Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I Stopped By After ...

I stopped by after church today to visit a friend who just had hip replacement surgery. She is in a rehab facility now and will be there for several weeks. She’s having a rather rough adjustment. She’s still uncomfortable from the surgery and very unhappy with the food, so she’s not eating. Knowing that a mutual friend of ours was also on their way to see her, I stepped into the hallway and gave her a call. I was happy to let our friend know that food was on its way!


854 Reads

Every Morning When I ...

Every morning when I arrive at work I have a routine. I look up a photo that is pretty. Either a cup of coffee with a pretty swirly in the middle of it, a sunrise, bird, etc.. I sent a good morning to a few coworkers with that photo attached. Then I log into this site and see all the beautiful post. It makes my day start out good and if it's a bad start, I read a post from here and learn from it. Especially the ones posted about what you can control. Attached is the photo I sent to coworkers this morning. I'm lucky to live in Arizona and to see such beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

730 Reads

This Kind Of Stuff...

❤️ An elderly man, kneeler scooting his way through Laughing Water (restaurant at Crazy Horse Memorial), stopped at our table and asked the children visiting us from IL, “Are you good students and making good grades in school?” The question sort of surprised us all, it being summer and the last thing on anyone’s mind was school, but I responded, “Well, I know they do their best!” They both nodded and their mom agreed. “I used to be the principal at the school here (Custer, SD?),” Then he gave each of the children a dollar coin! “Let me give you these for being such good students. Keep up the good work. Education is important!” We all thanked him for his kind generosity. I gave him a Peace dove, which he tucked in his shirt pocket with a smile. ❤️ “This KIND of stuff happens a lot with us,” said the children’s mom. “People have paid for ... Read Full Story >>

803 Reads

How Can The Small ...

How can the small growth of plants change perspectives?

Going into the urban gardening project yesterday I intended to take photos to share with you. Being in the garden I again completely forgot.

Here are some actions I did yesterday:
Watering community plants:the raspberries, tomato’s,  paprika, grass, plum trees, apple trees
unweeding: raspberries 
Put some support branches under the loaded plum tree branches

community square: watering: tomato’s 1 & 2, paprica, zucchini, pumpkins, , newly planted fennel,

my appreciation for the value of one tomato, one apple, one carrot has increased immensely doing gardening. How valuable it would be for children to experience that! 

704 Reads

Poetry For The Passerby

Yesterday I was coming home from work and there was a man taking one of Mindy's poems from my poetry box. I said to him how much I like to meet people who took a poem. He told me he had been taking poems for the last 10 years from my box, that it meant a lot to him and he loved it. I told him that poem came from South Dakota. He was impressed. And I had never seen him before! You never know who you might reach.

700 Reads

The Woodcarver


“Oh, I love the dove,” I said. “May I pick it up?

“Yes,” he nodded, looking up from his work.

“So light and smooth. Lovely,” I observed, reverently holding the dove in one hand and stroking it with the other.

“It’s made of beech. We give them and the crosses,” he nodded towards the other carvers, picked up a cross and held it firm in his grasp, like a prayer, “to hospice.”

Thanking him, I gave him an origami dove, setting it on the table, “Please let me give you this dove. I make and give to promote Peace.” Arranging the wings, so the dove alighted better, I added, “I’ve made about 35,000 or so and send them around the world.”

We locked gazes and nodded in recognition. Instruments of Peace. 🕊 ❤️ 🕊


 

1296 Reads

Good Neighbors

Elderly neighbor's 90th birthday was Monday. She is becoming more in need of help, but doesn't want it. Gardenguy mows her grass weekly.

Over the weekend, her 80 year old friend and her other neighbor joined forces to help clean and de-clutter part of her house, She did a lot of protesting, but elderly neighbor later told me that the kitchen hadn't looked that good in years. Blessings to good friends and neighbors.

1261 Reads

Being Present Matters So Much!

A good friend and I went and visited a gentlemen last night who is in a rehab facility trying to get clean. It was kind of far from my home, I had a lot to do and I didn't really feel like going.

When we got there and found him, his face lit up. He was so excited we came to see him. He introduced us to many of his friends and supporters at his facility. He gave us a tour and was so grateful we visited.

His reaction reminded me how important just showing up and spending time with someone can be. When we left he was so grateful that we came to visit him. He is 90 days into his program with 10 more months to go. He promised he is focused and going to make it through this time.

His joy at seeing us was just the reminder my heart needed that time being present with someone makes all the difference. I am very glad I went and after seeing how it brightened his night I will joyfully do it again.

890 Reads

Momma in distress

So a lady at the hospital had a new born with her she had brought for vaccinations . While she was doing something , she handed the baby over to her son ( hardly 7/8) who was the only help she had . He really couldn’t soothe the bawling baby and was handling him like a kid his age would , so I volunteered to hold the baby while the mother got her work done. No , the baby did not stop crying when I held him as well ;) but hey, it gave the mother a few minutes of relief !

1203 Reads

Act of Kindness

Young people often seem to get a bad image especially from the media. I wanted to share my experience this morning, to show how unfair that image is.

Richard and I were walking towards the bus, and there was a bin on the sidewalk, and a car was parked partly on the sidewalk too, making it difficult to walk. A boy of about ten came round the corner on a scooter and I stopped. As soon as he saw us he stopped his scooter, moved back into a better position and let us through first.

I gave him a big smile and thanked him for such a lovely act of kindness.

1382 Reads
  • Posted by Helenconnell2
  • Aug 15, 2019
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A Hug In The Park

❤️Happinessis an unexpected hug.........

As my husband was leaving the park today a little boy ran up to him out of the blue, and hugged him around his legs. The boy latched on to him and was smiling. My husband patted his back and hugged him back.

His father ran over, picked him up, and apologized to my hubby. Hubby told him there was no need to apologize, that this is a wonderful child who must be filled with love. It made his day. ❤️
 

1282 Reads

Blessing People Coming Out Of Prison

I hope you all are well. It means so much to me to have this beautiful place to share things that spread more kindness and joy. Each of you, in every way, inspire me to feel and think MORE about kindness possibilities available to us in each moment. Thank you. It's been a while since I shared here. The past 6 months have been one of great challenge. A beautiful friend of mine, Joanne, has been in the dying time of her life. She knew it, and embraced it and as she died last week I thought of how a shooting star shines so brightly as it trails the universe, right before it goes out. it was a great privilege to have her company these past months. One of the last things she asked me was to find an organization supporting women coming out of prison, to provide her business clothing to ... Read Full Story >>

1631 Reads

I resisted being a slaggart:

I made a mental request of my Guide to direct me to help someone who badly needed it. A few days went by. Then I was caught in a massive 6-lane traffic jam at a stoplight. “Rush hour." I thought. But it was an overheated car, dead in the middle lane. With cars driving all around her I couldn’t stop anywhere without making things worse. I had to turn left in thick traffic and couldn't pull over for a couple blocks. I thought, "Maybe this is one I should let someone else take care of.” But I smacked myself down and mentally berated myself saying, "Don’t be a slaggart!" I turned around and parked on a far entrance ramp. How to even wade into this snarl of traffic and get her off the highway looked impossible. But then a miracle happened (akin to the parting of the Red Sea). Bumper to bumper ... Read Full Story >>

3251 Reads

Wings for Life

The Wings For Life Back-to-School Party was a huge success! About 250 attended and we had lots of music, singing, craft making, and really fun games. 25 pizzas, over 600 cookies, gallons of lemonade, and school supplies and books to fill 150 backpacks were all gone by the time this celebration ended. Wings for Life, now an international organization, exists to provide whatever support is needed for the families of those who are incarcerated. What this amazing group does for countless people all of the world is far too extensive to list here, but can easily be found online. Besides offering help for families during the time their loved one is away, there are many programs and events that help the families to connect with, and support, each other. Breaking the cycle of incarceration, which often occurs, is one of WFL’s biggest goals. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities this amazing Wings ... Read Full Story >>

1624 Reads

Taking time today

At school today during my lunch break, I went over to the locker room and wrote a note to my friend who was going through a hard time at that moment. I let her know that she was not alone and that she had my support.
I also wrote to my Math teacher and stuck it on her desk. I thanked her for being patient and helping me understand specific concepts that weren't clear to me.
It feels good to express your gratitude to people who have helped you and been by your side during tough times.

412 Reads

Gratitude At The Dmv

The DMV is not usually a place that people like to be--I don't know why! I went without an appointment, but with plenty of reading/work material to keep me engaged, without a preconceived notion of how long I would end up being there, and was amazed at how efficiently everything was run. When it was my turn at the counter I remarked to the gentleman helping me that this was the best-run, most efficient DMV I'd ever been in---and I could see him swell with pride! I also told him how much I appreciated that they were open on a Saturday! Something about the DMV makes me fill with empathy and feel connected to all these strangers---everyone from so many different walks of life and backgrounds are all there, waiting in line patiently, sitting patiently in chairs for however long it takes to get called up, and it's an incredible tapestry of faces to see.
And I got out in just under 2 hours :-)

376 Reads

Heart Language

Found a housekeeper sitting on the floor. She had severe back pain. Went to the Inn pantry and got her meds with water and food so that she wouldn’t have stomach pain from the medicine. We didn’t speak the same language, but the heart knows no restrictions. 😊 Smiling heart ❤️

502 Reads

Invisible Kindness - My Favorite

Can my small act from today change the world? What has been yours?

I stood in the post office first one to come next. It was a small store and I had placed myself for people to enter and leave freely.

A lady with difficulties to walk came in, did not see me and walked straight to the second desk that had just been without customer. The clark looked at me as to say 'how can she ignore you? You are next!'

I smiled friendly at him and gestured, 'it is okay.' He answered to her wishes.

Kindspring has nourished and watered me to become again a woman deeply emersed in the beauty of life. This way I can actually be generous, not only act as if.

Thank you!

453 Reads

Making Things Happen

BUTTONS FOR BENJAMIN 365+ Small Acts of Kindness Getting outside has felt like I'm riding a huge wave. So many things are happening! Friday to Today Voice and Sight Met a young blind writer and -- finally after about 50 takes -- finished recording the first story she sent me. Voicing for someone else is 100x harder than doing my own stuff. I'm learning a lot! I'm really grateful for our connection and I hope this will help her keep writing. She's very good! We'll be doing as many stories as she needs about once a week. These are stories she wrote when she was a teenager before she went blind. I told her I would make sure to get at least one in a week until done, maybe more as I get better at it. She said when she read that she started crying. My heart just went out to her.  I told her ... Read Full Story >>

1031 Reads

This Is True Love, ...


This Is True Love, By A Friend

Me (Author)(left) and my dad (right) a few years ago.

I caught an undiagnosed lung infection that left me in a bad way for about 10 days.

Dad just used to sit next to me for hours and read, I wasn't really with it but he had obviously decided my breathing tube was more comfortable in this position.

417 Reads




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