1 . A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But soon she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend.”

At this time;a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”

It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I cannot.”

“That’s because you stick to what you are If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate (蒸发) into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.

The little stream had never heard of such a thing. She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?

“How do I know if this is true? and will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.

“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,”answered the desert.

Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that had carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze; which carried her to the next stage of her life.

The course of our lives is like the experience of little stream. If you want to surpass the obstacles in your life in order to head for the destination of Truth, Virtue and beauty, you should also have the wisdom and courage to renounce (放弃) your ego (attachment to yourself).

Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling to? and, What is it that I really want?

After a long drive and precious little sleep, Todd left his Wisconsin motel around 5:30 a.m. to make it to a funeral near Green Bay. Not long after, he started to hear a grinding sound coming from his front tire, and it kept getting louder. He finally pulled into Lauritzens BP & Sports shop in Wild Rose,Wisconsin, hoping to find help. It was only 7 a.m., and he still had 75 miles to go.

As luck would have it, Todd found Glenn Geib putting oil on the shelves. The mechanic checked out the car and gave Todd some bad news: The wheel bearing was failing and needed to be repaired right away. Fixing it would take a few hours. Geib then looked Todd up and down and asked why he was so dressed up. Todd explained that he was going to the funeral of his boss’s wife.

Geib checked the only one rental car agency in town, but it was sold out. The next closest rental agency was 40 miles away. “I must have looked pretty stressed out at this time,” Todd wrote later on Facebook. Geib noticed, and he was determined to help.

With a population of 699, close-knit Wild Rose has a reputation in central Wisconsin for kindness. Seniors gather at the Wild Rose Community Center for free midday meals. The local Lions Club chapter collects used eyeglasses for folks who can’t afford them, part of the Lions Recycle for Sight program.

But kindness in Wild Rose doesn’t come just from organizations. Kent Barnard, the town library director, remembers a high school kid who walked into Patterson Memorial Library needing gas money. Barnard happily gave it to him, and the guy went on his way. A couple years later, that man came back. “You gave me $10 for gas when I was in high school,” he said, and Barnard was repaid.

“People are not well-off, but they’re taking care of each other,” says Jerry Apps, a local author who lets the library sell his books and DVDs and keep some of the proceeds to fund its programs.

So, faced with a stranger in need at the service station, Glenn Geib did what came naturally.

Todd jumped into the car and made it to the funeral.

6 . After my mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病), the plants in our house began to die. In years past, I remember the deep, earthy smell that would ________ in our house after my mother had made her weekly watering rounds. Back then, I never connected it with the care that was at the ________ of everything she did.

But now, leaves were ________ , some dry and edged with brown, and many of the stems(茎) bare. It was a mark of how my mother can no longer attend to all the things that she lovingly cared for. I was so focused on the increasing ________ of her own care that her beloved plants had escaped my ________ .

I began her old rounds, pouring water into the thirsty soil, and soon the plants ________ . That’s the thing about houseplants: They demand nothing. They wait quietly, no matter how ________ they are. But even after my best ________, some of the plants couldn’t survive. My mother’s kind caregivers have since brought new ones to add to her ________ , and my father buys fresh flowers every week.

Though Alzheimer’s disease ________ so much of her memory, her desire to care is still there. I would guide her down the steps to water the plants herself. I watched as her shaking hands picked the brown leaves. Each time, she smiled up at me with ________ satisfaction because being able to ________ something is still, what brings her the greatest joy.

I look at plants ________ these days. I see them as my mother does:________ reminders of the need for kindness toward all living things. It is clear to me that the things we spend a lifetime ________ are never truly lost and the love she has planted in me still blooms(开花).

9 . Today I am working with Simon for starting a mobile repairing shop. His _______ made me think of the day he joined us as a participant under Naya Savera, a skill-building program for different _______ .

My _______ stretches back very easily. When I first looked at him during selection interview we conducted for _______ the participants, I wondered how I was going to _______ this person who could not even walk on his feet.

Simon has a serious problem in both his legs and to reach from one place to another he has to depend on a wheelchair. I didn’t take him _______ at first, but something changed when we started _______ with him.

He made us laugh with all his funny stories, and made us cry by sharing his _______ to live normally. It is a _______ that people underestimate him and look down on his ________ to become a successful person. By the time interview was over, we were all looking at him with ________ and wondered who interviewed whom as most of the time he was the one ________ questions.

Needless to say he was ________ for the training program and also completed the program with ease. He was one of the participants who never missed even a single day of ________. He was one of the highest scorers in exams held on completion of the training program. He ________ everyone with his positivity and attitude.

10 . Most people who ran the marathon last month spent days before resting up and days after recovering. But not Jacky Hunt-Broersma. In total, she ran 104 marathons in 104 days. If it’s confirmed by Guinness World Records, that would be a new world record. And she did it all with one leg and a prosthesis (假肢).

“Someone able-bodied had done it previously. I wanted to see if I could do it on a prosthetic leg and see what would happen,” she said. “I thought it would be a great way to inspire others to push their limits because I truly believe that we’re stronger than what we think. And I’ve been so pleasantly surprised that my body’s held up, everything’s held up and I’ve made it to 104.”

She actually did not pick up the sport until after she lost the lower part of her left leg in 2001 to a type of cancer called Ewing sarcoma. Runners using a prosthetic leg can’t use a regular one. They need a running blade (刀锋式跑步义肢). Hunt-Broersma has two, but she was only able to run with one because of the swelling(肿胀) she experienced in her left leg that made it impossible to connect to the other blade. But even with the pain that occurred, she has been able to put up with it and continued.

All together, Hunt-Broersma ran over 4,385 kilometers. During that time she’s had a lot of time to think and has learned a few things about herself. “It’s taught me how strong one can be and how important absolute determination is. If you’re mentally strong, you can do anything,” she said. “And our bodies are just amazing ... This whole journey was impressive and super hard, but it’s told me how strong I can be as a person and how far I can push myself.”