1 . When my experiments didn’t produce the exciting results they were supposed to, I thought I just needed to work more, for the idea that I would be ______ if I worked hard enough was deeply rooted in me. It was late in the evening. A postdoc (博士后) ______my suffering and gently asked how I was doing. I told him about my ______ with the experiment. He said, “I think it’s time to go home and get some sleep. Taking a break is also hard work, you know?”

Those comments planted the seed of a new ______. Previously, when my friends questioned whether the “always working” view that is _______among academics was normal or healthy, I had __their concerns. Now, I ____ that they were on to something. I started to go __ on myself, trying to make being in the lab from early morning to late evening the exception rather than the ______. Pushing back against the______that long working hours are the ______of a good researcher was hard, and I ______ back into my old routine more than once. In the back of my head I still felt __ for not working “enough”. I hadn’t_______ understood what the postdoc was trying to ______ to me.

During my Ph.D., the penny _____ the rest of the way. One day, my adviser said, “We need to work smarter, not harder.” The conversation helped me ____ it —that novel ideas do not come from a mind constantly under _______. My best ideas almost always come after I allow my mind to_______—whether that’s playing video games with my brother or cooking a nice dinner. Part of working smarter, I realized, can be taking a _____.

Creativity is the key to a bright future. We live in a     1     world. But we always tend to ignore the beauty of it and thus have many regrets in our lives. We only live     2    , so we have to live a fullest one. This life is ours, so we have to live and     3     it. We need to realize this first. Creativity is the mother of invention that depends on individual intention. If we have     4    , then the rejections we get would not be a problem. Bear this only intention in our mind and keep on thinking, and there will be     5     for this perspiration.

5 . Lunch hour is crazy at SAME Café, the restaurant my husband, Brad, and I run in Denver.

One day a woman dressed in a business outfit (套装) stepped in. “Hi, Libby.” she said. I recognized her. The first time she came two years ago, she had no money to pay for a meal. No problem. Like many customers, she volunteered to work. After her meal, she washed dishes. Look at her now. I stole a glance at Brad, in the kitchen. Wasn’t this what we’d hoped for?

In 2015, on a flight home from Texas, we’d hatched this crazy dream. We’d both done a lot of volunteering at soup kitchens. It was something we felt called to do, feeding the poor.

“I wish we could start our own place,” I said. “No cash register (收银机). Just a donation box on the counter.”

“Why don’t we?” Brad said.

It would be a charity, but we didn’t want our diners to think of it as a charity. “If they can’t pay.” Brad said, “they can help wash dishes or sweep the floor. We must treat people with dignity.”

Our first customer was a woman in her forties. She told me she was recently divorced and she and her two kids had no place of their own. “Could I have a salad?” she asked. I brought her a plate of greens with fresh fruit and nuts. Her eyes grew wide. “These are the first fresh vegetables I’ve had in four months,” she exclaimed. That alone made our struggles to open the café worth it.

SAME is short for our belief: So All May Eat. Customers came for Brad’s cooking. But they also liked what our café stood for.

“What do I owe you?” one customer asked. “Whatever you think the meal’s worth,” I said, “and whatever you can afford.” Most customers gave what they could, even if it was just a dollar.

Something was different about the woman that day. Something besides her outfit. She stopped at the counter and ordered greens with sun-dried tomatoes, and a ham and pineapple pizza

“I have something to tell you.” she said. “The last time I was here, I started talking to a woman I’d met here before. She said. ‘There’s an opening in my office. Why don’t you come in and apply?” I did—I got the job!” I knew what was different about her—confidence.

She opened her purse. “I can pay now. How can I ever thank you?”

“You just did,” I said.

9 . I always seemed to be running late and hurrying up. I’d wake up early in the morning in order to have enough time to get to where I wanted to go. But by the time I found myself on the road, I was clearly going to be late.     1     This constant rush entered every area of my life. For example, when I went shopping, I’d race up and down the passage.

Then one day when going to work, I had been running behind again. Unluckily, on the way, my car was out of gas. As my car left the road, I looked at my watch. It’s clear that I’d be late.     2    I had a meeting in fifteen minutes and I hadn’t finished preparing for it.

But as I looked out towards the east, the sun was just beginning to climb out of the hill. There was fog hanging over the river and some ducks were swimming across the glass-like surface of the water. A few boats sat on the river, which was shining in the sunshine.     3    

I was surprised. This pretty scene had been going on right outside my car every morning.     4    I had been rushing around in such a hurry to not miss anything that I had been missing everything!

    5    I understood I needed to set schedules and made good preparations for big events in case of any hurry. More importantly, I should try to stay relaxed and enjoy present life. And there was no need to worry about unimportant things. Now I am here traveling this life joyfully and patiently.

10 . One night many years ago when I was on the bridge of a ship that passed one of our large cities on a quiet night, I saw its lights reflected in the sky and heard the rumblings of the city's noises. As I looked to my other side, I could see nothing but open space of darkness and endless water. I realized how small I was and that my own problems of life did not seem great.

I have spent twenty—five years on boats. Now I am a docking pilot. My job is to bring in the large luxury liners and stay with them until they are safely anchored in their berths. Sometimes this requires two tugs(拖船）, sometimes many more, depending on the tide, the weather, and the draft of the vessel.

Most of you no doubt have seen these tugs pushing and pulling at the big liners. What they are doing doesn't seem to make much sense at first, but presently the big boat is alongside her landing stage, her ropes made fast, and the job is done.

These tugs, whether one or ten, move about in accord with whistle signals I send them from the bridge of the big liner. These signals make up a language that is just as dependable as the spoken word; or even more so, because our docking signals are rarely misunderstood. The captain of each tug does his work according to the signals he receives. He never asks questions. He takes everything on faith, and it always works out.

I fell very important the first time I ever docked a big liner, thinking that I was in control of a great ship worth millions of dollars and the owners were depending on me to bring her safely to her berth. After I had docked several of the large liners, I realized I was not important, but simply the quarterback who called the signals.

Working around tugboats has had its effect on what I believe. The great transatlantic liners depend on the help of the little tugs to bring them safely to port, and it is with one's success.