You’ve been around forever. I can remember all the pain you’ve caused for me.

Do you remember the night you almost took my father’s life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He’s addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn’t the only one hurt by you that night.

Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. “I’m so embarrassed,” they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). “I’m sorry,” they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. “This won’t happen again,” they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.

Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbour who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it’s all your fault.

I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

I’m Li Hua from Xinhua Middle School. I am writing to

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . Nothing stays the same for long: things and people change.

I grew up on a small farm, where a flock of sheep wandered around the surrounding mountains. My father was not highly educated, but he was smart. He was a man made of leather and chewing tobacco who rarely tried to talk with my brother or me. He was quiet and distant, I might say.     1    

One day I came home and his car was already there.     2     In fact, when he came home, he went to the barn (谷仓) to labour even more. I still remember hiding around the corner and stealing a look at my father lying bitterly on the bed that day. Multiple myeloma, I learned, is a type of blood cancer.     3     For the last year of my father’s life, his entire day consisted of rising from his bed and walking to his chair to sit and think alone.

He was predictably in that chair on his own when I came in.     4     He told me about his life, his heartbreaks and his loves. It was as if a pipe had burst, his inner self rushing out to me in a great flood. He had been speaking for maybe an hour or more when I realized that he was doing more than telling. He was asking to be understood in a way that he had never done before.

    5     I realize, though, that if he hadn’t, I might never have come to know him and love him.

8 . A grateful heart is a satisfied heart. A satisfied heart is a simple heart which leads to a simplified life. Gratitude opens the door to simplicity. But we live in a culture that produces dissatisfaction.     1    

Intentionally choose it. Gratitude will never be a result of your next success or accomplishment.     2     And you will never find it in life until you intentionally decide to choose it.

Find gratitude in difficulty.     3     But it can be more difficult during the trials of life: the death, the disease, or the failure. The truth is that no one is exempt(获豁免的) from the sufferings. However, good can be found even in the worst of times. Being grateful during those difficulties may get you through them.

Count your blessings. A new day, a warm bed, a unique personality, or a special talent.     4     Gratitude quickly sets in when we begin to spend a quiet moment each day remembering them. This practice alone has the potential to change your heart and life immeasurably.

    5     A lot of people in the world live on less than ￥2.50 a day. Many people have inadequate access to clean water. Let those facts sink in for just a moment and slowly allow gratitude to become part of the solution to take their place.

In daily life we must see it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.

How is everything getting along with you recently?

I’m more than glad to have been invited to attend the piano cogcert with you.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua