Across the street from where we live, there stands a big hospital. To earn some money, we rented the rooms upstairs to patients. One evening, there was a(n) 1 at the door. I opened it and saw a short old man who was hardly 2 than my eight-year-old son. But the worst thing was his face—it was 3 ugly. He told me he'd been 4 a room since that noon but no one seemed to have one. For a moment I hesitated, not 5 to rent him a room, but his next words convinced me. He said,“I could 6 on this chair. My bus leaves early in the morning." I told him we would find him a 7.

    It wasn't a long time before I found that this old man had a 8 heart in that tiny body. He fished for a living to 9 his daughter, his daughter's children, and her disabled husband. He didn't tell it by way of complaint. Instead, he was 10 that no pain was caused by his disease and that he still had strength to keep going. At 11, we put a camp cot(吊床) in my children's room for him.12 he left the next morning, he asked, “Could I please come back and 13 when I see the doctor next time? Grown-ups are bothered by my 14, but children don't seem to 15. ”I told him he was welcome to come again.

    On his next trip, he brought a big fish and a bag of the largest oysters（牡蛎）I had ever seen. Other times we received 16 in the mail. There were oysters, fish or some fresh vegetables. 17 how little money he had and that he must walk three miles to 18 these made these gifts much more precious. And from him we 19 what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good 20gratitude.

    My fiancé and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were1and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.

    One agent2a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was3our range, so we declined. But she kept urging us to have a look4.

    We finally did and it was5at first sight. It was Our Home, small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake. Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners, a nice elderly couple, we felt the warmth and6of the marriage within that home. As perfect as it was, the price remained too high for us. But every day, we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of7it would be like to live there.

    Days later, we made a(n)8—far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn't9us. They renewed their offer10. It was also much more than we could afford, but far11than the original asking price.

    The next day, we got a12message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the13directly. We made our final offer, which14was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer's bid. We knew it,15we had to try.

     “Sold!” said the owner. Then he16: He'd seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we'd17the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a18by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the19in the price “an early wedding present。“

    That's how we found our home and how I learned that when people are20they are not strangers, only friends we haven't yet met.

    Like many perfectionists, I truly believed that self-sufficiency was a virtue. And1my brain was so good at finding what it was looking for, I noticed every single time that idea got proved2 and so I always had lots of3for why it really was better if I just handled everything myself.

    This kind of thinking, friends, was the 4in disguise (伪装).

    My self-reliance came in handy when I was a kid in the seventies and in adulthood when I was an independent 5Then, in the first years of 6the Organized Artist Company, I found myself 7everything I could about websites, copywriting, graphic design, etc. Later whenever one of my business friends 8about how her website was being held hostage (人质) by her designer, I9felt too satisfied10if mistakes were made in my business, they were all mine.

    Now this was where my false11showed up—in not wanting others to know I made mistakes. If I had other people12me, they would see my errors and13. Working alone, I could keep up a pretty good display of 14.

    But as the Organized Artist Company became increasingly 15, I realized I was doing harm to the people I was trying to serve by attempting to do everything myself. I was16my growth and the depth of my work.

    I had built a business with my own two hands, and I 17with a business that I could hold in my own two hands. Cozy,18limited in scope (范围).

    Once I was willing to control my ego( 自负) and admit that my vision of self-sufficiency was a 19my business took a remarkable leap forward, and revenue 20 Little change, big difference.

    It was an evening in September when I landed in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak in Malaysia. I was a 19-year-old Dubai-raised kid away from home for the first time to 1 my undergraduate studies.

    I had never travelled alone before. I pushed my 2 and headed to the airport 3 to find a gray car with the name of my university on it.

    As we left the airport, the driver began talking to me. As I am a driving 4 myself, we started talking about cars and driving.

    “Never make a Sarawakian 5,” he warned. “No road rage（路怒）. Very dangerous!” Not long into our 6 the lights of the car behind flashed at us. This continued more aggressively and my driver started to 7. We pulled over to the roadside. My heart was pounding but I tried to put on a(n)8 face as the man from the car came up and made his way to my side of the car. As he reached my window. I 9 it and tried to 10 a smile.

    I looked down at his hands to see that he was 11 my travel bag. It 12 my passport, return tickets, as well as cash and letters for the university. I had left it 13 on the trolley at the airport and this man had been trying to 14 it to me ever since we had left the airport.

    Breathing a huge sigh of 15, I took my bag and 16 this stranger. The man welcomed me to Kuching, wished me luck with my university studies and drove away.

    This act of kindness 17 cheered me up and thanks to this honest 18, the initial self-doubt I had about my decision to 19 so far away from home was 20 with hope and excitement.

    My aunt came to my home with her six-year-old daughter Alice this morning. While my aunt was talking with my mom at home, my cousin felt a bit 1. So I suggested that I go out with her. My aunt happily 2. So we went to the park near my home together. There we bought two 3 and started flying them. While we were doing that, Alice couldn't help 4. She jumped up and down and I knew she was 5having great fun. And I must 6that I haven't enjoyed myself like that for a long time.

    Later, we sat down on a bench, looking at the gardens. As we were7there, Alice looked up at me and said, "What a 8day today!" I smiled at her and agreed. I then started 9 what we had done that day. We did something quite 10, yet we were very happy.

    Many people wait for their "best days". But I think today is our 11 day. That's a lesson I 12 today. As adults, we often make plans 13 in order to have a great day. Some people think that they can have a nice day through spending a lot of 14. I think we should be more like 15. They don't think about money or what will happen tomorrow. They 16 live in the moment and enjoy the moment!

    We often hear the expression that we should live in the 17. How do we do that? We're not doing such a 18 job. Remember today is important as we are exchanging (交换) a day of our 19 for it. Yesterday is a history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a 20. That's why it is called present. So seize (把握) the day!

    We love letters. Just as John Donne, a poet, 1 it, "Letters, to me and my friends mean 2 greetings; they get souls together. Thanks to letters, friends who are 3 speak." He wrote these words nearly 400 years ago. Today, in the age of instant text message, social media, and email, they 4 ring truer than ever, because writing or receiving a letter has become such a 5 event.

    A UK-wide survey undertaken by Sunday Times suggests that one in four of us has not 6 a letter for at least 10 years. That's ten years without the bitter-sweet 7 of pacing the floor waiting for the 8; ten years without recognizing the handwriting on the envelope and eagerly 9 the letter to read its content.

    We 10 not get them any more, but we still love handwritten letters. In the same survey, one third of 11people interviewed say that they 12 the content of sentimental (充满情感的) letters. Shouldn't we make 13 to give our friends and families what they will treasure forever? Ann Bickley went online in 2013 and offered to handwrite a letter to anyone who 14 her. Her website received 50,000 15 in its first three months. Five years later, she is still the main 16 behind one-million-lovely-letter.com and has personally written 4,000 letters offering hope and 17 to strangers.

    The thought behind a letter 18 as much as its contents. "I never tell anyone that 19 is going to be OK," Ann Bickley says, "I am letting someone know that there is someone in the world who20them."

    Who wouldn't love to receive a letter like that? Let's get writing!