven activities —without adult demands —we can return to delight. These interactions expand our relationship and help our child learn self-regulation and communication. It’s not the same as peer friendship, but we are being a friend.

    4     The key is following your child’s lead. As they get older and they are deep into other things, friendly play might include teaching you to play their favorite video game or share their YouTube. Your child won’t want you to be their primary friend in these spaces, but being curious and kind is a way to be a friend and a parent. You will be an uncool friend who will never fully get it, but you will be a friend.

    5     Especially as they get older, they will set more limits on it. But if you make a habit of friendly play with your child, that space will always be there between you, and it will vastly expand your parenting toolbox.

5 . “Don’t quit that trip,” Mom said anxiously, as I tried to find the flight route through my tears. Doctors had just informed us that she had a deadly disease. My husband and I were set to leave for Cuba the next morning. As we boarded the airport shuttle, she said, “Don’t cry Jackie, try to have a good time, and bring me back a good CD. I’ll be here when you get back.”

That was Dec.31, 2019. She passed away on Feb.11, 2020. Looking through photos from our trip and listening to music gave her some of her final smiles. For the rest of my days, I’ll be reminded of the way she found joy in other people’s experiences and happiness.

When I was about 5, out shopping with my mom, I led her to the next passage, and cheerfully shouted, “Mom, look at this cute little lady!” That was an adult woman not much bigger than me. Instead of making me apologize to the woman straight away, she calmly said, “Jackie.” When I looked up to catch her eyes, she tugged on her right ear, which was a signal for “I will explain this to you when we get home.”

I remember when I was 8, my friend and I were going to play basketball through our local team. We were the only two girls on the team, but after the first game, my friend gave up. I didn’t want to become the only girl on the team so I wanted to give up. But my mom explained: You made a promise to the team; you need to stick it out for the season.

When I see the parents in my life filled with stress over keeping up with appearances and modern trends, I want to tell them to remember it’s them that their children will remember when they’re gone. Who they are, what they taught, and how they taught it. That’s what will outlive them in the hearts and minds of their children.

7 . Our world is full of unsung real-life heroes, who show up in times of disaster at great sacrifice to themselves, who raise funds to support those in need and who save lives. My sister never talks about the pain she bears, neither does she talk about her achievements. So today. I share this story, to praise my beautiful sister, an unsung hero.

Kim, my sister, was born with a growth hormone deficiency (激素缺乏). From an early age she received daily injections (注射) to help her grow. I didn’t know how she ended the pain. Doctors said her brain wouldn’t develop normally and she wouldn’t do something. But she proved them all wrong!

Kim’s volunteer work started at the age of nine in primary school. Every day Kim assisted the special needs class during her lunch breaks. She helped entertain, feed the students and continued her work with the children until she left primary school.

Because of her height, my sister would get pushed in the corridors (走廊), but that didn’t stop her from helping others. Kim later trained as a youth worker at the local church and eventually became a Sunday school teacher and the kids loved her.

As she grew into an adult, she continued to help people and even started a school holiday program for disabled children, which has been running for twenty years. She used her yearly leave to look after these children and refused to take money for it.

My sister constantly deals with hardships, reoccurring health problems and continuous pains due to her condition. Yet, every morning she gets up, she never says “What can I take from this world”. She says, “Thank you Lord. I am alive. I have air in my lungs — now how may I be of service.” This is how she lives.

8 . Larry and I have always had our basic values in common, but our interests are as far apart as opera and basketball. I love art, and he is a huge sports fan. His big passion is seeing basketball games. He has been sharing season tickets with his friends for years. I must admit I’ve been always invited to see the games together.

This morning, I called my brother, Larry, and said, “I have a piece of good news and ad piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” “Good news first,” Larry answered. “You can go to sleep early tonight,” I said. “Okay. What’s the bad one?” he asked. “We’re going to the opera!” I answered, laughing loudly.

There was a reason for the joke. The last time I invited him to go to the opera, he fell asleep in the theater. I had to admit it was always boring for him, but when I gave him a ticket for my favorite opera, I really thought he might enjoy it. I woke him up, but soon he fell asleep again. When Larry found I was joking, he breathed a sigh of relief on the other end. He said, “But I want you to go to see the last basketball game this autumn with me.” I promised and complained, “Not again!” Actually, most of the time, when the game was on, I’d be texting or daydreaming. Sometimes, my telephone messages would be interrupted when the home team scored. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and exchanged high-fives and fist bumps.

However, today, as I looked around at thousands of people cheering and getting increasingly excited, I was determined to at least give it a try — for my brother’s sake, if not for my own. The game was intense, and I was hooked soon. When the other team scored, I eventually felt a bit disappointed with the rest of my crowd. My brother was surprised to see me getting involved. I was astonished myself! I didn’t keep glancing at the clock, counting the minutes until we got out, Time flew. The game was over before I knew it.

10 . A loving wife saved her husband’s life after she insisted on a second opinion for his sudden illness. The man, who was suffering from bacterial meningitis (细菌性脑膜炎) but was initially misdiagnosed (误诊) with an ear infection, might not have survived had they waited any longer.

Jason and Aleck Lang, from Ogden, Utah, have been married for nine years. They have made their home in Phoenix, Arizona, and are raising three young children together.

On the evening of March 17, 2021, Aleck received a text from Jason, who was at work, complaining of head and ear pain. The mother of three began to look for sitters for their kids in case Jason’s condition got worse or even remained the same.

Around 6:30 in the morning, Jason — who had no history of headaches — began begging his wife to take him to the emergency room. Close friends “dropped everything” to sit for the children, and Aleck drove Jason to the nearest ER and dropped him off.

“They had given him a couple of different medications (药) for his headache and the doctor diagnosed him with an ear infection,” Aleck said. The doctor dismissed Aleck’s concerns and Jason was discharged (出院) shortly before midday. Back at home, Jason’s condition got worse. Aleck’s instinct (直觉) guided her to drive him to a different hospital, where he received a second, accurate diagnosis: bacterial meningitis.

Jason stayed in the hospital for five days. “The doctor said Jason most likely wouldn’t be alive if we waited even a couple of hours more,” Aleck explained. “Jason was fighting for his life.” She was also busy and distracted caring for her three kids, who gave her joy while she missed Jason greatly. “It gave me a chance to see how strong they can be, and how strong I can be for them,” she said.