Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Cares And Cheers!

Hello, my kind friends!  I hope you are well and having a wonderful week! This year has really started off very busy--a very good thing for me. Keeps me out of trouble! : ). I wanted to share my latest project.  My husband's aunt has dementia and is in a nearby nursing facility. We have not been able to see her in-person due to COVID visitor restrictions. I thought maybe a care package would be a nice way to brighten her day. As I was coming up with ideas for the package, I thought why not do something special for all the residents and staff. Hand-written cards for residents (16 women/2 men--girl power!) tucked in handled organizer baskets containing recommended items such as stuffed animals, lotion, chapstick, toothbrushes/toothpaste, sandwich cookies packs, and a little silk Gerber daisy flower arrangement (an extra little box of chocolates just for "my girl"---she is family after all ... Read Full Story >>

967 Reads

Three Men in a Convenience Store

How much love is latent in a few bananas, saltines and a few bottles of Gatorade? Bear Necessities Grill & C-Store is a convenience store for students at Cornell University. Seth, George, and Harry are men who work there. I have not met them. I have only spoken to them on the phone. What I found these guys carry in their store is immense amounts of beauty, warmth and kindness to strangers. It will stay with me for the rest of my life. It floods me with Awe at the tapestry of life where someone takes the time to listen, notice, share, and make choices. My freshman son was in his dorm room feeling very weak and unwell. He had no energy to go down to the dining hall because he had been up the night before due to food poisoning. His roommate hadn’t yet arrived. I googled and found the convenience store, Bear Necessities Grill ... Read Full Story >>

2334 Reads
  • Posted by shaila_menezes
  • Mar 12, 2021
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Van Salvage

An old minibus is rotting in my driveway. It has not been driven for years, but I've not got around to scrapping it.

I saw a post on Facebook the other day about some challenged because they have an inspection approaching. Their supply of parts from the UK was caught up in the Brexit/customs fiasco. (This van model isn't produced here in Portugal.)

I am invited her to come over.  We were able to find some compatible parts to fix her van.




 

670 Reads

Skiing for Inner Calm

One day something happened that upset me, bringing tears to my eyes and making me angry. The incident took me out of balance and disturbed my inner peace. To restore calm, I donned my outdoor gear, grabbed my skis, and went to the park. I skied at a slow steady pace. I listened to the hissing of the snow beneath my skis and the wind blowing through the bare branches of the trees. I was honest with myself, acknowledging that I was angry and could let it go. With each pass around the park, I felt my inner peace returning. I began to hear the birds singing. I noticed the wind had filled in my tracks with snow in some areas, creating a clean slate. I felt the strength of my arms and legs as they worked together to make the skiing an enjoyable experience. I felt the healing power of being ... Read Full Story >>

961 Reads

Covid Vaccine Kindness

So much kindness accompanied my first dose of the Covid vaccine today. Our neighbor drove me to the pharmacy and walked in with me in. She made me feel so cared for. She waited for me and drove me home.
 
The staff were extremely nice and very friendly. Everything was well organized, timely, not at all crowded, and spotlessly clean. The injection was totally painless. I gave them a Kindspring member’s peace doves in thanks, and they were appreciative.
 
I had butterflies in my tummy all morning, nervously waiting until 2 PM for the appointment. I felt almost euphoric by the time we arrived home. It was a relief to get vaccinated!  I am grateful for the generous caring of our neighbor and for the friendly professional staff at the pharmacy.





 

603 Reads

Peppermint Stress Release

My family went out to eat to celebrate my brother's new job. I noticed our server was very overwhelmed. She kept forgetting to bring things to the tables she was serving. We reassured her it was OK when she forgot to bring my son’s cheese sticks and my brother's applesauce.  She told us they were training two new cooks and it was kind of intense in the kitchen. She was trying to help out everywhere.

To signal our acceptance, I left a larger tip than usual along with a wrapped peppermint. What really touched my heart was when my son added his own money to put towards the tip.

 Our server, Carrie, heard me say, “Keep the change.”  Then she saw the mint and immediately I saw a change in her demeanor. “Aww, thank you. That was very nice of you,” she said.  She slowed down to breathe, and it seemed like she released some stress.






 

655 Reads

Kindness Boomerangs from Small Businesses

Small businesses seem to be having it rough during this pandemic, even the ones allowed to open their doors to the public. A few days ago, we had the brainwave of asking our local special restaurant to deliver dinner after lamenting that we can't eat out any more these days. I could hear the gratefulness in the owner's voice on the telephone when I ordered. I was touched we were given a complimentary bottle of wine by the delivery person, who might actually have been the owner. I told her she was the highlight of our day.   Yesterday I bought two things in a shop, including truffles, a nice treat. The lady at the cash desk was kind like the restaurant owner. While we chatted, she nearly forgot the truffles. I reminded her. She suddenly produced a different box of truffles from under the counter, and said, "What the heck, these are on me!" ... Read Full Story >>

775 Reads

Helping The Ocean

My kindness act today was not for a person but for our precious environment. When I took my dog to the beach today I brought along a  garbage bag.

As we walked the shoreline, I slowly filled the bag with plastic, cans, juice boxes, etc. I thought about the pollution of the oceans, the photos of birds with garbage in their stomachs and decided to make this small act a practice.

I walk the beach twice a week so just maybe this will make a difference.

568 Reads

Donating Hair

I am going to donate my hair to an NGO who makes wigs for the cancer patients, because they loose their hair when they undergo chemotherapy.

I know a few NGOs who accept hair - https://www.thebetterindia.com/193557/gurugram-girls-heartwarming-cancer-places-to-donate-hair-india/ ☝️💇💇‍♂🙏

496 Reads

A School's Secret Coalition

A friend and fellow teacher and I made plans after attending the Greater Good Summer Institute in Berkeley, California to celebrate kindness. We both work in an inner-city elementary school where needs are great and burnout is high. We wanted to try an experiment to see if we could begin a movement toward a more compassionate, kind community, and in the process, renew ourselves. This is how the Kindness Coalition was born. We submitted the idea to KindSpring, and won a monthly prize. In the time that has passed, amazing things have taken root. We began by giving everyone on staff a personally-grown small potted plant and a kindness quote, with encouragement to pass the spirit forward. Since then, we have bought small gifts and anonymously placed them in mailboxes or workspaces, along with a quote and a tag from the Kindness Coalition. We keep track of people we've tagged, and encourage ... Read Full Story >>

829 Reads

Serving One During Isolation

We have been lucky to welcome a beautiful young lady to be our guest for the next few months. She's from Japan. Due to the Covid restrictions she must isolate in her room for a few days so I offered to cook for her and get her everything she'll need until she can go out.

We started with banana muffins for the tea on arrival. Of course it's double kindness as my partner loves them too. She has been so kind and grateful from day one! She also got us a few delicious treats from Japan, lucky us!
 

756 Reads

Lighting Up A Dark Room

One time, I was with a bunch of strangers in India. I was giving a presentation, and power went out. It was in a dark hall, and I was with two other colleagues. I was so embarrassed because we had invited all these people here. It was a public talk, and we couldn't do anything about it. Our mic was gone. There was no light. Everyone's sitting here in darkness, and I was just like, "Oh my goodness." You know, when the power goes out, you feel like you should be in control of it, because you're hosting the event. I was so embarrassed, and we just kept going on, talking in the dark, hoping people would stay. It was really ridiculous. I mean, there were no windows. Nothing. It was a dark hall. All of a sudden, a man in the back put up his phone, and put the little light ... Read Full Story >>

855 Reads

A Snow Story

The city plows came down my friend's street.
It works out well as we have cleaning days that continue all through the year.
 
On your side, your cleaning day, your car had better be off that side of the street. The plow went down the cleared side. Looked great except that there were now mountains of snow blocking carriage walks and driveways.

My friend was attempting to help her neighbor clear her side. An exercise in futility.

There was a tradesman parked close by, waiting for his work mate. He got out of his van with a shovel and cleared the driveway and walkway. Being a "youngster" he was able to do it in little time. So nice and kind.
 

595 Reads

Paying It Forward At The Doctor's Office

Last week, when I had a checkup, my doctor's office made a mistake and charged me for my copay. Instead of getting a refund, I asked them if the money could pay for someone else's copay or flu shot.

The bookkeeper said that they had never received such a request, but they did it! And she told me today that she felt so good about doing it and so did I!

Hopefully, so did the patient. It was the 21-day challenge that encouraged me to practice more kindness and so thank you to the challenge  as well.

670 Reads

A New Old Friend

I got together with a 'friend' today. I use the quotes because before today he was more of a ''really cool, always positive and smiling acquaintance.'' Today we met for what could have been a 10-minute visit to drop off electronics, and it turned into a 5-hour long discussion on everything.

We have known each other for almost 30 years. Today was the first time we have ever really talked about life, religion, family, death, after death, the energy of "us," and how we are always learning & teaching one another.

It was a wonderful get-together, a truly special learning experience.
It amazes me how people can come into our lives and have such a profound effect.  What a blessing. I trust we will be able to visit again.



 

723 Reads

Messages of Hope for the World

I found some old ribbons whilst clearing up the attic. So I got a marker pen and wrote down words of hope like "Stay strong!", "Everything will be fine!", " Life is good!", "Have a nice day!" Together we are strong!", "Chin up!", "Enjoy the little things in life!", " There is always hope!" I am going to tie them to the branches of the "Magic Tree" in the woods where people have started hanging up positive messages and little seasonal ornaments since the pandemic started last March. Now our lockdown has been extended to mid February! Nearly 2 months for this second lockdown. More and more people are walking in the woods to get out, as everything is basically closed except for supermarkets. So, I hope my messages give people a bit of cheer and hope. Maybe I can plant the flowers at the base of the tree. Really it is ... Read Full Story >>

799 Reads

Being Careful with My Inheritance

My Mom passed away.  The anniversary of her death is coming up. She left my sister and me a little money. I have tried to be very intentional about the way I spend the money.

One thing I have done is give money to a woman my partner and I know who is in school. She has had many obstacles in her way. Many people in her family have died, and she has financial problems.

One of her problems was she was not able to pay for insurance for school, so she was not going to be able to return to classes. My partner and I paid for her insurance. She tried to pay us back, but we said no. She has so little money, I just couldn't accept it from her. I really hope the funding takes away some of the terrible burden she deals with.



 

617 Reads
  • Posted by antenbunny1
  • Feb 27, 2021
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Win-win Moment at the Bookstore

Yesterday, I went to the bookstore to pick up a present for my mother's upcoming birthday. I found one of the books I wanted, but not the other. When I went to pay, I asked the clerk behind the counter if I could order the second book. A lady was standing in line behind me at the checkout. The clerk said she could order the book, but would I mind if she let the lady behind me pay for her purchases first.  The lady behind me said no, it was fine, she'd wait. It took nearly 15 minutes to put my order through! The lady behind me chatted amiably with us for the entire time. When it finally came time for me to pay, I placed two $10 off cards on the counter. The clerk informed me the offer was only valid for the book I was purchasing in-store and wouldn't work for ... Read Full Story >>

1619 Reads

Freely Given Concert Ticket

I had a concert ticket to a show that I could no longer attend. I was trying to sell it, but I was having a hard time finding someone who would pay the full price.

Then I noticed a guy who got scammed and was literally at the door about to not get into the show because someone had sold him a fake ticket. He had no more money.

Rather than continuing my search for someone who would buy my ticket, I decided to give it to him for free. He was so thankful and even called me his Messiah. This expensive, yet simple act of generosity really made my day.



 

736 Reads

Is Anything Ever Really Lost?

Is Anything Ever Really Lost? Somewhere between the bookstore and the car, I lost my favorite winter hat (green and sparkly). I like to think someone in need will find it, maybe along with those gloves I lost a week or so ago? :) Over the years, I’ve lost an assortment of things. Some have reappeared later, some have not, and that’s ok. Grateful to have enjoyed them for a while and grateful they were then shared through the wisdom of the Universe. Occasionally, I deliberately “lose” something, like the $20 bill to a pre-teen boy in the dollar store, who was buying holiday gifts for his family and from the way he was tallying up the cost, was obviously short of cash “I think you might have dropped this?” I asked him, handing him the money. He looked surprised and protested, saying that he didn’t think so. With a big smile, I assured him ... Read Full Story >>

885 Reads




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