I tend to go slowly when I drive in the mountains of my home, because the forest scenery is beautiful no matter what the season. This morning I was driving slower than usual because an early March snow had turned the roads slippery. Going up a mountain road, I had to slow down as I rounded a sharp, snowy curve (弯道). That was when I saw a majestic buck deer (公鹿) standing in the middle of the road. I came to a full stop and for a few seconds we just stared at each other. His eyes seemed wise and his composure (镇静) refined. Finally, he nodded his head at me. I nodded in return and motioned with my hand for him to go on. He then leapt across the road, up the hill, and back into the woods. I drove on smiling at the magic of this moment and thanked that I had been going slowly enough not to hit this beautiful creature.

Most of us rush through this life not knowing what we are missing. We rarely get to enjoy what each day brings us. Wouldn’t it be better to go slowly through our days here? Life is meant to be savored. Moments are meant to be cherished. Days are meant to be lived in love and joy not flown through at a frantic (疯狂的) speed.

The next time you find yourself going too fast, slow down. Take the time to watch the sun rise over the horizon and fill the world with light. Take the time to look your children in their eyes, hug them, and tell them that you love them. Take the time to smile, laugh, and sing. Take the time to read, lounge (闲逛), and relax. Take the time to live your life with love and delight in all the miracles each day brings you. If you do, your life will be so much better and more beautiful. And you might even end up not hitting a deer on your way home.

When Johnnie Martin was in the second grade in high school, one day a psychologist of the school called him into his office.

“Johnnie, I’ve made a very careful study of you. And I feel sorry to have to tell you… Though you have worked very hard, it has not helped. You’re just not fit for it.”

The boy buried his face in his hands, “This will be hard on my parents,” he said. “Their one idea is for me to be a college man.”

The psychologist laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “People have different kinds of talents. Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you.”

Johnnie never went back to school. Jobs were scarce in town, but he managed to keep busy mowing the lawns of the householders and puttering in their flowerbeds. Before long he discovered he had an eye for color.

One day while he was downtown, he happened to notice a stretch of unused land behind the city hall. Chance or fate or whatever you may like to call it brought one of the town’s aldermen（市政委员会委员）round the corner just at that moment. The boy said, “I can make a garden out of this dump, if you’ll let me do it.”

“The town’s got no money for it,” said the alderman.

“I don’t want any money for it,” said the boy. “I just want to do it.”

The alderman was shocked to find someone who did not want money. He took Johnnie into an office, and when the young man came out he had the authority to clean up the public eyesore. Before long the old dump became a little beautiful park.

It was also a kind of show window for Johnnie. People saw the result of his skill and knew him as a natural landscape gardener.

That was twenty-five years ago. Today Johnnie is the head of a successful business in landscape gardening. His aging parents are proud of Johnnie, for he is not only a success, but he has also made his part of the world a lovelier place to live in.