Stories of Kindness from Around the World

First Basket of the Season

If you've read some of my other stories, you know my kindness mission is fueled by my three kids.  My daughters have huge hearts which makes giving fun, but I'm challenged with teaching my teenage son how to enjoy sharing kindness. 

I've begun sharing my acts of kindness with my family at the end of the day, trying to get everyone in the spirit.  This morning on our way to the first of three basketball games, I turned and asked my son how he was going to show kindness today. 

While he didn't have an answer, he later offered each of his sisters five dollars if they made a basket. (This is a huge deal because the girls aren't terribly aggressive.)  My youngest made her first basket of the season, and he actually congratulated her and gave her a five dollar bill. 

While I'm not supporting paying kids for doing well in sports :), I think, in his own way, he was trying to be kind.  In return, his sister felt that he was trying to be supportive. 

It was a special moment.  :)

Biscuits On A Cold February Night

I was sitting on the front steps of a small bakery near where I live and eating some noodles. I was enjoying my meal in peace with no one around. There is a burned out house right opposite the bakery and I know a group of people live there. The house has no electricity and has very poor ventilation.    I happened to glance up from my noodles and I saw a group of women gathered outside the house. They were sitting on the ground sharing a meal of some sort.    Seeing them there, a thought occurred to me. I am grateful for the food I receive every day but there are also folks who may be getting one square meal a day, or less. I felt that I needed to go visit with the women who were sitting there.   I bought a large packet of biscuits from the bakery and went over. The women looked slightly ... Read Full Story >>

Money Flows - Let It

After a sick-day on the couch I was walking around the block to get some fresh air.  Just as I was turning back towards home I heard someone bawling. A kid, I thought at first. Then I saw it was an adult, a woman, looking lost, crying and calling out, walking on and off the sidewalk.   The woman who first crossed her path didn't stop or ask what was wrong. I guess that stopped me and made me turn around.    I took her arm and gently pulled her back from the road, asking her what had happened.   There was spit all around her mouth and tear streaks down her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Sobbing, she told me she'd been on the bus with a friend. She'd given her "friend" the last of her money and then the friend had disappeared. She couldn't get the bus home now since she didn't want ... Read Full Story >>

From Suicidal To Motivational

A very wonderful thing happened on my radio show! A young man who had called the show a week before was sitting across from me in the studio telling listeners not to give up!    This was particularly moving since he had call me on air to say he was about to kill himself.   The very day he called my wife and I went to see him after he had promised me on air not to commit suicide. We invited him into the car and offered him some donuts which he took with trembling hands. He was hungry, penniless, frustrated and hurt. Just last November his mother had been gunned down in a drive-by shooting. He had just finished talking with her on the phone when it happened.   On the day he called the show he had turned the radio down so it would not distract him from cutting his wrists. As he was about ... Read Full Story >>

These Stories Featured on Radio Show

 The stories posted here are so inspiring I have begun sharing them on my radio show.  I do a program every weekday from 6 AM to 10 AM and at 7:30 AM I share an uplifting story from this site. The stories have been such a blessing to listeners that people have begun to make the feature part of their morning business.

The world needs more of your stories. Keep sharing.

Tumbling Food at Hand, Smile at Heart

At a large event, an elderly gentleman was carrying his food tray on his walker.

Suddenly, the tray tipped over and landed on the floor, and all the food tumbled around him. He was having difficulty bending over, so I bent down to retrieve the food for him.

He thanked me, and I immediately saw the gratitude in his eyes.

Such a simple gesture swept my heart into a smile. :)

Kindness Ripples

Yesterday, I took my brother's puppy to the pet store to spread some kindness. My mom and sister have been watching him while my brother is at work and when I went to pick him up to go to the store my mom gave me money in case I saw something cute to buy him. As we walked around the store, I looked at various options but started to feel uncomfortable. Here was a whole store devoted to pets with everything you could imagine, while some humans struggle to survive and others die for lack of basic necessities.  The puppy and my family's other dogs already have plenty of toys and everything else they'd ever need.   I decided not to buy anything. When I told my mom, she said to save the money for myself. She won't take "no" for an answer so I graciously accepted and decided to use the money ... Read Full Story >>

Southerly Winds Sweep In Smile Cards

Yesterday, I gave out my first Smile Cards!

There was a very strong, gusty southerly wind in town. While driving, I noticed some empty trash cans in the street. I stopped at the first one I encountered, placed it upside-down beside the curb (hoping it would not blow into the street again) and placed a Smile Card under it.

Then I drove on.

Talk about anonymous-- the recipient probably had no idea what a Smile Card is, who put it there, or even why it was there! I did this twice more on my way home from town, and it felt great! :)

Kindness Adventures On Our Block

I spend a lot of time at home, so there are many opportunities to interact with our great neighbors.

Today, I got a phone call from an older neighbor who lost her balance while bending over her little dog's water bowl and had fallen down.  I immediately ran over to her house with a cold gel-pack in hand! Then, I stayed a while, took some cute pictures of her pup with my cell phone, saw that she was okay, and returned home.  

She just called again to tell me not to worry, she is okay.

Upon returning home from her house, just as I was closing my door, I saw another neighbor (who is also a senior) climbing up a small ladder to hang something in her tree.  The ladder looked precariously perched, so I ran over to check on her. She thanked me, but refused my help. I told her I would stay next to her, just in case. :)

Both these women live alone and are very independent. They are a huge inspiration!

Scarf with a Mission

I recently received a story from a friend: So after a recent meditation group gathering, a wonderful soul that I trust and admire asked me to give away a beautifully constructed scarf with a smile card. I mean, living in New York City in the dead of winter, I thought this should be easy.   There is a woman who sits outside in the cold, near my office building every single day. I instantly thought, Let me give it to her. She appears to be homeless,  it is cold, and she sits there all day, everyday, outside of one of the richest jewelry stores in the world. Excitedly, I went to give her the scarf.   She said, "What is it?"   I told her, and she said, "No, I don't want it."   And in that moment I was both perplexed and humbled. I wanted to plead with her, "It's cold, it’s snowing, you don't ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Surprise

One morning I heard someone trying to get their car out of the snow after a snowstorm. (A very common sound here in Montreal.) After a few minutes I realized they needed a push, so I got dressed ,went outside, and pushed the car. It only took about a minute and, feeling more cold than sociable, I walked back to my apartment, without really seeing the driver.   Months later I was at the corner store and the guy in front of me insisted on paying for the beer I was buying! It felt a bit awkward and I had to refuse repeatedly. When I reached the cashier she told me my stuff was already paid for and she couldn't take my money.     So, I was walking back home from the store and that same guy is fifty feet in front of me, all the way! It turns out he's my neighbor, ... Read Full Story >>

Kids Are Kind

  I decided to add some positive energy into my workspace by having the students contribute to a "question of the month."  I posted a question on the wall outside my office at my elementary school and waited.  Eventually, I started seeing some amazing ideas and answers to the questions.  Here are some of the responses throughout the year.  It was heart-warming and yet sad to me how some of the expressions are things many of us take for granted... If you had a million dollars what would you do with it and why? - I would give back to my city. So I could fix it up - I would buy food for my family and a car - I would give to foster children, homeless and everybody who needs it...yah, my family - I would give it to the school: books, pencils, better food - I would give back to the community, give some to ... Read Full Story >>

Spreading Confusion In My Work Place

Yesterday, at work, I went around leaving envelopes on random desks. Inside the envelopes were Smile cards and various gifts, like scratch cards, bars of chocolate, candles, and so on. I sat back to listen to comments colleagues made as they opened their envelopes. Some of them made me giggle.    A few examples were - "I found this card with a ribbon around it, thinking it was something else. I opened it and found a Smile card and scratch card." "How creepy - and kind of nice!" "Can you imagine winning?" "We should leave a Smile card for someone!"   Then a colleague asked if I had left it and I said, "What is it anyway?" Then I pretended to read the card and encouraged them to look at the web-site!    They continued to speculate about who left them and showed everyone who came into the office.   As I left the office I noticed someone else finding a ... Read Full Story >>

25 Choices that Lead to Happiness

Quarter century markers have a certain weight carried with them; a recognition that much has come before to get to 25 and that there is much to follow before the half century marker arrives.   April 16 marks what would have been or what is, depending on your perspective, Josh’s 25th birthday. Since he left this world at age 15 ½ in October 2002, the number associated with his “missed” birthdays did not have a particular poignancy, other than 16 and 21(these are birthday markers in our culture for everything from driver’s licenses to an ID that allows you to legally consume alcohol and presents you as an “adult”).    Yet, 25 evokes a feeling I can’t quite put my finger on, yet I know it is there and I know I am struck by the power of this number.   What could I do with it? What could I do for Josh? He gave us ... Read Full Story >>

A Heart Of Flowers

I bought a pink flower arrangement in the shape of a heart for a new friend who owns a spirituality store. It was for her to put in the shop window. I love thinking of the smiles and good energy it will give to people looking in. 

New Friends And Queijadas De Sintra

Don't you just love those days in which everything fits in and you get this amazing feeling of elation?  Today I ventured out in the melting snow to visit my 82 year old friend. She needed help with her computer so I popped in for a computer repair and a chat. Even though I only managed to fix half the problem we had a lovely chat and she presented me with some traditional Portuguese cakes called Queijadas de Sintra. She said a friend had posted to her all the way from Portugal.    Then I went to town did some shopping. On the way back I noticed a new coffee shop with a name that appealed to me. "Anglo-Milanese." Being a fan of Italy and having stayed in Milan a couple of times I couldn't resist going to investigate. Once inside I noticed the people running the place were, in fact, Italian, so I placed ... Read Full Story >>

Can You Use This?

The last few days I have been thinking of items around my home that I don't use and getting rid of them. Why have them laying around and taking up space when someone else can use them? 

Minty Smiles

It's great fun showing people that they are important through random acts of kindness. In addition to Smile cards we found some smiley face butter-mints at our local Dollar Tree. We attach them to the Smile cards with a decorative paper clip.   Our youngest daughter handed a Smile card with mint attached to an elderly lady waiting at the doctor's office. It brought tears to her eyes. The lady stood up and said, "That deserves a hug!"    Our daughter passed out five more "minty" Smile cards at the doctors office that day.   Our oldest daughter made some whoopie pies and bagged them up with Smile cards attached for her aunt and her aunt's 90 year young neighbor. They both were over-flowing with excitement!   We gave a Smile card to a lady we saw at Wal-Mart and she said that she really needed the Smile card after a rough day at work.   Our family went to Pizza ... Read Full Story >>

The Queen Of Tarts

I was having a conversation with someone last week about dessert recipes. It's one of our favorite subjects! 

Scarves For Homeless Teens

It is so cold where I live right now!