Recently I accepted a challenge to join Naasih, a motivational speaker, on a voyage through India designed to revitalize(使恢复生机) my spirit. After too many hours, Naasih and I arrived in the slum(贫民窟) just as the sun was breaking across the smoggy Delhi sky. It seemed as if the small houses extended for miles, an ocean of tin roofs and laundry lines.

Finally, Naasih stopped and turned to me. "Give me your bag," he said. I handed it to him. I had promised to follow his directions, and in return, I was hoping to find whatever I thought was missing from my life. "I’ll meet you back here at sunset," Naasih said and walked away.

I began to walk through the streets. No one paid too much attention to the tall, hairless man walking among them. My throat was dry, my stomach turning over with hunger. And then I saw a small house and I knocked softly on the door.

A young, skinny man, no older than 25, came to answer it. As I soon found out, the man is named Sankar and he was a Lakers fan. I also learned that he was a recently graduated university student who had left his family to go after a dream of success in the big city. Instead, he had found work in the back of a restaurant.

After lunch, Sankar took me to play basketball with a group of children in a trash-filled field down the road. The sun was beginning to fall as the laughter of the basket games echoed(发出回声) across the slum. I had been so caught up in my day with Sankar. I had started the morning in fear and exhaustion, but I was ending the day connected to something much larger.

After the game, Sankar and I walked to Rata Road. There stood Naasih. He said, "You’re shining, Leon." I had been knocked entirely out of my comfort zone, and I felt that wild burst of life that had been missing from my own.

A man who broke his neck outdoors in freezing conditions survived lying in snow for nearly 20 hours thanks to his dog,who kept him warm through the night and barked for help.

The Michigan man, named only as Bob, was alone when he left his farmhouse on New Year's Eve to collect firewood. Predicting a journey of only several metres, Bob was wearing just long jeans,a shirt and slippers when he went outside, despite the temperature being around —4°C. However, he slipped and broke his neck.

“I was screaming for help but my nearest neighbour is about a quarter mile away and it was 10 :30 pm, but my Kelsey came" said Bob. Kelsey is Bob's five-year-old Golden Retriever. She kept Bob warm by lying on top of him,and kept him awake by licking(舔)his hands and face. Bob said:"She kept barking for help but never left my side. She kept me warm and awake. I knew I had to persevere through this and that it was my choice to stay alive. " “By morning my voice was gone and I couldn't yell for help, but Kelsey didn't stop barking. She was letting out this screeching howl that alerted my neighbour. He found me at 6 :30 p. m. on New Year's Day. ”

Bob's neighbour eventually discovered him after hearing Kelsey's howls and called the emergency services. When Bob arrived in hospital, his core temperature was below 21°C. “I was surprised to find out that I didn't have any frost bite "said Bob, " I am sure it was because of Kelsey's determination to keep me warm and safe. "And to the surprise of doctors, Bob made a quick recovery from his neck injury.

“I am so thankful for my two heroes," Bob said. “Kelsey kept me warm, alert, and never stopped barking for help. Dr Colen saved my life and ability to move. They are truly heroes and I will be eternally grateful. ”

I was 16 when my father finally decided he would send me to wilderness camp for several months. He had threatened to do it many times before, but my mother had always managed to prevent him from doing so. This time he insisted on doing it.

The latest incident was the last straw. Impulsively (冲动地), I had pushed Mr. Ford, my math teacher, down a flight of steps at school. He broke his arm in two places. Anyway, he had agreed not to accuse me as a favor to my dad, who was in the middle of a tight race for sheriff (执法官) in our town. But my reckless behavior had my dad's closest advisor talking.

"John, he's your son and he's a kid, but he is dragging you down," I heard Jake Hutch tell my dad through his closed office door the night after I pushed Mr. Ford. "If you can't make your son obey the rules, how can you make the law obeyed in this town?"

So, off to Pisgah National Forest I went. I imagined hours of untold abuse at the hands of some strong sergeants (军士). I was determined not to be broken. I was who I was,

Nearly every day for six months, a small group of other troubled teens and I carried our 30-pound backpacks on a difficult journey covering about 10 miles. We hiked in a rough wilderness that seemed untouched by civilization.

Our sergeants were firm but kind, not frightening as I had imagined. We learned how to make a fire without matches and create a shelter with branches and grass. We learned which plants were safe to eat out in the wild. I felt myself change. I was calm and often reflective. My old, impulsive self was gone.

One morning, six months later, my dad came to pick me up. I ran to hug him and saw happiness and love in his eyes.

"So what's it like being sheriff?." I asked on the ride home.

"I lost the race, Danny," he said.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I knew my behavior probably had a lot to do with the defeat.

Dad squeezed my shoulder and brought me close. "As long as I don't ever lose you, I'm okay."