Home gardens produce delicious food. But that’s not their main virtue.

Imagine a plate holding two strawberries, identical in appearance. One comes out of a supermarket box, meaning it is probably harvested when it is still unripe, immediately placed in a forced-air cooling unit and driven hundreds of miles. By the time it reaches the plate, it may have been off the vine for two weeks. The other strawberry is picked from a garden minutes before being eaten. The first one will probably taste sour with a light strawberry flavor. The second is likely to be sweet, and the flavor will remain in the mouth, as the smell will on the hands.

Supermarket strawberries are not entirely without advantages: they are convenient and available almost everywhere. The same could be said of cooking: affordable and decent restaurants around, so why bother to make your own meals?

That attitude misunderstands the final appeal of gardening: it mistakes the product for the purpose.

It is true that a garden, especially in the early years, can bring little but frustration. Inexperienced gardeners may plant the wrong crops for their soil. And even expert gardeners can lose a season’s harvest to uncooperative weather.

No matter.

The real joy of gardening is the time spent doing it. The deepest pleasure—as with cooking, writing, or almost anything worthwhile—is in the work itself. A gardener’s memories center not on the food produced, but on long summer afternoons with hands in the dirt, surrounded by family, if the garden is at home, or enhancing relationships with friends and neighbors in a community garden. To garden is to patiently, lovingly and diligently help life grow, in the ground and above it.

Friendship is a very beautiful bond in which no one is big or small, no one is rich or poor, and no one is ugly or beautiful. 【小题1】In friendship, there are no terms and conditions. There is no age factor in friendship. Each person has his or her own mind, own views. and own perspective on life. You can learn a lot from every one of your friends.

【小题2】It is best to have one good friend who accepts you as you are,who bridges gaps and never lets you fall. As the ancient Greek poet Euripides put it,“Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.”

Be happy and cheerful about your friends’ success. Always stand by your friends. 【小题3】Give whatever you want from your friends,like honesty, love, support and understanding, and never boast to your friends when you are more successful.

【小题4】,you will be friendless. Everybody has laws. And for a good find ship,we need patience, because patience is the key to everything. A beautiful friendship is like a childhood friendship, free of jealousy and full of love. Children are unaware of bad feelings, where anger can suddenly arise. This is the quality that makes children pure and special. 【小题5】That is why they are loved by everyone.

On a cold winter day in Denver, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the author of The Success Principles. What Jack had become was a version of what I wanted to be.

During his talk, Jack took out his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, “Who wants this?”

Hands shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would choose. But I ran up the stairs to the stage and grabbed the bill from his hand. He turned to me and said, “Yes, that’s it! Instead of waiting around for opportunities, simply take the initiative and create what we want!”

After this week, I asked for his personal e-mail address and sent him e-mail sharing my views and dreams. He kindly e-mailed back simple encouragement such as “Keep thinking and playing bigger; it’s much more fun that way. Love, Jack.” Then I got occupied with other things in life and I stopped e-mail Jack.

A year later, my dream gradually faded. I had this idea if I got back in touch with Jack. I e-mailed him again and again but got no response. As I sat down at my computer to check my e-mail for the fifth time in 15 minutes, an inspiration came like lighting: What was I doing? Was I waiting for the prize of life? I knew I needed to do something about all this waiting. I was going to write a book, which I would call “Waiting for Jack”!

It all sounded good, but then reality hit. Some nights I cried and wanted to give up. I wrote and rewrote. Even though I could feel the fear, I did it anyway. Fortunately, three years later, Waiting for Jack turns out a best-seller on Amazon!

We all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. Now I would like to ask you: what are you waiting for?