Stories of Kindness from Around the World

An Invisible Gift of a Brochure

It was in the early 1970s that I was employed by Rockwell in Downey on the space shuttle program.  The pressure to produce was intense with constant demands to meet schedules with teams of people of disparate skills and motivation.  I had been involved in the Gurdjieff work for a short time and was beginning to experience a bit of the calm that comes from the meditation practice.  At lunch time, my habit was to walk around the area adjacent to the test facility.  One day while so occupied, I came across a small strip mall that had a space rented to a branch of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation organization. Having a bit of curiosity about the technique, I entered the facility and spoke with a pleasant and slightly plump young woman who appeared to be quite calm.  Although it was not my interest to sign up for the courses ... Read Full Story >>

Honoring Loved Ones By Feeding Orphans

My mother-in-law lives far away from her three children and usually doesn't get to spend their birthdays with them.  There is always a card and a phone call, of course, but she does another amazing thing to celebrate her children---every year on their birthdays, she prepares a "birthday feast" for poor children in an orphanage near her home. Isn't that such a cool idea? 

Hope this idea might strike you when you are unable to be with a loved one for a holiday or birthday -- it makes you feel good by sharing the special day with those in need and know that you are honoring your loved one.

Why Didn't I Help Her?

On Monday at 2:35 pm, a bus full of passengers was going to 4 Bungalow from Andheri (E) in the outskirts of Bombay. There were a lot of guys on the bus who wanted to reach their destinations and were busy in their work. The bus was so crowded that you had to struggle even to get room to stand, forget about a seat. People were entering & exiting stop by stop. At one of the bus stops, an old lady came on the bus. She was not too old but looking tired and I think she was not well also. She had to go beyond 7 Bangalow which was a distance of at least one hour. I don’t know why I was watching her. I noticed after a few minutes that her legs were shivering slightly. Maybe she was tired and that’s why she was facing this problem. ... Read Full Story >>

Helping A Frail Old Man On A Hot Day

On Sunday we had some friends around for lunch.  I showed them some of the stories from this website and Kim, and her three daughters gave me a story to include:

"Today the girls and I were en route to Sainsbury’s when we noticed a particularly frail looking gentleman carrying a gasoline canister.  We stopped to enquire whether he was heading to Sainsbury’s petrol station and indeed he was.  We took him to the garage and waited whilst he filled his canister and returned him to his broken down car.  He was so grateful and just kept repeating his thanks (which amused my daughter to no end).  The journey was probably 2 miles each way which isn’t so bad for the likes of us young ones but as I said he was particularly frail looking, incredibly slow and the temperature was probably 30C!"

Kim is a great friend, with a big heart - her daughters are angels - I love them to bits!

Calling In A Neighbourly Favour For A Friend

Two days back when I was travelling to Delhi I received a phone call from a friend late in the night. She had missed her train from my home town Lucknow to India's financial capital Mumbai and had nowhere to go. I was not in town but I wanted to help this friend for three reasons :

1) She had phoned with hope and trust that I would help
2) She had helped me in the past
3) It was an opportunity for me to do an act of kindness. Vow !!!

I immediately called my neighbour (who is a very fine human being ) and said that I was sending this friend for a night stayover. My friend reached around midnight and you know what she got when she arrived: she was greeted with a hot cup of tea, a cozy bed, breakfast the next morning and contact details of a travel agent to rebook her train ticket.  

I have written this to express my gratitude and thank my neighbor  who did so much for a stranger, that too at odd hours. May her tribe increase!

The Kindness Chain

When I was studying, I used to work part time after school. We were actually poor. In the office where I used to work one person gave me money to attend classes so that I could learn and make myself a better person!

He didn't want anything in return and he always treated that money as a gift. When I tried to return the money to him later he said, "Keep it as a loan with you; when you come across a needy person help him like I helped you!"

I used that money and added some of my own and managed to help two people.  Those two people managed to help four people! I do not know how long the chain is now but that is how it works! It is multiplying and imagine all this is done without any fuss or clamouring for credit!

You help only those whom you want to.  There is no force. You may decide not to help also, but I have not met anybody who has received favours and has not done an act of kindness.

Start a chain today! Education is the best gift you can give!

Learning How To Teach

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she ... Read Full Story >>

Teaching My Daughter Through A Real-Life Experience

One day I had my youngest daughter, Lauren, out shopping and running errands with me. We were rounding the corner of a fast-food place to pick up something quick to eat, a rare thing for us. There was what appeared to be a homeless man, maybe 65 or so, who had a couple of dogs on wire leashes. He wasn't begging, but he smiled and waved at us. Once we picked up our food, I drove back around and asked him how he was, and said his dogs looked as though they really loved him. He said indeed they all loved each other, then said something like, 'I lost about everything in a fire a few months ago (a building he was squatting in) except for these guys, and I have all I need. But I sure do miss my Bible.'  I smiled and waved, and told my daughter that we ... Read Full Story >>

A World of All Kinds of Kindness

   I can't thank God enough for putting kindness on my heart. I work for Dutch Bros. Coffee in Gresham, Oregon and at work we put all of our small change into a jar. The usual practice is to take all this change after it has accumulated for a while and spend it on employee lunch meeting.     One day, however,  i really needed gas money, so i asked our manager if I could use change and  he said, sure that's fine. I took the jar and put it in my car, but then I found that one of my fellow co-workers had lost his license and needed a ride home.  He lived all the way across Portland and I had little gas. I drove him anyway and to my surprise he gave me 20 dollars when i dropped him off. On my way back home I felt so greatfull that ... Read Full Story >>

A Most Precious Family Heirloom

I was at my in-law's house with my wife Julie and the kids. Julie's sister Jacquie was there with her children, so it was a real house full and I suppose it was difficult to keep an eye on everybody.

Josh, who must have been about eight at the time went into the kitchen to get something. A few minutes later we heard a crash. He had knocked his Gran's crystal fruit bowl over. We all rushed in and saw it shattered on the floor. Someone lifted a scared Josh out of the way while Gran, Julie and Jacquie cleared up the mess.

Gran didn't really say much during all this. Either Julie or Jacquie commented that they thought she would have been more upset, after all the crystal bowl was a family heirloom!

"Ah, well," said Gran. "So is Josh."

She finished the clearing up, went back into the living room, sat Josh on her knee and started chatting again. She was one crystal bowl poorer, but she still had her most precious family heirloom.

A $100 Note For Doing The Right Thing

When I was in South Africa in February this year visiting, my mum and I used to do our shopping together.  One day we went to this big shopping centre and I decided to stay with the car while she ran in to get some stuff.   I noticed there are a lot of guys who help people find car spots and help guide them in.  They also watch your car to make sure it doesn't get broken into while you're shopping in order to make some money for their families.  When we got there this gentlemen came up and asked if he could keep an eye on our car.  I said there was no need as I was staying in the car. These guys only get given money and change if people choose to give it.  I remember standing there watching him help about 8 people, who had come and gone ... Read Full Story >>

Walk In The Sunshine

This weekend, Summer finally arrived in my town!  On Sunday Bigsi and Gangly Son and I went for a walk by the canal.   It is a popular spot and there were several brightly painted canal boats and small white cruiser boats sailing up and down the murky water. Happy families were out and about strolling with wet doggies, pink tongues hanging out, panting in the heat with the exhaustion of running backwards and forwards between interesting smells and exciting russling noises in the undergrowth.  We sat at the side of the canal on our blue stripey blanket, lazing under a shady tree, dappled sunshine warming us through the leaves, as we drank our cool lemonade. As the boats went by, most people waved and called hello, some raising their glasses in a cheery salute and the strolling families smiled and let us pet their dogs or had a brief chat about the lovely weather or how the dog had been for a swim. It ... Read Full Story >>

Homemade Rose Bouquets

I have ten rose bushes in my backyard. Every Wednesday, I take a bouquet to people I believe need some love and cheering up.  Sometimes I take one to church in a bud vase to give to someone. One lady mentioned she had mauve roses at her wedding, so the next Sunday I carried her a mauve rose.  Another time I carried a rose to a lady who was depressed and had mentioned she loved roses. On some Fridays I take some to a local store with instructions to give them to customers who desire them. 

Learning How To Live Happily, Again

One of my patients is a successful businessman and he told me that before his cancer he became depressed unless things went a certain way. Happiness was "having the cookie." If he had the cookie, things were good. If he didn't have the cookie, life wasn't worth a damn.  Unfortunately, the cookie kept changing. Some of the time it was money, sometimes power, sometimes sex.  At other times, it was the new car, the biggest contract, the most prestigious address. A year and a half after his diagnosis of prostate cancer he sat shaking his head ruefully. "It's like I stopped learning how to live after I was a kid. When I give my son a cookie, he is happy. If I take the cookie away or it breaks, he is unhappy. But he is two and a half and I am forty-three. It's taken me this long to understand that ... Read Full Story >>

Pushing Ourselves To Do Good

I knew my next door neighbor would be home alone for a few days, so when she stopped over with some cucumbers from her garden, I asked what she was doing later.  She said, "Nothing I'm all alone."  "Want some company?" was my reply. She was happy to have me. 

We spent the night chatting as we played a great game of Scrabble together.  The funny thing is that I was so tired I thought to myself, "How am I going to be any good company?"  But, when I got to her place, I was filled with energy and smiles! :0) I think sometimes we just have to push ourselves to do good and the rest will fall into place.

A Grand Gift From An Unexpected Friend

One day I went into a shop for a specific sort of metal polish. The bowl I needed to polish is made by Nambe, and I had inherited it from my mother. While I was in the shop, I saw an older woman looking around at things, and thought I would begin a conversation to liven things up. We hit it off and were showing some of the handcrafted items to each other. She said she was in the shop to purchase a wedding gift for a nephew, whose wedding she wouldn't be able to attend. We wandered off seperately and wound up together again at the cash register.  I commented on the beautiful bowl she had chosen, and how lovely so many of the items were. She asked what I was purchasing, and I showed her my tube of polish. I said I might buy more of the Nambe items when ... Read Full Story >>

Bed Sheet and a Blanket

Well, yesterday we had some visiters at my house and they spent the night with us. I went in their room and I found Nahida was going to sleep with a bed sheet instead of a blanket. I didn't know why she was doing that, bu, I told her that she can use my blanket if she would like to.  She smiled and said sure.  I was happy and I went to my room and gave her the blanket.

Today morning, when I woke up I saw something special.  I saw that my brother went to work and he covered me with his blanket.  I don't really know what to say about that because it can't be described in words!

Double Act With My Son

Today my son and I were doing our errands together.  While shopping in the grocery store, I noticed that the guy right behind us in line only had 3 items.  We told him to go ahead of us (since our basket was pretty full) and he was pleased. 

After that we noticed that the person who was now behind us had 2 antsy children and she also only had a couple of items.  So, I told her "you go ahead of us--you only have a few things anyway."  She looked at me with great relief and said "Really?? How nice!" and went ahead.  After she checked out, she touched me on the arm and said "Thank you so much!"  I could tell how glad she was to get out of there in a hurry! 

It was the least we could do, and didn't cost us a thing except a few minutes of time which we were happy to spare! It was nice to have a "double" today! :-)

Lifetime of Gratitude for a Biology Teacher

It is wonderful to be in the moment and thank those around us for helping.  Sometimes, it is nice to reflect on those who have been in our lives a long time ago and whose actions or words shaped us and influenced who we are today. One such person for me was my 7th grade biology teacher.  His class was "the one" that sparked my interest in cell biology and literally determined the course of my career from the tender age of 12.  I will never forget him.  Well, fast-forward many years later (about 20 actually), and I was at a crossroads deciding what to do... and I decided upon teaching college biology!  I wrote my teacher a long letter, describing my career path, life choices and what I was going to do, and of course the letter was a BIG thank you note to him for getting me started.  He actually ... Read Full Story >>

One Happy Lady in London

This afternoon on the train to London a lady came by asking for money.  She said she had had children spitting at her and she had tried so hard to do the right thing. 

Normally I would have given her £2 but today I gave her £20.  The joy on her face was lovely to see.  She said she couldn't believe it.  She would be able to get a room in a hostel, have a meal and a shower. 

This made me feel happy, but really it is all of you who should feel happy because all your stories and comments you made on mine and each others' that has had such an impact on my life and changed my attitude so much.  

I sincerely thank you all, and if that lady knew she would too.