Last year my children gifted me a stainless steel coffee plunger(咖啡壶). I love to start the day with a strong black coffee and couldn't wait to use it. I look forward to the following1coffee making, knowing that I probably wouldn't break this plunger as easily as I had done so often in the past.

    But as I poured my first cup of coffee, the plunger2all over the table.3no one was around to see my4face! I kept trying, but each morning would5me wiping up the6. I realized that if I poured very slowly there would be no spilling.

    This was at first a very painful7. My normal practice was to8breakfast so that I could get on with my day.9, in time I learned not only to pour slowly but to10the experience: the smell, the taste, and the stillness of a new day.

    It helped me to11upon whether there were other areas of my life I was rushing through. Most of life, it seemed.

    I started to12extra time to do even the most ordinary tasks. When shop owners would13for keeping me waiting, I'd say, "Not a problem, I'm not in a hurry." Even hanging out washing became pleasurable when a couple of extra minutes of standing still and14the birds singing in the trees around me became part of my routine.

    Besides, one of my favorite experiences living in the inner city for many years was sitting on the front doorstep of our home spending time with15. We sat on the16, each of us with a cup of hot coffee in our hands, listening to each other's stories. It was one of the17things about living in a busy city. It was as if the world around us slowed to a pace we could both18.

    19and quietness not only slow the pace of life, but also20the soul, helping us to enjoy the world's small pleasure.