Two weeks ago, Ray Johnstone, an elderly man living alone in South Australia, posted a classified advertisement in search of a friend. Specifically, he was on the hunt for a fishing partner, as he no longer had anyone to share his hobby with. “I'm a widowed retired man who is looking for a fishing mate,” he wrote on Gumtree, “My previous fishing mate is now deceased. He will never accompany me to go fishing. I am a land-based fisherman. I have all the gear for all types of fish that is required for land-based fishing.”

    Like all of us, 22-year-old Mati Batsinilas was touched by the man's advertisement, so he reached out to him and arranged an outing. Rather than simply spend the day with Johnstone somewhere local, however, he and his family offered to take him on an all-inclusive weekend fishing trip of Stradbroke Island in Queensland. And, as expected, they had a good time. “Whilst on the island we covered four-wheel driving, site-seeing, fishing, swimming, chats with the locals and the best of all... just relaxing and chatting like mates,” Batsinilas wrote in a Facebook post. “Once you reach a level of maturity in life, age should only be a number. My respect for Johostone is obviously very high, but I treated him exactly the way I would have treated one of my 22-year-old mates.”

    Fortunately, it sounds like Johnstone won't have to place more classified advertisements any time soon. In addition to finding a friend, the pensioner has become a star on the Internet, with many social media users voicing their interests in meeting the now-famous fisherman.

    This year's flu season is pretty scary. To try to minimize the effects, public officials are still urging anyone who hasn't yet gotten their flu shot to get one as soon as possible. However, even if every single person got a shot in the arm, the vaccine(疫苗)—with its excellent 36 percent effectiveness—would not prevent everyone from getting infected with the annoying virus. Knowledge is power, so here's what goes on in your body when you come down with the flu.

    The influenza virus primarily attacks your nose, throat, and the tubes that lead to your lungs. But the flu is so much more than that. Your muscles ache, your head hurts, and your appetite goes down, among other things. To our surprise, almost all of these symptoms have less to do with the virus itself than with your immune(免疫的)response to them. Unfortunately, the very defense you have in place to get rid of the flu is the reason you feel so painful when you recover.

    The virus usually enters through your mouth, typically by way of your hands But it takes a few days for symptoms to set in. While this process might cause some harm to your nose and throat, it's nothing major, and nothing like the symptoms that typically accompany a bad or even mild case of the flu.

    The real fun starts when your immune system begins to fight. Your immune system comes in two parts: the innate system and the adaptive. The innate immune system is essentially an all-purpose tool. As soon as your body senses the presence of any injury or invader (入侵者), the innate immune system launches into action by producing tiny proteins called cytokines and chemokines. The cytokines reproduce almost immediately and start to attack the virus. This increase in immune cells creates an serious inflammation(炎症) throughout the body. But the worst is still to come. Meanwhile, the chemokines work with the adaptive immune system to help create T cells. These cells are a special type of white blood cell that works in a much more specific way: They find the influenza virus, identify what's special about it, and create something unique on their surface that finds and destroys similar invaders.

    Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want？Let's face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn't come naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.

    Focus on what you are thankful for. Most people want things to be better than they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect on how much better things are than they could be. Focus on what you are thankful for. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.

    When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can really poison our wellbeing. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. What happened in the past is done and gone, so work to stay present and be mindful of the current moment to find more joy and fulfillment.

    When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life, we are likely to be less satisfied. Social comparisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others, but they also hold our perspective in a discontented position. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.

    When you are focused on your big ambitions and future goals, you might elide the daily pleasures that surround you. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you. Stay present and focus on the task you're undertaking at the moment. Don't let the life pass you by because you're always on the go and distracted by ambition.

    Practice looking at life through the lens of contentment and it will become more natural.

    Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you'll have no trouble answering these questions.

    Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child's day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb(麻木的）to new stimulation(刺激), new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

    The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they'd felt cold water at first.

    Another block to awareness is the obsession(痴迷) many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a "ruby-crowned kinglet" and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

    The pressures of "time" and "destination" are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit, to take a moment to see what's around them. I asked them what they'd seen. "Oh, a few birds," they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.

    Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.

For nearly two decades, a thin, sun-burnt postal worker could frequently be seen carrying packages along a dangcrous mountain trail in the Taihang Mountains.

The 10-kilometer-long route, which is between 20 centimeters and 1 meter wide, is known as the "cat road" by locals, meaning that it is so dangerous that only cats could walk on it. Whereas, Zhao Yuefang, a postal worker in Ewu township in Huguan county, Shanxi province, had to walk the route every day to deliver mail.

Every day at the crack of dawn, he would start his journey along the "cat road". From picking up the day's post to delivering it to villagers and returning along the same route, it took Zhao four days. During rainy and snowy seasons, the mountain road, part of which hugs the cliffs, would become slippery and dangerous. One day in the winter of 2003, the "cat road" was covered in thick snow and he slipped off the trail. Fortunately, he was able to stop his sharp descent by grabbing a tree branch and slowly managed to climb to safety.

By 2012, Zhao had walked more than 300,000 km and delivered over 800,000 pieces of mail. Born and raised in the deep mountains, Zhao truly understands the significance of mail deliveries to villagers. "They depend on the mail to keep in touch with the outside world," he said. "Their sheer joy written on their face while receiving any post struck me," he added.

In 2012, a 67-km-long tourist highway was built and gone were those days when Zhao risked his life to walk on the "cat road". But Zhao was even busier than before. "The number of packages I handle daily now exceeds the number I used to deal with in the past," said Zhao, adding that villagers are turning to online shopping and ordering more and more goods by post.

If you have a passion for music, art, history and more, indulge it on a Yoyo Odyssey Cultural Tour!

How we travel can make the difference between just visiting a place, or really experiencing it from the inside out, which is why Yoyo has created its new Odyssey Cultural Tours collection.

These small-group, luxury tours offer a deep div e into history, art, music, literature, dance and astronomy, while enjoying everything that a destination has to offer, from exceptional places to stay to the best of local food.

Each holiday has the service of a Yoyo tour manager and we'll take care of you every step of the way, providing a VIP car service to your UK departure point for overseas trips, flights and transfers, all transports to accommodations, travel insurance and much more.

For music lovers; Yoyo has partnered with the Royal Academy of Music to create unique short breaks in London with concerts by talented young musicians from the Academy.

You'll be in expert hands-each tour is accompanied by a specialist in their field who's skilled at sharing their expertise through insight-packed talks throughout the holiday. Backstage, behind-the-scenes visits give a fascinating perspective on new places as well as cities that you may already know and love, all in the stimulating company of like-minded travellers.

ABC Music readers will receive an exclusive 5 per cent discount on all Yoyo Cultural Odyssey Tours-just quote the code ‘ABCR' when booking. To find out more please visit yoyo.uk/COT.