Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The Cupcake Connection.

My mother makes these amazing pudding-filled cupcakes with homemade icing that we all clamor over each other to eat. We are a caring bunch by nature but when it comes to Mom's cupcakes all bets are off!   This morning I stopped in at Mom's and, lo and behold, she had made a fresh batch! After much convincing (my step-dad has a hard time letting them go) I managed to score four of the delectable morsels, one for each of my boys (her grandsons) and one each for myself and my love.   I stopped at my boys' respective work places to deliver some love from grandma - which brought smiles to their faces as well as mine, watching their faces light up in the middle of a mundane workday.    Down to two now! I was already making excuses in my head as to why I should get both, after all my other half did ... Read Full Story >>

Motivational Chocolates

Where I work they were having a competition to get people motivated, and I won two Boxes of chocolates! 
 
I couldn't resist opening one box right there and sharing them with all my colleagues.
 
Everyone loved them and I think those little tasters might inspire them to try and win a box of their own!

Surprise Breakfast Treat

Last night around 2 am, my brother and I felt a little hungry. He asked me if I could go to a store by our house and pick up a snack. As I decided to go, a thought came to my mind to not spend all the money on food. Instead, I'll save some money for a person in need. On my way, as I walked towards the shop on the main street, I came across a homeless person sleeping on the footpath. As I passed him, I knew exactly what I was going to spend that money on.  I said to myself, “This person is sleeping outside on the road in this cold weather. He needs care and good treatment.” I wanted to put a smile on his face, first thing in morning. I wanted to help him. But how? There was no way I was going to wake him up in ... Read Full Story >>

Highlights from a Week of Kindness

Hello my kind friends!  Earlier in February, there was a Random Act of Kindness Week.  All that week, I tried to do something each day. 
On one of the days that week, I bought some extra boxes of heart chocolates and left them along with a Smile Card on six random people's desks at work. I purposely picked the desks of those I know haven't been tagged in the past to spread a few new smiles.
Later that day, I was just about to pull into a front row parking place at the store, but then I saw a mom pull around who could use it more. I motioned her to take it.  Little things here and there make a wonderful difference!

A Week of First Grade Kindness

     I teach first graders and want to share about a big kindness activity we did earlier this year. From Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday (Jan. 16) until the 100th day of school two weeks later, students performed and recorded 100 acts of kindness. These acts were collected on small hearts and organized in the shape of a huge 100. The kids worked SO hard to share kindness with each other both at home and at school and parent feedback and support was incredible!       That was also the start of my HUGE kindness project. Random Acts of Kindness Week started February 11th, but our preparations started weeks before: We wrote letters, decorating cards and planning for a great week of sharing kindness within and outside of the school. For many of these items, I printed and attached cards that read, “Please enjoy this random act of kindness.” As I’ve said before, I consider ... Read Full Story >>

One Candle at a Time

I've got this friend, Rachel. She's a bit older than me, with a sort of shy, but radiant smile. She's usually tan, as she loves the outdoors and spends as much time outside as possible. No matter the weather. In the winter, she'll often go for walks outside. In the summer, she'll sit in public parks strumming her guitar, reading, or napping on the grass.  She has the leisure to do these things because, suffering from multiple psychological traumas, she is unable to work. Well, unable to work in a "normal" workplace, that is. Because she does work. Her vocation is 'making' candles. She buys ready-made candles, usually the slightly translucent kind where the body of the candle will radiate the light, too. Then she puts designs on them by hand, working for hours at a time in her kitchen. She literally makes hundreds--if not a thousand--of these in a year. And then, ... Read Full Story >>

Taxes, A Plant, A Hug

Yesterday, while I was having my taxes done, my tax preparer told me her father had passed away two days ago.  She went on to tell me that she would not be able to attend his funeral, as he was in another country and, with this being tax season, she could not leave.  My heart went out to her. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked. "No, but just you asking made me feel better," she replied, tears welling up in her eyes. I told her to call me if she wanted someone to share stories with about her father. After my taxes were done, I immediately went out and bought her a lovely yellow tulip potted plant.  I enclosed a card that read, "Thank you, You make my world a better place." Then, I added a note to express how I deeply understood how losing her father felt. 
With my heart soaring, I gave her the plant. And she gave me the most wonderful hug. 

Birthday Gift of a Compliment

Recently, I switched to a different cell phone service provider. We visited the new service provider's store and one of the sales managers assisted us with our request. He was a very efficient and charming person. He was very good at what he was doing, gave us some honest opinions, and got us involved in some interesting conversations while we were waiting for our order to get processed. When we were about to leave, he politely told us that we could leave our feedback about today's service through a phone survey, which we'd receive soon. I asked him whether there was another way to leave feedback because I am not very good at attending phone calls. He replied that the phone call would be the only way. Before leaving, I quickly registered the name of the sales manager in my mind. The next day was my birthday. I really wanted to do something special for ... Read Full Story >>

Found on the NYC Subway

Pay It Forward Day has come and gone, but one New York City metro rider is keeping its spirit alive. The anonymous do-gooder left a sweet note along with a prepaid unlimited metro card for another rider to find, use and pass on. New Yorker Michelle Attardo spotted the card on 2nd Avenue between 88th and 89th and took a photo, which she shared on Instagram. The note reads: Unlimited - good 'til midnight. Use, if you can; leave for someone else when you're done. We love everything about this note, right down to its impeccable semicolon and apostrophe usage. Whoever you are, thanks for making our day -- and someone's night! ... Read Full Story >>

My Smile Deck Week

I recently received a Smile Deck, and decided to do a challenge, by drawing one card randomly every day!  Here were my opportunities for smiles this week ...  7 ♣ - Thurs. Sent encouraging notes to family members who are far away A   - Fri. Gave hugs to first five people I saw in the morning. They were exercising in the park. I announced my mission – to give hugs – and was enthusiastically accepted by 4, somewhat reluctantly by one. 6 ♣ - Sat. Made a lunch for my husband and included a written note with a joke in it. 9 ♣ - Sun. Put on a vintage “Sun, Wind & Fire” video for my husband & did a little joy dance to this fine disco music. 8 ♣ - Mon. Did a chore for a neighbor .Took out & carefully folded his dried laundry in our apartment laundry area. 9   - Tues. Donated a favorite recipe ... Read Full Story >>

Donation to Animal Shelter

An animal shelter says it receives about 50 to 200 donations per day, but none like the one it recently opened from someone apologizing for panhandling under the shelter's name.  The video tells the full story:

Today's Yoga Lesson

I was out in town today and I wanted to buy a yoga magazine.  

On the way to the shop I passed a lady asking for money.  I walked past her and went on to the shop. But when I got there I turned around, went back, and gave the money I had planned to spend on the magazine to the lady.  

Well, I thought,  that is what yoga taught me to do.

The Business of Taking Time

I spent my first 10 years of work life working in non-profits as a passionate, social change agent. Then, with a family to support, I moved into corporate life. During this time, part of me felt I had "copped out" on my values and principles. After another 10 years, my internal conflicts and stress pushed me to "bail out" and I started a home-based, private business. This decision brought back my passions. Every day, I get up excited to share these passions. My former trepidation about selling a concrete product is gone. I integrate my passions for helping people, providing health education on the high toxicity of old lead paint, supporting the environment and sustainable remodeling, and fostering preservation of our American heritage by supporting historic restoration. I choose to spend the majority of my time on the telephone educating and developing trust with my customers. Making a living has become almost secondary. Today, ... Read Full Story >>

Two Good Legs and Arms

Yesterday, I met a delightful woman at a work event.  As we talked, she shared about her childhood in Manila, Philippines.  She spoke about the way her culture values their elders, and she explained that children are reared from the time of birth to honor and respect people older than themselves. It was refreshing to hear, and I so enjoyed listening and learning.  Here is the memory she shared that I found so beautiful: When she was growing up, her father had three jobs to care for his family.  She said her dad never complained, and though he worked very hard, he always had time for them.  One day, her father was injured at his full time job.  For several months, he was mailed temporary disability checks while he recovered.  When her father was able to return to his full time job, he took all those disability checks that were sent to him while he was recovering and handed them back to the ... Read Full Story >>

Something Priceless At The Dollar Store

I stopped at the local dollar store the other day after a fitness class to buy a candy bar.  So I get the candy and get in line behind a woman who looked about twenty years old. She had two small children with her and quite a lot of items in her shopping cart.     She handed her credit card to the clerk but the clerk told her it had been declined. The young woman insisted she had paid it off the day before. The clerk replied, "Maybe it hasn't got through the system yet. Do you want to call someone?"     The young girl got out her cell phone and was looking through it. Meanwhile, they open another counter to check me out.      I was walking out to my car when I thought, "Okay! You're always wishing you could help someone. Time for you to do it!"     I got back out of ... Read Full Story >>

Simply the Nudge

Two weeks ago, my daughter came to me a bit frantic. One of her school friends, nine months pregnant and about to give birth any day, was kicked out of her house because her mother wouldn't leave her husband (the girl's stepdad) who was hitting the girl. She fled to the home of her boyfriend's parents. They, however, were packing up to move to a larger house. Being in transition themselves, her boyfriend's family couldn't host her at that time, and she was at a loss for where to go. So, two weeks ago, my daughter came to me asking if her friend can come live with us until the boyfriend's family finished moving. Well, here's a girl in trouble. I talked it over with my husband, who gave his ok. So we got things ready for her. She must have told her mom what was going on, though, because before she had a chance to move ... Read Full Story >>

Something To Sit On

We have five fantastic children.  As they've grown older, from high school to college and so on, we found ourselves cleaning out our home of furniture only to replace it with something new. We had this one living room set consisting of a sofa, loveseat and chair. It went through a couple of the kids, hauling it up the stairs to their third floor apartments and back down again to the next apartment. Our son was the last to have the set when he finally asked for a place to store it because he was going out of town for a semester.  We told him we would hold it for him in our garage.  So we picked the furniture up and brought it back to the house. One day, while at work, I heard a couple of people talking in the hallway.  A mother and her two children were kicked out of their ... Read Full Story >>

Giving The Rent Money Away

My wife and I were on our way to the seaside just before sunrise to pray.  On our way we headed to a community where squalor is king. I got an urge to drive into the impoverished community instead of past it and bless someone financially.    My rent money was all I had and the rent was already one day overdue. Plus, my wife and I were experiencing one of the worst financial drought in our lives.   As we approached the area I told my wife what I was thinking of. She said, "Follow your heart, sweetheart."     We drove into the community and as we turned the corner we saw a woman with her half-slip pulled up over her breast and her hands atop her head. I walked over to her and held out a fist with the money inside.She stretched her right hand out and took the money into her fist to ... Read Full Story >>

Over Some Snacks

Today at work, my coworker was hungry.

She had brought in a drink-type meal ...and it didn't taste any good. We were working until 9:30pm, so she really needed to eat something.

I went to the break-room and purchased some goldfish crackers and a bag of salted peanuts. I brought them back for my coworker to eat with me.

When I offered them to her, she was so thankful to me for looking out and making sure she would fill her belly a little bit.

We talked a bit as we ate the snacks together. It's nice to share a little food and conversation. And, tonight, we did both! :)

Take A Smile

My husband was away on detachment with the Royal Air Force. My parents were away too and although I have some good friends on this particular day I felt totally alone.