Before you put on a frown (皱眉)，make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.

—Jim Beggs

    The last time my eighty-three-year-old mother visited, I asked how she was feeling. It's a valid question. She has,1, had two knee replacements, a metal rod placed in her femur, and arthritis (关节) is settling into her bones so 2 she can no longer roll the dough (生面团) to make her famous cinnamon crisps. She moves 3 and with precision (准确) to avoid another 4.

    But she hasn't5moving. In fact, she and my father attended their first Jimmy Buffet concert this summer, where they sat on the lawn. Here's the thing about my parents: They6say no to an invitation or a new 7. If they can make it work, they're willing to8 just about anything. When we need them to come stay with the kids, we have to get on their9 far in advance.

    They10 us daily.

When asked how she was feeling, my mother responded without an ounce (盎司) of11: "Well, almost everything hurts every day. Some days are better than others. But you know what I've discovered? It doesn't12 a bit to smile. So that's what I've decided to do...13at everyone I see. I may not be able to do all the things I used to do, but I can at least14 someone's day."

    It is such simple wisdom, and such a profound shift.

    Moving the15from what we don't have, from what we've lost, from how we've been burdened to what we can16others is the difference between living in the dark and giving off17. And illumination (光亮), of course, makes traveling so much easier for us and for others.

    In chaos theory (混沌理论), the butterfly effect maintains that the18 breeze from a butterfly's wing can19the path of a hurricane halfway across the world.

    Imagine, then, the possibilities that exist20 a single smile.