From the window of my room, I could see a tall cotton-rose hibiscus. In spring, when green foliage was half hidden by mist, the tree looked very enchanting dotted with red blossom. This inspiring neighbor of mine often set my mind working. I gradually regarded it as my best friend.
Nevertheless, when I opened the window one morning, to my amazement, the tree was almost bare beyond recognition as a result of the storm ravages the night before. Struck by the plight, I was seized with sadness at the thought “the entire blossom is doomed to fall”. I could not help sighing with emotion: the course of life never runs smooth, for there are so many ups and downs, twists and turns. The vicissitudes of my life saw my beloved friends parting one after another. Isn’t it similar to the tree shedding its flowers in the wind?
This event faded from my memory as time went by. One day after I came home from the countryside, I found the room stuffy and casually opened the window. Something outside caught my eye and dazzled me. It was a plum tree all scarlet with blossom set off beautifully by the sunset. The surprise discovery overwhelmed me with pleasure. I wondered why I had no idea of some unyielding life sprouting over the fallen petals when I was grieving for the hibiscus.
When the last withered petal dropped, all the joyful admiration for the hibiscus sank into oblivion as if nothing was left, until the landscape was again ablaze with the red plum blossom to remind people of life’s alternation and continuance. Can’t it be said that life is actually a symphony, a harmonious composition of loss and gain.
Standing by the window lost in thought for a long time, I realized that no scenery in the world remains unchanged. As long as you keep your heart basking in the sun, every dawn will present a fine prospect for you to unfold and the world will always be about new hopes.
从我的房间的窗子向外望去，可以看到一株高大的芙蓉树。秋日里，芙蓉树在薄雾中若隐若现，红花点点，样子实在迷人。它总是赋予我灵感，让我思如泉涌。时间久了，我竟把这芙蓉视为知已了。
然而，一天清晨，当我推开窗子时，愕然发现前夜的一场风雨已将它摧残得落红满地。刹那间，我有一种“花开终有落”的悲凉感觉。这使我不由得发出一声慨叹：人生的旅途中，总是少不了种种羁绊，那些曲折的经历总会伴随着我们，曾经失去过的挚爱的朋友,生命的脆弱不正是像这随风而逝的花吗？
随着时间的流逝，我渐渐地把那天的感触淡忘了。一次出差回来，感到屋内的空气有些沉闷，于是我不经意地打开了窗，可就在那一瞬，我被眼前的景象惊呆了。窗外，一株李子树开花了，火红火红的花朵，满树都是。在夕阳的映衬下，分外美丽，这意外让我惊喜不已。没想到当初自己只顾悲伤，却没发现那凄凉的背后，竟存在着如此坚强的灵魂。
是啊，当芙蓉的最后一片花瓣凋落之时，人们以往对它的赞许都已成为过眼云烟。可如今，李子树却成长起来了，那火红的花儿正向人们昭示着生命的更迭与繁衍。谁能否认生命原本就是一场得失共存的交响乐呢？
我久久地伫立在窗前，深深感悟到，生命之中本没有一成不变的风景，只要你的心永远向着阳光，那么每一个清晨就会向你展现出一个等待着由你来开启的美景。不管你正经历着怎样的风雨，请相信,这个世界总会带给你新的希望。
You Had Better Slow Down放慢你的舞步聆听
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You had better slow down,
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short,
The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly,
When you ask “How are you?” do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You’d better slow down,
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short,
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift...
Thrown away...
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower,
Hear the music.
Before the song is over.
If you have known how to compose your life, you have done a great deal more than the person who knows how to compose a book. You have done more than the one who has taken cities and empires.
你曾否看过孩子们骑旋转木马，
或听过雨水拍打地面的声音呢？
你曾否追逐过飘忽不定的蝴蝶，
或看着夕阳消失于地平线呢？
放慢你的舞步，
不要匆匆忙忙。
人生苦短，
音乐不会永远奏下去。
你是否每天忙个不停，
当问候别人时，你真的在意他们的回答吗？
每晚就寝时，
你是否仍在脑海中念叨着无数的杂事呢？
放慢你的舞步，
不要匆匆忙忙。
人生苦短，
音乐不会永远奏下去。
当你匆忙赶到目的地时，
也就错过了旅途中一半的乐趣。
当你终日忧心忡忡并马不停蹄时，
就像一份礼物还没被拆开……
就已丢弃……
人生不是一场竞赛。
放慢你的脚步，
倾听沿途的音符，
在音乐还没结束以前。
如果你学会了如何谱写自己的人生，那么你一点也不比著书立说者甚至攻城略地者逊色。
What Makes Us Truly Happy? 是什么让我们幸福？
In recent years, researchers have attempted to use a variety of statistics and surveys to answer a question that’s occupied countless generations of philosophers: What makes us truly happy?
While some evidence suggests that happiness may be linked, in part, to relative wealth—how we’re doing compared to those around us—overall the old adage that money doesn’t buy happiness seems to hold true.
“We are materially so much better off than we were 50 years ago, but we’re not one iota happier,” says Chris Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan.
That’s no surprise to happiness expert David Myers, who sees happiness as more closely correlated with people rather than things. “We humans have a deep need to belong—to connect with others in close, supportive, intimate, caring relationships,” he says. “People who have such close relationships are more likely to report themselves ‘very happy’.”
We’ve compiled a list of seven factors that influence rates of happiness and depression. Many of these factors vary from city to city and region to region. Here’s your chance to see how your city compares.
He Works Hard for His Happiness
Does working make you unhappy or happy? The answer: It depends. Toiling away at a job you hate may eat away at your happiness over time. But overall, being unemployed is worse for your state of mind than being employed—at least, that is, if you're a guy.
The Pew Research Center found that the percentage of men who said they were “very happy” was significantly lower for unemployed men (16 percent) than for employed men (37 percent). Unemployment had little impact on women’s happiness.