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Coffee is Out of My Comfort Zone

Earlier today, there were some men removing my the backyard fence. I was surprised to see them working even though it was cold and raining.  As I stood in my warm home watching them, I heard a family member say to me, "Nicole, go out there and offer them a coffee or a warm drink."  I didn't want to, and thus made up a bunch of excuses. Underneath the excuses, I was afraid. I had never met them and was scared to start up a conversation and face possible dismissal or rejection. Going out to them was completely out of my comfort zone...which is exactly why I did it.  I asked myself, 'Nicole, are you a kind person? Or are you only kind when it's easy and makes you feel comfortable?' I knew this would be good for me to grow as an individual, so I went out there.  Guess what? They said no. ... Read Full Story >>

How to Lighten Up a Laundromat

I recently needed some quarters, so I went to the laundromat to exchange my $10 bill for change. The environment there seemed a little tense-- no one was smiling and everyone kept to themselves. I didn't need to do laundry, and I could feel people looking at me as I waited for my quarters to come out, clinking one at a time.

I quietly placed my quarters in my wallet, and started to walk toward the door. Then I stopped for a moment.

I opened my wallet back up, and looked at the washier unit in front of me. It read: $2.00 per load.

I could feel eyes watching me cautiously, curious of what I was doing. 

I took $2 in quarters out of my wallet and placed them neatly on one of the washers. Then I smiled, walked out, and drove away.

I hope that someone who needs it will pick it up and use it. :) 

And for the people who saw what I did, may they see that it was just a gesture of kindness to someone I will never see or meet or know. It was simply to show that we can leave an act of kindness wherever we may go. As small and simple that act may be.

Two Thanksgiving Smile Cards

This is my first time posting a story on helpothers because I have not had the opportunity to use my smile cards yet, but yesterday on Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to use them twice :) Yesterday morning was thanksgiving and my husband and I were getting ready to head to Atlanta to spend the holidays with family. I was outside packing the car when I noticed a car sitting at the corner of the lane with the flashers on. There was a line of cars behind honking and getting very aggravated but the man at the wheel was just sat there. I called out to my husband and asked him to go see if the man needed help. My husband rushed across across the busy intersection and asked the man if he was okay. The man sitting there had simply ran out of gas, and could not get intouch with anyone to help him and he didn't have a gas can. My husband called me ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Begets Kindness

I was gifted with a wonderful opportunity last night. One of the people in our Facebook neighborhood group posted some pillows for sale that I knew my youngest daughter would love, so I requested to buy them from her. She only wanted $4.00, which I thought was very reasonable for the 4 pillows. We set up the porch pickup for later in the evening. When I got there, I put a $20 in her mailbox and sent her a message that I didn't have change (true, though had I really wanted to I could have gotten it), so to treat herself and her daughter to a little something. Once she discovered what I did, she messaged me back, offering to put the change under her mat for me to pick up. I asked her to just pay the kindness forward sometime, and that would be the only 'change' I need. She promised ... Read Full Story >>

Helping Others Heals Ourselves

College was the best of times and the worst of times for me. I met the best friends of my life, had unimaginable experiences, and traveled to new places, but I also folded under more stress than I ever had to deal with before. As a result of bad grades, bad study skills, and pure burnout, I ended up being asked to take a semester off at the end of the first semester of my senior year. All the friends I had made were going to graduate and all I knew was that I wouldn't be graduating with them. So I ended up going back home to live with my father and stepmother. To their credit, they were very cool about me coming back. I felt their support from the moment I walked in the door and they refused to let me feel like a failure. No matter how much they ... Read Full Story >>

A Shining Star

Recently, I had minor surgery done.  When I woke, post-op, a young nurse was caring for me.  She was bringing me a drink, checking my blood pressure, and generally being very gentle and kind.

We started to talk and she explained she was a trainee nurse, but that she continually struggled wit her confidence and self esteem. She also had a weight issue after comfort eating due to being severely bullied as a child.

She tended to my needs quietly and compassionately. After leaving the hospital, I decided to send her a card of appreciation.  Inside I enclosed a little silver star on a chain that was gifted to me when I achieved good results in my counseling training. I explained this in the card and wrote, "This is being passed to you for your starring role in being a caring and compassionate nurse".

Kindness Is A Love Song

My husband's entire life is kindness. If I made a list of all he's done and is day-by-day in the 16 years I've known him, it would take me days to type. He's not a praying kind of guy but his life is a prayer.

He doesn't use flowery words, but his language of love is compassion, hard work, and just so many thoughtful things he does. He just handed me a big green shake.

Earlier he cleaned out the fridge joking the entire time about various, er, science projects. I'm constantly astonished that this gorgeous guy loves me enough to stick around so long. Trust has never been easy for me, but he has shown me why trust is the best path, and kindness is a love song.

An Act of Honesty Saves a Vacation

My oldest daughter is on vacation this week. She called last night to tell us that she arrived safely in North Carolina. She said, "Don't get mad but I lost my wallet." Then she quickly added, "But it's been returned to me!" She had left the highway to get gas and some food. Her boyfriend was in a hurry to get going  because they had a few more hours to drive before reaching their desitination. She placed her wallet on the car roof, put the puppy in the back seat, and quickly jumped into the car. Off they went, with the wallet still on the roof! They were about a  half hour away and they came to a toll booth. She reached in her purse for her wallet and couldn't find it. She had a lump in her throat as she remembered leaving it on the roof. She started to cry. Then, almost ... Read Full Story >>

A Sparkling Heart From A Simple Gesture

This is just a small story but it really warmed my heart.   I'd gone to collect my daughter from her music lesson when I saw this older woman walking around. She looked completely lost.   I had no idea why she would be in that area. It's in a business park and it was at the weekend when there aren't usually many people around. And why would she be in that parking lot which is totally off the beaten path?I guessed she was probably really lost. It turned out she had missed her turning and needed to find her way to the highway. I tired to explain but she seemed too upset and confused for me to just explain how to get there, so I said, "Don't worry. Follow me and I'll take you there."     She looked at me and you could see the worry leave her face. She said, "Bless you," ... Read Full Story >>

Help in the dead of night

I was in Houston a few weeks ago, and needed to be back home in Austin by midmorning the next day. Though I planned to leave that evening, I'd had a long, tiring ride home, so I decided to leave around 5 the next morning. I was on I-10 in the middle of Houston when I realized I left my inhaler at my MIL's house, and knew I had to return to get it. I took the first exit I could, but when I rounded the corner, an 18-wheeler was stopped dead in the exit lane. I swerved to avoid it, but clipped the curb and my tire blew out. I pulled into a small parking lot and unsurprisingly found the area deserted at 5:15am. I've lived in urban areas most of my life. I'm fairly street-wise and don't spook easily, but I knew I was in a pretty tough neighborhood. There was ... Read Full Story >>

Balloon On A Kindness Journey

I finally did it! I am so happy! 

I've had this idea for a while but I didn't have the guts to actually go through with it - until today.

I bought 10 helium filled balloons, drew a smiley face and wrote the date they were released on each them. I had set up another e-mail account for the project. I wrote the e-mail address on Smile Card and attached them to the balloons.

Then I took them outside and released them into the air. I hope to get some awesome stories back in return.

A Note in my Lunch Box

At the beginning of this week I was touched to tears, when I opened my lunch box at work. Somehow I was feeling not so good that day, it was hard for me to get up in the morning, and so on.

When I opened my lunch box at work, I saw a little piece of paper. The piece of paper was a note from my mom saying that she loves me and wished me a blessed day!

My heart was so touched, I am so thankful that God gave me a mother that notices when I am a little down. The next day I had another note! My mom made a difference in my day and I will never forget this special touch of kindness!

Parking Lot Samaritan

After running errands with my daughter one day, I walked back to the car reminiscing with her about the nice people we'd had the pleasure to interact with. As I pulled my car keys from my coat pocket, my daughter pointed out, "Something just flew under the car."  Remembering that I had placed my debit card and ID in my pocket so I could access them easily in the checkout line, I knew exactly what had flown under our car. I crouched down to see them. My debit card and ID were wedged behind my tire, almost out of sight. Another woman in the parking lot saw my struggle, walked over to me, and asked if she could help. Without even waiting for me to answer, she said, "I see them!" Then, she got down on her knees and fished my cards from behind the tire of my car. As she handed them to me ... Read Full Story >>

A Snack That Turned Into Balloons

Often we do little acts of kindness and can’t really know what happens next… the people who benefit from the act return to their lives and we return to ours!  Our paths may never cross again.  But that’s not the case when a member of HelpOthers does a kind act to another member of HelOthers!  Here we can chart the ripples as we guide the kindness on its way!  Here’s one such story. You may have read Aurelia’s post about making Chex Mix for her family, or Bluebell’s post about receiving a snack from a friend in the US.  Well I sent some Karmabucks to Aurelia to find out more about her amazing snack and she offered to send some to me if I was based in the US.  Unfortunately I’m not, I live in the UK but luck would have it that I was off to America for a company event last ... Read Full Story >>

An Extra Dose of Compassion at the Hospital

Today I met an old lady when I was in hospital. I was done with my check-up and I was standing in medicine counter of the hospital to get my medicinal receipt and medicines.  I saw that the old lady was sitting in a nearby chair and waiting for something. She seemed a little distraught so I asked her if she was okay.

She told me that she was waiting for her son who was tied up with some personal work and he had told her that he could come back in a few hours. She said that she was feeling faint and tired. I rushed to the nearby hospital cafeteria and bought her some breakfast. I then got her prescription for her and paid for her medication along with mine. 

She had the breakfast and she was happy now. She also had the tablet and thanked me.

I was happier for showing kindness to her.

Finding That Positive Note

My step-son is going through an extremely difficult time in his life and is battling many personal issues.   He calls his father several times a day, often consumed by sadness and negativity, sometimes near his breaking point. Trying to be supportive and non-critical takes it's toll on us all, but we keep trying.    This morning on our drive to work I asked my husband to try ending the telephone conversation with his son by simply saying, "Now, tell me something good about today".     Some days that might be an easy thing to do, other days it may be nearly impossible. But even if the only thing he could can up with to say is, "You were there for me again today, Dad," that would at least give him something positive to focus on.    Tonight, I heard my husband say to his son, "Okay, now let's end on a positive note. Tell me ... 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! :)

Just A Simple Thank You

Spread Love Everywhere You Go

Dear friends, I hope that all is well. One of the things I know is that it is human nature to want things. We all want more money, better homes, better cars, and better relationships and so on. So what is the secret to getting all that we want? I have been looking for that answer for a while and if you have it I pray you will share. Here is what I would like to share, I started tithing last year and I made the minimum amount based on my income. This past Sunday as I reflected in all that is going well in my life I realized that I was not giving back at the rate to which I am being given. This made me think of life in general and how we want so much from life but we are willing to give so little. We often agonize about ... Read Full Story >>

Helping A Stranger In Need

During the holidays my sisters and I were walking through town when we noticed that a lady was struggling so much to try and carry her groceries..far too much to try and carry them by herself. People were passing on by without taking a second look. All at once together my sisters and I all said to ourselves "lets go help out this lady" without giving it a second thought. We carried all her groceries to her car which was parked about 5 minutes walk down the road.

She was so happy and as she thanked us, you could see the happiness across her face.  It didn't cost anything nor did it take anything out of our day..only those few minutes but let me tell you...it was the best time during the entire day...helping a stranger in need :)

Smiles all round :)