Since the day I walked past that nickel in the road，I've been more attuned to opportunities that surround me.I've been paying attention to my response to them.Instead of quickly discounting the ones that appear to be small payoffs，I'm looking at the bigger picture：What can a small opportunity add to what I already have going on？How can a small opportunity serve as the beginning of something bigger？
What a great life lesson，and it only cost me a nickel！
运动并不是我最喜欢的消遣方式，不过我知道它对身体有好处。因此，每天我都会尽量到外面步行两英里。通常我都随身带着纸笔，以便把在脑海中冒出的奇思妙想记下来。
几个星期前的一天，在我走到大约一半，正要经过一个转角时，突然发现地上有枚五分硬币。我调整了一下步伐，踏过这枚硬币继续向前走。
走了几步，我便想起了我的女儿，她总会在路上停下来捡起这些零钱，要是她的话肯定不会错过这一个。想到这儿，我禁不住想折回去捡起它。不过我又想，要是刚好给别人看到我弯腰去捡五分钱的话，那就太尴尬了。
我很快就从那个五分硬币联想到生活中那些小机遇，它们曾经摆在我面前，而我要么视而不见，要么与之擦身而过。仅仅因为觉得它们不重要，我忽视了多少这样的机遇？因为怕不好意思，我又有多少次选择了不去尝试？由于故作清高，向别人显示我毫不在乎这些小东西，我又错过了多少这样的机会？
那天，这件事一直在我的脑海中盘旋，于是我把这件事情跟女儿说了。她说：“要是我的话，我一定把这五分钱捡起来。你知道吗，有一天我在学校地上捡到了一块钱。”
她把握住身边每个看似微不足道的机遇。然而，这些机遇累积起来，它们发挥的作用就很有价值了。对我女儿而言，她就可以用那一块钱在学校的自动售货机买一罐汽水。如果没有这一块钱，她就喝不上汽水了。
第二天早上，当我再次从那条路上走过的时候，我特别留神。如果再看到那枚硬币，我一定会把它捡起来。然而，唉，正如我预料的那样，硬币已经不见了。看来，一定是有心人抓住了我轻易放过的机会，把这枚硬币捡走了。不幸的是，等我回头想抓住这个机会时，才发现已经错过了。
自从错过那枚硬币之后，我慢慢学会把握身边的各种机遇。我开始关注自己对这些机遇的反应。我不再轻易忽略那些看似回报低微的机遇，而是从全局出发来考虑：一个微不足道的机遇对现在的我有何裨益？这样一个机遇怎样才能成为我进一步发展的起点？
这是何等的人生经验！而它只需区区五分钱。
My baby brother and I
我和我的小弟
It's a balmy afternoon at the local supermarket.I am eight years old，sitting with my baby brother，discussing the twists and turns of my trying life as a student in grade three，when a swarm of kids tumble through the doors.They swagger through the heat of the afternoon.They chatter.Then stop.And ogle.
"What's the matter with him？"comes the gruesomely innocent question.
"Nothing，"I reply."He's just got this thing where he bled in his brain when he was born.He's all right."
I don't even understand what's wrong with my brother，so how can I explain it to someone else？
"My brother broke both his legs at the same time once and he had to use crutches，too，"lingers a voice at my elbow.It would be easy if I could say the same about my brother.But it's not that ******.Life never is.
My brother Ben has cerebral palsy.He was born 13 weeks prematurely and suffered a severe brain haemorrhage，which resulted in a permanent brain injury.After three months in intensive care，the doctors told Mum and Dad to take him home for his last few weeks of life.But Ben defied the odds.He turns 21 this year.
He is close to 1.8m tall，has impaired sight and learning difficulties and uses a wheelchair and crutches to get around.He has had four major operations，spent a total of 12 months in hip-to-ankle casts and put up with years of rehabilitation.Yet he still smiles and continues to make me laugh with his surprisingly bent sense of humour.I've always had a special connection with Ben.I understand the things he doesn't know how to express.
When we were little，we had a "Brother-Sister Club".We had code names and uniforms and spent hours in"meetings"under a sheet and four chairs on the family room floor：an exclusive club of two.
These days，we spend a lot of time together，just"hanging out"，as Ben likes to call it.We make a point of doing things he wouldn't do with his social groups or with Mum and Dad-like blasting the radio at a McDonald's drive-through just for giggles；or ploughing through foliage in the Royal Botanical Gardens for half an hour to glimpse 15 minutes of Guy Sebastian rehearsing for a concert.
Even normal，everyday things resonate for both of us-such as how we always say"yo"to each other at the breakfast table instead of"good morning"；how we slump together in front of the TV at night；and how we swap gossip just before bed.My reward is a grin that stretches beyond the bounds of Ben's cheeks.My brother is the only person I know who can love me with his smile.
Nowadays，with my university studies，career and social life gaining an ever-hectic momentum，I'm struggling to make as much time for Ben as I should.Every time I brush him aside，I feel a cold shadow of guilt and imagine how I'd regret these lost moments，if anything bad ever happened to him.
I know my parents'biggest concern is that I'll be left with the sole responsibility of Ben's welfare when they are gone.They want me to fulfill my dreams，to work overseas，to raise a family and to live my own life，without the burden of my brother.But I cannot even imagine giving up on Ben like that.
We recently discovered that Ben has epilepsy-yet another hurdle to add to the list of adversities he faces every day.I just can't understand it：why Ben？It feels like we've all been put on a backwards-moving conveyor belt.Every time we step forward，the pace picks up and triumphantly thuds us back to where we started.
It all seems so overwhelmingly futile and unfair sometimes that I wonder how my parents summon the strength and courage to face each day.
And sometimes，I'm ashamed to admit，I imagine what our family would be like without Ben.Life would be ******r and less strenuous.My parents would sleep soundly at night.They would go on holidays，spend time with each other and remember themselves.At times it can seem like we've forgotten who we are.
Then，last year，Ben graduated from his special school.He sat proudly up on stage，in his suit，shirt and tie，painstakingly sounding out each syllable of his speech.I couldn't help but envisage him as he would have been without cerebral palsy：he could have been house captain，soccer captain，debating captain or first trombone in the school jazz band.