在这个水仙花园中得出的定律是值得庆祝的最伟大的定律之一。那就是，懂得向我们的目标迈进，只求一步一个脚印——通常一次就一小步——懂得去热爱正在做的事，懂得利用时间的积累。当我们把时间的碎片叠加，再加上每天的一点努力，我们会发现我们也能成就辉煌。我们也能改变这个世界。
“这让我在某种意义上有点丧气。”我跟卡罗琳说，“如果我35年前有一个宏伟的目标，然后也像这样，‘一次种一株’地做下去，这些年我会有什么成就呢？想想我到底能做成什么！”
女儿直截了当地总结了那天的收获。她说：“从明天开始。”
实战提升篇
核心单词
reluctantly [ri5lQktEntli] adv. 不情愿地；勉强地
invisible [in5vizEbl] adj. 看不见的；无形的
sternly [5stE:nli] adv. 严格地；严厉地
majestic [mE5dVestik] adj. 雄伟的；威严的
headline [5hedlain] n. (报纸等的)标题；大标题
obscure [Eb5skjuE] adj. 黑暗的；朦胧的；晦涩的
increment [5inkrimEnt] n. 增加；增额
实用句型
She had created something of ineffable magnificence，beauty，and inspiration.她创造了无法形容的壮丽、美好和感动。
①过去完成时：had+P.P(动词的过去分词)。
②ineffable说不出的，类似带有否定前缀的词还有imbalance不均衡状态；illegal非法的；irresponsible不负责任的等。
翻译行不行
1.他昨晚到十二点才睡觉。（not until）
2.我们在大雨中离去。（in the midst of）
3.所有这些都说明了同样的结论。（point to）
第一章 A Turtle Brought Me“Enlightenment”
·Michael Chase·
Life is good，really good. Sometimes I feel like the good karma train picks me up，and simply refuses to let me off. I have an amazing wife，a teenage son that makes me glow with pride，good health，a wonderful family and the best friends a guy could ask for. I have a lot to be grateful for. For many years now，“thank you”has become my meditation as I start each day.
But the truth is，life was not always this good. It wasn’t all that long ago，when the resume of my life looked radically different. At one time，my life was filled with nearly everything that people try to avoid. Experiencing everything from unhappy relationships to financial struggles，poor health，depression，and an endless stream of negative habits was a part of my daily life. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried，happiness was constantly eluding me and disappointment became my shadow. It also seemed as if I was paving the way for a future that sadly resembled my father’s，until he took his own life at the age of 54. This was a defining moment for me. Once the shock of losing my father began to fade，clarity and a new sense of purpose became the dominant force in my life. I remember feeling as if I had“met myself ”for the very first time while also became conscious of my life’s true purpose. It was in that moment that I had made a major decision. Not only would I change my own life，but I would also make a difference in the lives of others.
Enlightenment and epiphanies can show up in some pretty strange ways. The Buddha found it under a Boddhi tree，Nelson Mandela in prison and spiritual guru Ram Dass through psychedelic drugs. Little did I know，mine would arrive in the form of a hard-shelled reptile simply trying to cross the road—a turtle.
But this wasn’t just any turtle，this was the world’s most optimistic one. He was tenaciously determined to cross twenty feet of tar as cars zoomed by at 55 mph. But today was his lucky day. My wife’s quick reflexes not only ensured that“turtle soup” would not be for dinner that night，but her act of kindness would eventually become the foundation for everything I teach today. As unusual as this sounds，the simple act of pulling our car over，removing this little turtle from harms way，and placing him back into the wild，caused something extraordinary to happen inside of me. As I stood there holding this tiny creature in my hands，a wave of pure joy came over me. It was that warm，teary-eyed sensation that we feel during life’s greatest moments；like falling in love or the birth of a child. I honestly felt as if my heart was completely opening up as everything stood still around me. In no way would I have described it as“enlightenment”，but there was no doubt about it—helping this little turtle just felt so damn good! But why? After all，it was just a turtle，right?
And then it hit me. I finally realized what was happening. At that point，a flood of inspiring thoughts surged through me. I walked back to the car，opened my journal and wrote eight words that would later prove to be life changing for me:“kindness creates happiness”and“live a life of kindness”. It was the answer I had been looking for. The secret to inner peace and lasting happiness was kindness. Not“random acts of ”or simply being nice，but rather as a way of life. I had already known the benefits of kindness through studying many eastern philosophies，but I had never actually considered it as a lifestyle.
But，this day was just beginning.
Just thirty minutes after my mini-epiphany，my wife and I arrived at our original destination—a country garden show. After walking around for just a few minutes，a gentle faced 60-something looking man waved me over to the front porch of his farmhouse，for no apparent reason. The entire setting was like a scene out of an old movie—weathered rocking chairs—the smell of cookies baking—and a coon cat that looked as old as the farmhouse itself.“Let her look around. Come and sit with me. ”he said.
