“Paul must have been trying to carry his waste paper to garbage can and dropped a few pieces.” I1picking them up.2later I found more pieces. No quiet sighing this time. I 3“Who is throwing garbage?” No answer. Instead, I saw more bits of paper silently floating4from upstairs. Looking up, I saw my seven-year-old son, Paul.

    “Stop making a mess.” “It's not a mess. They're5.” “Sorry, what did you say?” I hadn't heard him clearly.

    He didn't answer me. Paul has autism (自闭症) and6answers a question, especially when he's 7attentively on something else. He ran down the stairs. “Where are my other butterflies?” he asked,8around. Every time Paul 9five or more words together, my heart says a 10of thanks. But lately he seems to 11that the benefits of forming complete sentences when communicating are12of the effort.

    Butterflies. Of course. I rushed to13them from the garbage,14them off and handed them to my young artist. “Want to see them15again?” he asked with a shy smile. “Oh yes! They're beautiful.” I whispered. He ran back upstairs to float his 16down again. They really did look like beautiful butterflies.

    That day Paul 17me to look up at 18instead of down at garbage. How many other masterpieces (杰作) do I miss because I'm too caught up in my 19to take time to appreciate what's right in front of me? Life is not what happens to us. It's 20we look at it. Now, I look up.

Honest Thanks

    I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the notecard into the 1 ， sealed it and stuck the stamps on it，but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox...I2.

    The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via Facebook 3.She had inspired me to live a(n)  4 life—for example，by 5 more.

    Her volunteer efforts weren't 6—she wasn't building wells in Uganda，but  7 she was doing small，local good deeds，such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do，too. She made me8 I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her 9 positively influenced my life .I could have easily sent her an e-mail，10 that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank you. That's why I ended up 11 the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox，unable to place the envelope inside. What was 12 me? Why was this so 13 to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn't like she was my best friend，I just knew her，“People don't 14do this，” I thought to myself. However，15 thinking it over，I still felt a(n)16to let her know how grateful I was. Finally，I put the envelope in the mailbox.

    Weeks later I received her reply. She was 17  a tough time and my letter meant the 18  to her. She didn't know she had such a(n)19on others. Not only did this letter make her happy，but her response to it increased my 20 of happiness，I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating gratitude is a great skill to practice. Life is too short not to do it.

    These days my work is mostly on the Internet. However, there is one 1 that I use nearly every day. And I learned it from my dad almost 40 years ago in a very different 2.

My father ran a plumbing(水管) shop. I had to 3 him with his work. One day, I was asked to work 4 a concrete floor. It wasn't the kind of work I5 The work was physical work which involved6 a chisel(凿子) and swinging a five- pound hammer at it really 7 Often, my aim was bad 8 the hammer missed the chisel and 9 my wrist. After ten minutes, my dad came, expecting to find the job completed. Actually, it wasn't. He asked, "Son, have you been doing it all the time?""Well dad," I told him 10"I figure out a good way to do this more11 I just tap the chisel and move it. I'm generating a circle of shock wave down into the concrete. That way, it'll break along the lines and I won't hurt my wrist again." Dad gave me a12 look. He said, "Son, just hit the thing." Then Dad13 me his hand. I saw many scars on it .He told me, "If you stick to the work, you'll 14 it sooner. " Well, I did hit it then. And the job only took five more minutes to finish15 enough, even though I hammered my 16 two or three times, I was proud that I'd just done it.

Today, nearly 40 years later, when I 17 any difficulty in work I still hear my father's voice, "Son just hit the thing."I feel18 because I know he's still urging me to take action, go ahead, get the job done, and never 19the scars. And that's not a bad 20 to carry through life.

    It was a hot summer day. The sun was shining brightly and all could think of was1down with a scoop of my favorite ice cream. I decided to make a quick2to the newly opened ice cream parlor (冰淇淋店) close by for a mid-day3.

    As soon as I arrived there, I 4my ice cream in a fancy cone and asked the server to5two tubs of chocolate ice cream for folks at home.

    While waiting for my take-out, I was halfway through my icy treat and was enjoying the view of the two colorfully6ice cream flavors, sitting pretty one next to the other.

    Now that my to-go order was7, I headed to the payment counter to settle the bill. Surprisingly, the cashier had forgotten to8my ice cream,9only for the two tubs.

    The next few10passed by as I11between doing what was easy—clearing the bill and moving out, and doing what was right—12 the error. I knew if I didn't bring the error in the bill to his13, my ice cream would be charged against his14.

    That moment, my decision was made and I went and told him what he had 15. He looked at me in 16 and thanked me profusely for telling the error. Had it not been for my 17telling the error, he would have been 18. The smile of relief on his face made me smile, too.

    I came out of the ice cream parlor feeling really19about myself. I knew that day how wonderful it feels to do what is right20what is easy.

    I went with some colleagues from my office for a dinner in a very popular local restaurant. It was 1 business time and the restaurant was packed. We 2 found a table in a corner for three of us.

    As soon as we sat down, we heard a crash when a cleaning boy 3 the floor with all the plates he was carrying. There was 4 and no one was saying or doing anything.

    In a flash I remembered my 5 many years ago. Once, I 6 in the airport because I had rushed there on my own on an empty stomach. I was picked up and taken care of by two 7. Now this was my chance to 8 it forward.

    I ran to the young man's side immediately, turned him on his back and screamed for someone to 9 a hot drink. Soon people started asking if I was a doctor. I said I was not, 10 I was skillful at blacking out(晕厥).

    The kid soon opened his eyes, 11 what had happened. I 12 him by saying it was OK and I had had a 13 experience. He had not eaten anything. I held the 14 drink to his mouth till he finished it and sat with him till he felt OK.By then the 15 had arrived. I asked her to give the kid something to eat. I offered to pay.

    The manager was kind enough to refuse the 16 and agreed to make sure the kid ate before he went home. By the time all this was 17 it was getting late for my colleagues. We hadn't 18 anything yet, so they decided to go home.

    I slowly walked home, not hungry any more, feeling 19 for the opportunity I pay forward the 20 I had received many years ago.

    It was a warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon some fifteen or sixteen years ago. I took my two kids to the local playground. As soon as we got there my daughter headed for the swings(秋千) and asked for a 1. I noticed another little girl 2 to get her own swing going high as I was 3 my daughter to go higher and higher.

    I walked over to the little girl and asked 4 she need help. She smiled and said "Yes!" and I soon had her feet flying towards the  5 while she laughed happily. For the next two hours I found myself pushing swings and playing games with my daughter and the little girl. By the time we headed home, I was 6tired, but my spirits was still flying 7than those swings.

    Two years later I was 8again after a long day's work. Still, I needed to9 my kids from their school before heading home. I stood in the 10 waiting area waiting for my children. Suddenly, I felt two 11arms wrapped around my legs. I looked down and there was the little girl I met 3 years before in the 12smiling up at me. She gave me a big hug before running away to 13 the school bus. As I watched her 14, I didn't feel tired any more and my spirits were once again 15with that swing.

    The love we 16 with others will find its way back to us. It will travel from heart to heart, it may take seconds or it may take17. The law of love, 18, is never broken. We will get back what we give. We will harvest what we19. The kindness we give and the joy we create will always come back to 20 us.