Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Five Simple Rules To Be Happy

Posted above my computer are the following rules and maybe they can be yours too: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries 3. Live simply 4. Give more 5.  Expect less Over the weekend, my husband and I bought a pack of diapers and baby wipes for our young neighbors next door, who are working hard to stay on their feet since the birth of their little baby girl a month ago.  It was not much and it certainly did not strain us financially, but I felt good leaving it at their door, anonymously.  I struggle with this feeling that I am not able to do as much as I would like to for charitable causes since there are so many good ones that I believe in, and I am not someone who is supposedly blessed with an abundance of monetary wealth to disburse.  Yet, when I worry about not being able to give enough, I prevent myself from giving anything. So, ... Read Full Story >>

Chivalry Lives

   I was the recipient of a wonderful act of kindness this weekend; it was simple but much appreciated.    After a graduation ceremony, there was a reception for faculty, students and their families in the student center. Well, we had to wait in a long line outside for quite some time.  (Even though they told us that faculty could go ahead, we didn't feel it was right to cut in front of the students, so we waited until ALL of them went in.)    The weather was freezing and windy and I was shivering in my short-sleeved dress.  (Of course it was sunny earlier in the day so I hadn't brought a jacket.)  Imagine my delight, when, not one, but two colleagues offered me their coats!  I accepted one, and was sooooo grateful for the warmth as we waited patiently for all the students and their families to go inside.  After the ... Read Full Story >>

A Box of Smiles With A Letter

A few months ago I posted a story about a woman struggling with alcoholism who reached out to me. I sent her a care pack full of smiles, encouraging words and some treats to help her out, along with a special letter I wrote to her. It has been almost 3 months and she is still doing great. She sends me updates and I send her encouraging notes. But, as I have said before, you never know how much something you say or do means to someone else. What happened next reminds me of how true that is. She read a story that another woman posted about being an alcoholic and how she needed to stop drinking, if only for her children. I read it too but she was quick to act. She e-mailed me and asked if I would put a "box of smiles" together for this woman and send ... Read Full Story >>

The Invitation to Life

It doesn't interest me what you do for a livingI want to know what you ache for,and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing It doesn't interest me how old you areI want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive                                                                                                        It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moonI want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,if you have been opened by life's betrayals or become shriveledand closed from fear of further pain I want to know if you can sit in pain, mine or your own,without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you tothe tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning ... Read Full Story >>

The Smile That Gave Me Hope

While I was still in college, I used to sing at a student organization at my University in Malawi.  I have a passion for singing and composing songs. One time, there was an upcoming annual musical gathering where I was selected to sing a solo piece. Although singing was truly my passion, the anxiety and tension that often accompanied preparing for these events  were not! I was so nervous about this looming perfomance because I knew there was going to be a lot of people attending and I did not want to make any mistakes. During our practices, I would get occasional heart palpitations, sweaty palms, would feel fearful right before it was my turn to rehearse my solo and would scan the room to make sure nobody was staring at me. As this agony persisted in my practices, during our final dress rehearsal, the keyboard player looked at me and smiled and then calmly sent me these few words along with the grin: "Don't worry, its going to ... Read Full Story >>

Homemade Smile Cards

Today my son and I drove to a town just over from our own. We had errands to run there. He wanted to buy a game for all the hard work he put in this year in school. He was diagnosed with ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder but still managed to be on the A/B Honor Roll for half the school year. We are so incredibly proud of him! This child of mine has the most loving heart. Off we went to the mall. We got lunch in the food court and just enjoyed talking to each other. He looked over and saw a young man in an Army uniform. He asked me if he could give him a smile card. We had made our own. All they say is "Smile... Pay it forward." So he marched right up to that young man and said, "Thank you!" and handed him the ... Read Full Story >>

What If Kindness Became The Norm

I was in the drive thru at Wendy's and this young girl pulled up behind me.  When I paid for my food, I told the guy I'd like to pay for her's also.  His first reaction was, "What did you do to her?"  I told him it was just a random act of kindness and would he just give her the card when she went to pay.  When I left the parking lot of Wendy's the girl was still fussing about paying for her meal.  I guess some people just don't understand random acts of kindness but that will not deter me from continuing to do them.   Maybe one day it will become the norm instead of the unusual thing to do.

The Circle of Giving and Receiving

Anonymous giving and acts of kindness can lead the giver to a very lonely place in the universe.  Like the Lone Ranger or some other disguised hero, we do kind things all the time and so often the people on the receiving end don’t see it or don’t recognize it. Living a life of altruism, in its most ideal form, means setting the ego aside and not doing what we do for credit.  Usually, I have no problem with this at all.  But there are those days, perhaps when I’m feeling a little weak or drained, where I find myself feeling lonely with it all, feeling like I’m giving, giving, giving, to a world that is in super receiving mode and asleep to what’s being done for them.  I get a little discouraged. Even idealized heroes had their inner circle of friends who knew who they really were and what their life ... Read Full Story >>

Tagging An Entire Community

This morning, I was blessed to take a walk in the woods with one of my favorite elders, a sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who has been involved in countless community efforts to protect our local ecosystems and the many fellow species with whom we share our land and waters, from whales to pine trees. It was great fun to walk around with him and learn about ghost pines, the role of ants in ecosystems, the difference between poison ivy and sassafras.   At some point in our conversation, I found myself talking to him enthusiastically about the random acts of kindness revolution that some of us at Cape Ann Angels are "plotting" to catalyze in our community over the coming months!   Cape Ann is in Western Massachusetts, and is composed of four towns (Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester and Essex) and about 50,000 people. He had never heard of helpothers.org or Cape Ann Angels, ... Read Full Story >>

Let Someone Know You Are There

My son’s kindergarten class did a performance yesterday for the parents and rest of the school. It was great but one particular thing made me think a little more about life in general. I was in the back videotaping it since my wife could not attend. About 10 minutes into the program, I could see the change at the exact moment my son saw that I was there. He was doing great and being a wonderful participant before that moment, but I could tell how seeing me there made such a difference and meant so much to him. His smile, wave, and frequent “thumbs up” directed to me, made me laugh as I was able to relive them over and over later. It made me think. Sometimes just letting someone know you are there for them can make all the difference. They may not call on you or ask anything of ... Read Full Story >>

Cookies On The Go

A good friend of mine called yesterday saying that she was going to make cookies for a party at work, but didn't feel like starting the process.

Being a baker, I always have cookie doughs mixed in my freezer, ready for a quick thaw and bake. So out they came, six varieties . I grabbed cookie sheets , parchment paper , scoops, a box and set off to my friends house.

She was quite suprised to see the stash of goodies in my hand. Later the next day my friend told me the cookies were a hit. Everyone always makes fun of me for being prepared, but this time it really paid off and I was so glad to help!

Small Donations Add Up

My husband belongs to an organization that meets monthly. For years I have been sending in refreshments for their meetings. They put out a donation can and the monies collected go into their treasury. They have raised hundreds of dollars to use toward projects just by this simple act - one which is also a selfish act because I love to bake! Sometimes what brings others pleasure can also bring us pleasure in so many ways.

Just Ask, And Others Will Join

I am often surprised by the generosity of others.

I am holding a yard sale to benefit the Arthritis Foundation and have asked friends to donate items for the sale.  Not only have friends given me loads of stuff without a second thought, they have also asked their friends and co-workers for items too.  So we will have a wonderful selection of things for people to buy.

We can encourage others to participate in our kindness acts by just asking.  Often people are looking for an opportunity to do good and just need a little prompting or guiding or leadership.  Just ask!  you might be surprised by what you get  :=D

Come Out and Play!

I thought it was rather odd when my friend from the nursing home asked me to motor her wheelchair through the puddles that formed from the melting snow. I didn't really get it, but I went along with it. We were out on one of our walks or what I like to call one of our"weekly strolls" because I stand and she rolls. Adhering to my friend's peculiar request, we were off on our watery wheelchair adventure! We splashed through each puddle together and came out of each experience, slightly damp and smiling. In fact, after a few puddle excursions, even I started looking out for larger and more daunting puddles to sail through until one day we were out on our stroll, and to our dismay, no puddles were to be found. They had all dried up.  Keen on keeping our strolling adventure alive, we discovered something new that awaited us. As we headed down the residential street, there was a small pile of leaves. My friend asked me to roll her through ... Read Full Story >>

The Power of Words

Whenever anyone gets into discussions about vocabulary and sentence structure, I get a glimmer of excitement. Okay, some may find such concepts mundane at best.  Then to see the true impact of our words come to life, there can be no doubt the power each of us possesses  with every single word we share. Recently, the head of the massage program at my school was conflicted about an opportunity to return to teaching. His wife was ill and the responsibilities of school and  home were taking a physical and emotional toll on him that was apparent. At a meeting, I expressed enthusiasm and encouragement to him about teaching again. I certainly believe that our program and the students would benefit to have him in the classroom. Those words were just the inspiration that he needed to make the changes in his life to teach once more. He admitted that he was excited and nervous, ... Read Full Story >>

Learning to Notice People In Need

I live in suburbia and have 13 and 15 year old children.  Every now and then, a homeless person will stand near the entrance to one of the many trendy shopping centers and hold up a "Will Work for Food" sign, or something similar.

Every time we see one, I always turn into the nearest drive-through restaurant and buy a meal with a large cup of coffee.  I then go back to where the person is standing and drop off the food with a small amount of cash.  The response is always gracious and thankful.  I never say anything to my children while doing this, as I don't want them to turn off due to any perceived 'preaching' (believe me, they hear it from me enough!).

We are always hurrying somewhere, but it takes only 5 minutes and the impact it has on my teens is well worth taking the time.  They have learned first not to ignore these people in need and second, that even a small act can make a difference.

My One Wish For a Genie

I had a dream. A genie appeared and offered me one wish. I begged: “I want happiness.” The genie answered: "Happiness? You can't give someone happiness. What is happiness for one person is different for someone else. It is relative. I cannot give you happiness, but I can give you what will make you happy. What will make you happy?” the genie asks. I examined my life and found that the most ecstatic moments of joy, bliss and happiness were when I was helping people. My happiness came from serving others. So, I said, “Genie, let my life be one of serving people." And so it has come to pass. I became a physician to provide medical care to indigenous peoples worldwide in war and in peace. I held the hands of hopeless people in warring Rwanda, dared to care for the desperate in Angola and the traumatized in the trenches of ... Read Full Story >>

To Africa, "With Love"

I'm in Africa right now on a peace-keeping mission with the Army. This is my 5th deployment and I volunteered for every one of them (sort of). Anyway, this story is not about me or the army or even Africa for that matter. It's about the way people can become karma aides even when they are in need of it themselves.   I subscribed to this online program for soldiers, where we put our addresses on the website and random people write to us and send care packages and thank you letters. I got one the other day that was a letter from a lady living in Pennsylvania.  She was thanking us for all we do and telling us how much she prays for the troops. This lady is originally from Russia, married an American soldier and moved to Pennsylvania. She explained all of this in her letter. I was moved by ... Read Full Story >>

The Woman Whose Life I Wanted To Transform

I'm an American who has lived in France for nearly 20 years.   I've whined and complained with other Americans about how the French are unfriendly, cold, reserved, unavailable for friendship.  I've had a hard time making a living here as a psychotherapist and healer and periodically blamed this also on the French. I live in Versailles and for the past 4 years the city has sponsored events for International Women's Day.  Three years ago, I moved to a new neighborhood and felt an intense need to meet people so I went to the cinema night for women's day featuring the film with Charlize Theron called "North Country," a film about the first class action suite against sexual harrasement.   I was excited about the possibility of finding a way to connect to French women through the discussion we would have after the film, perhaps to make friends, perhaps to get more work.  Outside ... Read Full Story >>

Your Mind Is Like A Garden

Your mind is like a garden,
Whatever you plant will grow,

Your thoughts are seeds you're planting,
They each need water and light to show 

So don't plant seeds of lack or fear,
Disease, discord, or doubt
Plant, instead, the seeds you want
Then things you want will sprout

This gift of choice is given to all,
And not to just a few
The harvest, friend, is in your hands
The crop depends on you

So take this power which you've been given,
And use it every day,
To gain from life the good you want,
For you have found the way.