Johnny lived with his mother and father in a small town in the mountains. One day there was an earthquake near the 1. Many houses were 2. Everyone thought that there would soon be another earthquake.

    They were 3 that the second earthquake would be worse than the first. “We 4 send Johnny to a safe place,” Johnny's mother said to her husband, “Many of our friends are sending 5 children to relatives in other towns.”

    “We'll 6 him to my brother, Peter,” Johnny's father said. “He lives a long way away. Johnny will be 7 with him.”

    He telephoned Johnny's uncle Peter and asked him 8 he would let Johnny 9 with him.

    “He is a good boy,” he said. “He won't give you any 10 .”

    “11 , Johnny's uncle Peter said. 12  I'm not 13  to children. I 14  a very quiet and peaceful 15 .”

    “You won't know Johnny is in the house.” His father told him.

    16  Johnny, 17  was five, went to live with his uncle.

    Two days 18 , his mother and father 19  a telegram from Peter.

    It said, “I'm returning the child. Please send the 20 .”

    I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. That day, I took a 1 to Grand Central Station. We were driving in the 2 lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right 3 us. My taxi driver slammed (猛踩) on his brakes and almost 4 the car's back end by just ten 5!

    The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident,6 his car and started yelling bad 7 at us. The taxi driver just smiled and 8 at the guy. And I mean he was 9. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost 10 your car and sent us to 11!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the law of the garbage truck.”

    Many people are like garbage trucks. They 12 around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of 13, and full of disappointment. As their garbage 14 up, they need a place to dump it, and if you agree, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump their 15 on you, don't take it 16. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and 17. You'll be happy at what you do.

    I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and 18 it to other people? That day I said, “I'm not going to do that anymore.”

    What about you? What will happen in your life if you let more garbage 19 pass you by? Life is too short to wake up in the morning with 20.

    Next week, strangers with a truck will 1 everything we own, except the clothes on our backs, the car we will drive, and as much stuff as we can pack into it.

    It's called 2 . Some people do it often. For others, like me, it's a rare experience. In all my adult years, I've moved only 3 .

    My first husband and I moved into our first house with a bed, our clothes and a few gifts. That was 4 ago. Over the years, I filled that house with three children, a few dogs and enough stuff to reach the ceiling(天花板).

    Then the kids grew up, I lost my 5  to cancer, and I began to learn about 6 .

    First, I let go of the idea of being 7. Life isn't about being in charge of what happens; it's about being in charge of what we do with it.

    Next, I let go of 8 the things I care most about. I began to put important things first like keeping in touch with the people that mean the most to me.

    I let go of the people whose lives are about anger or hatred( 憎恨), and tried instead to 9 myself with those who shine with 10 .

    Finally, I let go of being 11－I remarried.

    I eventually moved to a new city with my new husband, and after that move, I promised I'd stop collecting meaningless things. But 12 years later, here I am, still learning about letting go. Yesterday while cleaning out a dresser, I found a box filled with old keepsakes(纪念品). Nothing in that box may mean much to anyone, except me. They are treasures for me which 12 me of the 13 they preserve. We finally decided to hold onto to them and never let them go.

    We'll all move someday from this world to the next, but we won't need a truck to do it. We'll take nothing with us and but 14 a memory of the life we lived, the mistakes we made, and all the love and kindness we tried to show That memory might not be a treasure, but 15 , someone will keep it and hold it close and never let it go.

    One evening, Catherine was at home as usual. As her 1 swung between what she was going to do with her life and their dinner plans for the evening, she was unexpectedly 2 by an urgent call from her sister "Get over here! Turn on NBC and check these guys out. They are just like you….." One Facebook message and a phone interview later, Catherine 3 herself on a bus with 8 strangers in the middle of the sweltering desert heat of Utah, picking up trash and 4 awareness about zero-waste and climate change.

    With a deep 5 of the environment and a desire to make a 6, Catherine, Davey, and a group of self 7 "environmental pick-up artists" went on a coast to coast road side trash pick-up. As they walked, sometimes only 8 0.9 miles in an entire day, they 9 and steadily made their way across the United States for three years, picking up a total of 201,678 pounds of trash.

    Catherine and Davey 10 with us wonderful stories of hope and inspiration that fueled their 11 to continue their journey. After spending weeks silently 12 how she would have enough 13 to fly home for their two-week spring break, Catherine found a blank, unidentified envelope 14 with $850 cash in the desert. Just enough to get her home and back. After their bus 15 outside of Denver, they unexpectedly got 16 and arrived in Yosemite National Park three weeks later, just in time for the "Yosemite Facelift" where 17 from all over the state came together with a 18 of cleaning up trash all over the park.

    Being at the right place at the right time became almost normal, and they realized that much of what they 19 was more than just a coincidence. Together, their team learned to simply 20 themselves to their task, and surrender to the journey.

    In my early thirties, I decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5, 895meters above sea level. 

    After months of preparation, I started my great 1 . At the base of the mountain, I met Mik, a local porter, who warmly 2 me. Mik's job was to carry my equipment up the mountain, set up the tent, and carry everything back down after reaching the 3 . 

    The first day of the climb was 4 the rain forest, across a slippery , muddy ground covered with tree roots and vines (藤蔓) . Mik was carrying 30 kilos on his head! By that evening, we made it to 3, 000meters. The air was 5 and it was colder. When I arrived at the campsite for the night, my tent was already set up and waiting for me. 

    Day two was much steeper and rockier. I really had to 6 what I was doing. And I felt guilty for the tough 7 Mik had to work in. Yet when I turned to Mik, he said with the biggest smile, "pole, pole, "which means"8 , take it easy" in his native language. I 9 back, my burden lighter somehow. 

    Over the next five days, the climb got 10 difficult. The temperatures could 11 from 21℃to below freezing in a few hours. At 5, 700 meters, there's only half the oxygen 12 in each breath compared to at sea level. That leaves many people with severe headache. Yet Mik always had a smile and a positive attitude. It had an enormous impact on mo, giving me the 13 to keep going. 

    Even today, when I find myself 14 with anything in life, I just think back to Mik and his smile. A great attitude can bring joy to those around you, or even 15 strangers to the top of a mountain. 

In 1984, I was a painfully insecure teenage girl from a dysfunctional family, depressed, underweight, and rejected by my classmates. My only comfort was to be the stage manager at our school.

One day, actors from the famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival came to perform for the school. One of them was Barry Kraft, and he was unlike anyone I'd ever met. As I ran around backstage helping him, he treated me with friendliness and respect that he would show for friends in his living room.

He showed up at our drama class and asked everyone to narrate a monologue (独白). To my shock, he took me aside after class and said, "Your monologue was the best. That was really very good."

I made it through graduation and got accepted to college. That summer, I traveled with a friend to see Mr. Kraft perform. During one performance, I gathered up my courage and dropped him a note during the break, saying I was visiting and if he looked he could see us. Almost immediately I regretted sending the note. I thought it was the most presumptuous (冒失的) thing I had ever done.

At the end of the show, he was waiting for me! He smiled broadly and gave me a hug. Then he said, "Would you like to visit backstage?" And off we went. Every time we met someone, he introduced me and said, "She's a very good performer who was a huge help to me at her school visit."

It is difficult to describe how important this man's attention was to me. A successful actor doesn't have to give a depressed teenager the time of day, but he did far more. My confidence had just increased 800 percent. I am now a happily married professional, and whenever I notice a teenager in need, I remember Barry Kraft. He saw a teenager in need of attention and support, and he took the time to help. So now I take the time, too.