1 . I’m an online columnist. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about my life, ending up receiving some _________ reviews on a regular basis. I have become _________ used to being criticized like that. In the following days, I was also surprised when more lovely words _________ in. They told me that my running adventures had _________ them to go out to work out. Yet more _________ me for giving tips on the mental health issues they had also experienced. I have been so touched by all these people.

As an online columnist for ages, I have constantly encountered _________ readers. A lady was _________ about my daughter when she was hospitalized and a gentleman offered to _________ me for my training when I was badly off. There was also a couple who sent me a jar of home-made marmalade when they read about my _________, in the hope of cheering me up. As I thought about __________ of these kind people, I wondered why our brains are programmed to focus on the bad things __________ all the lovely ones.

At that moment, I’ve realized we don’t have the luxury of negativity. Our life is too short to be __________ by it. To stop engaging in it, the key is our __________ to be dragged down by it. In that spirit, I’ve __________ that from now on, I’m only going to focus on the positive. I’ll keep a file on my cellphone containing all __________ for me, and look at them when times get tough.

2 . I grew up hiking and climbing mountain s a lot. It was my dad who accompanied me and taught me how to hike and climb mountains. On our first hike, our group ran ahead without us. Dad and I ended up _________ the path toward the top. This was the _________ part of the climb, where we had to climb rocks. I was scared not to have the path to tell us where to go. Mainly, I was afraid that Dad would fall off the mountain when he went _________ to seek for the best way for me to climb up. I was grateful for his _________. He always made me feel like I was safe with him — even when he insisted that we should not _________.

When we were close to the top, we _________ some hikers. One of them crouched (蹲) down on a rock, grasping at branches of a bush. His face was _________ and looked frozen, like a statue. Dad asked what was going on. The man _________ told him that he was frightened of _________. In my 7-year-old mind, I thought, “But, you’re climbing a mountain!” Dad always helped people in trouble. He told the man to __________ him while he led him to a spot below that was __________ by trees, with no view of the valley below. Dad told him to wait there for his group of hikers to come back and __________ him up. Dad taught me sympathy and to help others in need whenever I can.

When we finally reached the top and __________ our group, we sat on the highest point, looking at the breathtaking scenery. I was so __________ we hadn’t stopped halfway. Dad taught me, “Don’t give up, especially when you’re almost there.” This has been a valuable __________ that has got me through some big challenges in my life.

3 . Once there was a girl named Rose. Rose always felt _________ because she lived in a colorless village where life was black and white. She _________ for adventure, but her life was as plain (简单的) as a brown paper bag.

One day while walking down the street, she saw Eric, a former classmate, in a red car, and he _________ her eye. He looked very _________. He stopped and said, “Come in. Let’s enjoy ourselves!”

Rose was a little _________, but Eric’s infectious spirit and the sight of the car’s shiny red appearance _________ her. They drove off into the sunset and found themselves in a city that was lively and full of _________. The buildings were painted with all the colors of the rainbow.

After Eric drove Rose home, she suddenly realized that she _________ to stop running after rainbows and add some color to her _________ life. She decided to live her life in full color.

The next day, Rose took a walk in the village. She ____________ that the trees were green, and the flowers bloomed (开花) in different colors. She realized that her village was not as boring as she had ____________.

Rose noticed a shop that sold paint, so she bought some and painted her house with the brightest color she could find, She was ____________ the result. Her neighbors were amazed at the ____________ and decided to paint their houses bright colors, too. Rose realized that ____________ things in a different light had made all the ____________.

4 . My four-year-old son, Will, suffered from autism spectrum disorder (自闭症). And he went through many hours in _________ , helping him to overcome many challenges he faced.

One summer afternoon, with a bucket (桶), Will and I were walking along the _________ to search for shells. After a while, I _________ the bucket and discovered nearly all the shells were broken in it. “Will, these shells are broken and _________. You need to find shells like this.” I said gently as I held up a _________ shaped shell. Will gave me a(n) _________ look, as if he failed to understand me. He continued to   _________ imperfect shells he liked and drop them into the bucket.

“Will, why do you keep on _________ our bucket with broken shells?” This time I asked in a serious voice. He looked up at me and said, “Mom, though these shells are broken, they are still beautiful.” Then he _________ his little hand into the bucket and pulled out different shells, commenting on their __________.

“Mom, this one looks like a smile when you hold it this way. ” He showed a broken shell and explained. “It __________ me of a clown. That one is round like the sun, and these are stuck together like butterflies.” He took great pride in his __________.

My eyes were full of tears as I __________ my son was teaching me a valuable lesson. Silently, I __________ the few perfect shells I had collected and returned them to the beach. We are all broken in some way, but we can find __________ in our imperfection.

5 . As a traveler with a disability, I have always avoided cruises. This expedition-style small-ship cruise changed my mind.

When our expedition leader ________ we would make a Zodiac (卓迪船) ________ at Jan Mayen, a tiny island in the Arctic Ocean, I stepped out onto my balcony aboard our ship, ________ to find clear skies and calm seas. ________, I was met with a gust of wet wind and a view of mist-covered mountains in the distance. Jan Mayen wasn’t on our itinerary (行程), and due to its ________ location and often unpredictable weather, very few people ever ________ the island. I knew the ________ weren’t ideal, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

In fact, the possibility of ________ adventures was one of the reasons I chose this small-ship cruise. So I ________ joined my shipmates in the mud room, where we put on waterproof clothes and life jackets before hopping in the Zodiacs for a bumpy ________ to a black-sand beach. Even the fierce wind and rain couldn’t ________ our excitement as we ________ our way to the beach and hiked to a viewpoint, pausing to photograph little purple flowers ________ the volcanic rocks.

Our visit there wasn’t about what we could do or see. It was an opportunity to just be—to exist in a brief ________ on a tiny, often inaccessible, volcanic rock in the Arctic. And that’s something I never thought I’d ________ in my lifetime.

6 . When trouble hits someone in your community, how can you respond? This year, a wildfire has left many people in my community _________ with damaged homes. The community where I live is coming together to _________. How does each of us show our _________ for those who lost their homes?

Imagine a Circle of Care. _________ a circle and write the name of a person in _________ in the center. Draw _________ rings around the first one and write in the names of the people next closest to the crisis. _________ outwards. Distant friends and family are within _________ circles. The entire _________ itself becomes the outer ring. After the firestorm in Santiam Canyon, people posted __________ signs saying “Canyon Strong!” and sent supplies to resource centers.

When I am in the center of such a circle, I do not want to __________ someone who has not experienced my __________ say, “I know exactly how you feel.” Helping people closer to the center of the circle requires more listening than __________.

When you are in a closer ring and __________ someone in the center of the circle, you may __________ their burden and want to express your own feelings. Do it with those further out in the circle. I find this gives me __________ to continue helping those in rings smaller than my own.

Whenever you are in the circle of care, __________ what you are about to say and do. Sometimes it is possible to give physical aid. Sometimes the damage is __________ . Can you calm by __________ to go for a walk with them?__________ others and hold them dear.

7 . I grew up in a small North Dakota town. Dad was a farmer, so we kids were taught _______ to drive farm vehicles. I started driving the tractor (拖拉机) at age 15 .

One summer day, Dad asked me to back his truck up. _______, I backed it into a tree, damaging the truck. I was _______ because I wasn’t sure how Dad would react. Luckily, Dad wasn’t _______, and moved the truck himself.

As a teenager, I usually worked part-time on Uncle Jim’s farm in my _______ time. One day, I drove the tractor to get gas from the farmyard fuel tank, which was _______ on a big metal shelf 12 feet high. I _______ the shelf, bending one of the vehicle’s wooden bars. I stopped the vehicle anxiously and got off. I _______ Uncle Jim would help me. To my _______, he said, “Get back up on that tractor and you can do it.” And I did! During harvest, Jim had me do farming chores with that tractor, which made my confidence ________ greatly.

The “can do” ________ Uncle Jim had toward me carried me through ________ times in life. Whenever I encountered difficulties, the ________ on the summer day on the farm came flooding back to my mind and my spirit wasn’t ________ ! It just goes to show what a huge impact can be created by small gestures of ________ in a person.

8 . Dreaming of photographing the world’s beauty, I wrote a travel wish list and hung it on my wall, not expecting to actually go anywhere. However, a local photo contest gave me a _________. I chose the Grand Canyon, one of my bucket list places to visit, since I got my first camera.

The journey was _________, with unique touches like aspen trees towering and lizards (蜥蜴)rushing about. After a day’s _________, I decided to have a good rest and start fresh the next day for the mission to _________ the Canyon’s grandeur.

The next morning, I woke up early to capture (拍摄) the _________. Reaching the overlook, I found an elderly man alone on a bench. After exchanging _________, he noticed my camera and _________if I’d captured any favorites. I _________ shared a couple of photos, not anticipating any further conversation that followed. He _________, revealing that he and his late wife, Betty, visited the Grand Canyon annually for their anniversary. Her __________the previous year marked his first return without her and he spent each sunrise reflecting on their treasured __________. His heartfelt tales __________ me deeply, as I, too, had experienced a recent loss, making the moment __________.

Returning home with numerous photos, I __________the best from my adventures for the contest. This journey taught me the value of chasing dreams, embracing challenges, and __________with others through shared moments, making it a truly enriching experience.

9 . I found a brown bag outside after our move. “Grass Seed,” it said in big letters. My husband and I _________ the seeds all over the dirty yard in front of our new house. “I have no idea if they will _________,” I told him, “but it’s worth a shot.” Just like our _________ to move to the rural Arizona.

Near our new house sat a charming cottage, which was _________ to tourists. I got a job offer to _________ the cottage. I’d worked in hotels for years, so when offered the _________, I jumped at it. Still, it was a big change. I _________ that it would be a right move.

While we waited for our grass to grow — or not — we _________ settled into our new house through our efforts. We made it a cozy home, despite the _________ in the front yard, which was still bare now. Meanwhile, many of the cottage guests became __________, and I got to know them well. I felt __________ to make their stays memorable. Perhaps I was better at that than __________.

But after a monsoon (季风) swept through, I woke up to a beautiful morning and looked out the window. There was no grass growing in the sunlight. __________, our yard was covered in a rainbow of zinnias (百日菊)! The front yard turned out even better than I could have __________, just like our new life. And it remains a powerful __________ of the beauty that awaits us in our new chapter.

10 . We will all experience pain, disappointment, and almost certainly loss and sickness. Yet some people ________ by rising to the challenge, while others sink under the weight. What’s the difference? I ________ clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Puff, host of the Happiness Podcast, who speaks ________ about pain and suffering. He explains that ________ is an unavoidable physical feeling. ________, suffering comes from the thoughts we have about the pain we are experiencing-for example, “Why is this happening to me?” or “I’ll never feel good again.” These ________ are what cause suffering, and we can choose to ________ them.

John O’Leary is the host of the Live Inspired Podcast. When he was just nine years old, John suffered ________ burns over his entire body and doctors told him that he had one percent chance of ________. No one expected him to ________. However, after dozens of surgeries and years of treatment and deep inner work, he is a fairly happy, ________ man with a beautiful family. He inspires others through his ________ as a motivational speaker, author, and life coach. He feels that what happened to him was his greatest ________: the realization that, regardless of our personal and professional challenges, we can navigate and overcome to reveal a ________ vision. In John’s words, “You can’t always choose the path you walk in life, but you can always choose the ________ in which you walk.”