At that age， I'd take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic. I'd calculate our gas mileage -- figure out useless statistics on things like grocery spending. I'd been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. I can't remember the details， but basically the ad said， every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life: I think it might have been two minutes per puff. At any rate， I decided to do the math for my grandmother. I estimated the number of cigarettes per days， estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on. When I was satisfied that I'd come up with a reasonable number， I poked my head into the front of the car， tapped my grandmother on the shoulder， and proudly proclaimed， "At two minutes per puff， you've taken nine years off your life！"

生活的美在于它的不可预测性。

上天安排我福分浅薄，我就培养高尚道德去迎接它；上天安排我身体劳顿，我就修炼精神安逸去弥补它；上天安排我遭遇艰危，我就努力实现政治理想去沟通它；上天安排我境况困苦，我就力求精神愉快去疏导它。

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.