Last night, on my way home I stopped because of being attracted by some hamburgers at a fast food restaurant. On my way in, a homeless man approached me and asked, “Do you have any bottles lying around?” I knew he would recycle them for a few cents, but I didn't have any, so I said no. And again he asked, “Can you spare some change ?” I smiled, and said no again. He was very respectful; he smiled back and said, “OK, thank you.” Even though he didn't have anything, he was still in good spirits. From the way he spoke I could tell he was smart.

    Then I bought one hamburger and enjoyed my meal, but in the back of my mind I wondered whether the homeless man was hungry. After I finished my meal I decided to order another one for him. At this point I didn't know if he was still around, but I tried anyway.

    At the counter I ordered a hamburger and also a hot chocolate, because it was cold outside, and I thought it would help warm him up. They delivered me the hot chocolate first and as I waited for my hamburger, I noticed the homeless man was standing right beside me. I looked at him and smiled, “This hot chocolate is for you.” He replied like a gentleman, “Thank you so much. That's very kind of you.”

    I always believe no matter how hard up I am, there are always those who are worse off than I. When you help someone, it's not always about money, it's about love. The love you give today, someone might forget tomorrow. It doesn't matter. Love anyway, because the greatest thing you can give is love.

    I was at my parent's dinner table. Before me was a worn journal of thin and discolored pages. It was my grandfather's journal and now belonged to my father. My grandfather had passed away in the months leading up to my birth. I never got to visit the places he had frequently and people who had been a part of his life's journey.

    I was now about to enter his world, through the words he had left behind. Within minutes, I was attracted by the power of the written words. In the magical script before me, I was transported to another age when food was an everyday art, planned, prepared and enjoyed in the company of others, and a time when people had the heart to pause，their own lives to embrace (拥抱）each other's struggles. All this was conveyed to me in the beauty of the words that flowed together to connect with the writer's mind and understand the world they lived in.

    That kind of writing seems to be lost on us today. We have gotten used to writing in bite-sized pieces for a public looking for entertainment, and hungry for information. No wonder, there are nearly 200 million bloggers on the Internet and a new blog is created somewhere in the world every half a second. Instead of adding to our collective wisdom, most of these writings reflect the superficiality (肤浅)and impatience of our day and age.

    This not only robs us of the skill of writing impressive essays, it also prevents us from exploring what is truly important. Writing humbles us in a way that is vital for our character growth, by reminding us about the limits of the self and our appropriate place in the vast flow of life. Writing frees us by helping us explore the unknown so that we truly open up to the magic of the world around us. I saw all of this in the writing s of my grandfather. And I've seen it again and again in the writings of the greatest thinkers of humanity. Their writings reflect deep thought on issues of human importance.

    For Suilasaikhan, a man living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(IMAR)(内蒙古自治区), life was hard years ago. When the wind blew, the sand made it almost impossible for him to see anything. He had to find his way back home by following the barking of dogs.

    Thankfully, things are much better today. About one third of the desert is now covered with trees, and sandstorms are less common. Ian Teh, who comes from Malaysia, came to China last year and was amazed to see people planting trees in the several deserts in northern China. "To be honest, it was hard to imagine it was ever a desert at all," he said.

    These are the results of Chinas years-long efforts to deal with desertification (沙漠化). In the 1950s, this widespread problem affected the life of about 400 million people in 18 provinces and autonomous regions in China. So China started several programs to deal with it. For example, the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, saw thousands of trees planted in northern China.

    In 1994, China joined the United Nations' convention (公约) against desertification and created the world's first law on sand prevention in 2001. With these efforts, the past five years have seen the area of desert in China decrease by 242,400 hectares.

    Desertification isn't the problem only in China. With china's success in dealing with desertification, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) believes the country is a good example for other countries to follow. "China is one of the most successful countries in greening the desert and has lessons to share with the world." UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim told Xinhua.

    Are people less happy or more happy the older they get? A study found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18.

    The finding came from a Gallup survey of more than 340,000 adults between the age of 18 and 85 in the United States.

    Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.

    Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties. The survey also found that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.

    The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.

    So why would happiness increase with age? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

    The original goal of the study was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that, people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older.

    The UNESCO has recognized the Chinese art of paper cutting on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List. But paper cutting is at the risk of disappearing.

    Voyo Woo, a Chinese immigrant, who loves paper cutting, worked hard to celebrate the ancient art form. With a keen interest in paper cutting, Ms Woo held a paper cutting exhibition at a shopping center near Washington. "I really love it. I get so much fun by doing it. So I'm just kind of hoping that more people will learn about this art which is about to disappear. I think it's time to take action. So I held it."

    Voyo Woo began to study paper cutting when she was a 14-year-old girl in southeastern China. Voyo Woo's teacher gave her extra training after class because Voyo Woo discovered a special love for it. Later, her beautiful paper cuttings won second prize in a national painting competition. "Paper is the easiest material that you can find. You can just turn it into beautiful art. I think it is like magic to me."

    Ms Woo came to the US after she finished college in 2008. She has been invited to show the art at a wide collection of events. She also has shown her skill and works at famous museums like the Smithsonian Institution's Freer and Sackler art galleries in Washington.

    "I saw so many people coming to me and asking me. They were amazed. I think it's important to introduce the art form to American people or anyone who is interested."

    Ms Woo placed examples of her art around her as she displayed paper cutting at the shopping center. Ann Russ, a shopper, was attracted by the nature of the work. She said it put her at ease. "I like to know about Chinese art, specifically because it's almost relaxing to put that much effort into it," Russ said.

    A Harvard study of their graduates over thirty years found that there were only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down their goals-and these were the most successful! You can be certain that every one of those students had repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only 3% actually wrote down their goals consistently. Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals and, then, focus on them consistently, until they are accomplished!

    What is it that causes the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome"? People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next year, they make the same New Year's resolutions. That is the syndrome. So why do so many people do it?

    They may be making goals that are too global, and too unrealistic. The elephant analogy (比喻) is still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal setting. "How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time." So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and accomplish them easily. Once you've mastered this, get a bigger spoon!

    You may have too many people in your life who consciously or subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who want you to have what you want for yourself. Support each other and you'll all achieve your highest goals.

    We must be careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be selective about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather than what to include in your life.

    Goal setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk in town early one morning. The chicken became really excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs, $2. 99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig grunted and said, "That's all right for you to say. For you, it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal achievement is total commitment.