奇速英语

One day, my friend Mareya called. “Nora, I will travel to Hawaii. There’ll be beaches, sandcastles…” she said. Her words made me have a strange feeling. I was happy for her but envied her a little. “Oh, well,” I thought, “I will have a hiking trip with Olivia. That will also be very interesting.”

Later that day, I learnt Olivia would visit her uncle’s new beach house. So we had to put off our hiking trip. “I’m really sorry. But you understand, right?” she said. “Oh, sure,” I said. I tried to push the corners of my mouth into a smile, but inside, my heart was sinking.

At that time, I saw Mrs. Daisy in her garden. I offered to help her water the flowers in the hope of taking my mind off unpleasant feelings. Watering the flowers made me feel good but I still couldn’t stop wishing I could also be on holiday with my friends.

“Be careful!” Mrs. Daisy said. “That is a harmful plant. I’ll get it out of here.” Suddenly, I realized what I was watering. Mrs. Daisy was aware of my bad mood, smiled at me and said, “Dear Nora, plants or feelings, we should watch what we’re watering, right? If we nourish the harmful plants or bad feelings, then that’s what we have. But if we try to nourish the beautiful flowers or good feelings, then that’s what we get.” “I guess that makes sense,” I said, “but I fail to tell my mind to stop being sad.” “Just let yourself feel all of your feelings,” she said, “but after a while, you can try feeding your mind with happier thoughts. Talk to a friend, go for a run or just enjoy the beauty of a flower.”

I thought Mrs. Daisy’s advice was worth trying. So I called Olivia at once. After sharing my feelings with her, I cheered up again and moreover we both agreed to have our hiking trip after she came back.

— Adapted from the story by Lissa Rovetch