Stories of Kindness from Around the World

When Kindness Opportunities Visits

When Kindness Opportunities Visit Us, Be Grateful. A week ago, I was returning home by rikshaw after buying some clothes and chappals for needy people. We address them as Daridra Narayan. A Daridra Narayana boy was selling pens for Rupees 10 came to me. I knew that I can get these pens for about four Rupees. However I bought two pens that I did not need but to gift them to someone else. Daridra Narayana or Daridranarayana or Daridra Narayan is an axiom enunciated by the late-19th century Indian sage Swami Vivekananda, espousing that service to the poor is equivalent in importance and piety to service to God. Though the term was coined by Vivekananda, it was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi.-from internet It is good that he is not begging. In the past, I have bought key chains 5 times or more, coloring books may be 5 or more times, maps, pens 3 times or more and masks from Daridra Narayana boys or girls to support ... Read Full Story >>

148 Reads

Day 6:Brownies Once Again! ...

Brownies once again! I left these in the staff room today. One coworker told me she had told her partner that she was happy it was April, because I'd be bringing brownies sometime this month.
I gave the last one to our custodian. She thought it was delicious and asked who made them. I told her I had. She looked at me suspiciously, "You or your wife?"
I told her, "Come on! My brownies are famous. Of course I made them." She just couldn't believe something so delicious that brought that smile to her face came from an old, man like me. :)

#AprilRAOK

80 Reads

Mowing neighbor's lawn

Day 7:
Every year in April I mow my neighbor's lawn. The other day I saw that it had grown into a bit of a jungle and I told him jokingly he'd need to take a machete to it if he expected me to take my mower into his front yard wilderness.
Next day he mowed his lawn and I asked him what I was supposed to do now, "Let it grow again?"

Well, he hadn't touched the patch on the other side of his driveway. So, today after I mowed my yard, I hacked away at his patch.

#AprilRAOK

81 Reads

A Fluffle Of Bunnies 😊

What do you call a bunch of bunnies? A Fluffle! And this is my origami fluffle of hopping bunnies made just in time to add to the Bunny Bags that are going to our local senior assisted living facility and sister’s apartment complex in time for Easter.

The bunnies are a more complicated model, but wanting to give to others always amps up my desire to learn!

79 Reads

Day 4: The Brownies Start ...

Day 4:
The brownies start now!
These two wonderful, beautiful women have taken care of our taxes for years. This time of the year is "crunch time". Perfect time for a sweet treat. Both said, "Just what I needed."

#AprilRAOK

107 Reads

Goodbye, my friend

A blind homeless man hung out in front of my barbershop. He greeted people, “hello, my friend” but didn’t directly ask for money. My shop partner had a dream that she bathed this man, and the next day he knocked on the door and asked for a 2$ loan. We invited him in and washed his hair(and face and neck), cut his hair and gave him 2$. Which he paid back when he got his social security check. He said he gets robbed any time he has $. So eventually I became his address for his check, cashed it and doled it out as needed throughout the month. We became friends. I found him one rainy evening, unable to get up from the sidewalk. I called a rig to get him to hospital (pneumonia). The rig driver put on gloves, heaved him onto the back of the van as if he were ... Read Full Story >>

292 Reads

On The Receiving End Of Cake Heaven

On the receiving end of kindness today. Our neighbor's twelve-year old daughter made lemon cake and there were extra slices. Guess who got the special treat. My wife and I were in cake heaven!

#AprilRAOK

220 Reads

A Good Day

❀️ Kindness makes EVERY day a GOOD day ❀️ Received: Our kind neighbor baked a birthday cake for hubby & brought it over with her weekly Friday night dinner that she generously gifts us. πŸŽ‚ She walk-in in singing 🎢 Happy Birthday! 😊 Given: I surprised our next door neighbor with a little gift for her 10 year old grandson who is often there (a Pez dispenser with a few packs of Pez…can’t believe they are still around…they were popular when I was a kid decades ago, lol) & a bag of good Jelly Beans for the family. I also brought them some bananas 🍌 & a two peppers πŸ«‘. They came out to thank me & we had a nice chat. She told me they always have jelly beans around Easter 🐣. (I almost kept that bag for myself, but knew I’d have no control! Lol, lol.) I also gifted a book πŸ“• ... Read Full Story >>

98 Reads

Lovely Sharings…

πŸ“š “ “The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

πŸ“š Book synchronicity: I happened to have a book I had just bought that my neighbor noticed when she dropped by the other day with a birthday cake for hubby…it was a book she really wanted to read & was on a waiting list at our local library. She wanted a good book to take with her on her 2 week vacation…I insisted she take it πŸ‘ŒπŸ»

Another neighbor gifted us a generous serving of an apple cake she baked & boy it’s so good! πŸ‘ŒπŸ»

Blessed to have so many wonderful people on our block πŸ™

πŸ–Ό Art by Henri Leclerc

61 Reads

Phone Sharing

We replaced our phones and sent Oscar our old ones since his phone died and he relies on it. They are good phones and he plans to share one with another friend experiencing homelessness who helps people as much as Oscar does. My son and his wife are sending their phones as well so that he can pass them on. I remember as a teen, this kind of tech wasn't even dreamed about. A computer, a camera, and a telephone portable enough to fit into a purse or backpack. But now I can't imagine life without one. Oscar uses his phone to take photos of all the helping people and places. He posts those on his Twitter page @myhomelessmeals as a thank you. The phones we sent have decent cameras.

88 Reads

First Day Of Many

First day of many to come:
Free water to the lucky thirsty person who stumbles upon this. The card says, "First gallon's on me," with a couple quarters.

Hope they don't think it's an April Fools prank.

#AprilRAOK

90 Reads

❄️ Gratefully Home 🏑

Our flights home were timely and smooth. Upon receiving an origami Peace Dove, my seatmate said, “I never got one of these before. Thank you. My girlfriend and I will put it on our Christmas tree.” I wished him a safe business journey. Timed our arrival so that our brother-in-law could pick us up after his medical appointment in the city. We live about an hour’s drive from the airport. Home was in good shape, with no major concerns being unattended for 2 ½ months. MisterM did have to plow some snow, in fact 3 times in 3 days since we’ve been home. Every flake is appreciated to cut down on that ever present fire danger. Birds and deer returned after we got the feeders and watering hole filled again. Just in time for the winter storm that graced us with 6 inches of snow! Made some creature friendly pancakes using ingredients that ... Read Full Story >>

233 Reads

Good Vibe Connects Today πŸ˜ƒ

Good vibes today with 2 strangers…one on the phone & one on the street.

Was helped by a really sweet & kind gal on the phone this morning who was a true pleasure. When I ended the call telling her she was a pleasure to speak with & blessed her, she told me “you made my day”…..could feel the good energy between us πŸ‘ŒπŸ» Made my day too 😊

Later, on my way to mail tea tags I saved for Mindy, a very smiley, funny stranger greeted me as he was passing out circulars on our block. He had me smiling & laughing all the way to the mailbox! 😁🀣. It’s a bright sunny day here & during our back & forth chat I told him “May the sun always shine on you”…he grinned & said something laugh out loud funny in reply! Another good vibe connect πŸ‘ŒπŸ»

55 Reads

92nd Birthday Meal

Hope you are all doing well today and spending Quality time with those you Love and Love you in turn.

I'm still on my healthy diet and continuing to share with those less fortunate. Two days ago, I heard an Elder was having her 92nd birthday. So I prepared a large order of sweet'n sour ribs with a batch of chicken fried rice and took a plate for her, with fresh garlic bread and salad, with bottled water. I found her playing bingo at our local hall and sang Happy Birthday for her in front of the entire hall, and some even joined in.

Fed two more elders and found two youngsters who had no lunch at their jobs, twenty somethings Gen Zs who thought no one was paying attention to them, boy were they ever hungry.

Prepared memorial cards for one family and helped another family grieve and plan on dropping off more food for their wake.

Being involved in my community takes a lot of my time, but I feel it is important to be there for them, when it matters, that's what friends do. Trying to inspire more in my community to eat more healthy by one bite at a time, plate by plate..... peace.

111 Reads

Rainy Tuesday

Baked banana bread and chose some special board books to send as care packages to two new parents

Quickly assembled a care package of matzoh (which he loves but can't find in his small town), throat lozenges, card and herbal teas to mail to a friend who has COVID--as soon as I found out

Brought in special Indian sweets for colleagues which they loved to share with their kids/families

Brought in homemade soup for a colleague (since it's been raining a lot here) and then later found out it was the only food he had because his refrigerator broke and his food was all spoiled!

Took soup and other homemade food to a friend who had a surgery

Shared some good news stories with Karunavirus news :-) and excited that they will be posting them

Shared more good news stories with colleague through email
 

95 Reads

Earth Kindness #12

Earth Kindness #12
Our Biodiversity Village is taking shape now that we've officially launched. Our first big task was to plant a hedgerow of 390 trees and shrubs along the banks of the Eden as it runs through our village. This will form part of a lovely wild harvest corridor for the local bat population whio come down from the nearby woodland to feed along the length of the river.
We had a lovely morning for our planting and a great turnout. Many donuts were consumed along the way!
Some volunteers came from as far away as 15 miles to help out even though they have their own villages to look after, so very kind.
Here you can see some of the children who helped out and earned their share of donuts and yum yums! We planted a good mix of Hazel, Elder, Blackthorn (sloe), Rowan, Crab Apple and Dog Rose, which means plenty of flowers for the pollinators, plenty of fruit for the birds and plenty of cover for the wee small mammakes to hide in. Three types of wonderful!


75 Reads

Easy To Pay Forward

Late last year I discovered a UK company who were selling toilet rolls, kitchen rolls and laundry sheets. I ordered toilet rolls to begin with and then ordered kitchen rolls and laundry sheets. The box with toilet rolls had 36 and we are still using them because they are good quality. The paper products are made from recycled paper and they plant one tree for each toilet roll or kitchen roll sold and for the laundry sheets they arrange to remove plastic from the ocean. Although the kitchen rolls are extremely economical we put them on subscription every 8 weeks. We were due to receive another box of them yesterday but when the order arrived - there was a box of toilet rolls. I contacted the company who were very apologetic and told me I could keep them and they would send me the kitchen rolls. While shopping this morning, I bought six ... Read Full Story >>

169 Reads

Ripples and Ripples

Spent some quality time chatting to the friendly vendor who sells copies of a magazine which supports the homeless. Have known this vendor for a few years. Come rain or shine, he always has a lovely smile and is a kind and decent person. Yesterday he looked a bit dejected as he still had not sold all the March issues and he pointed to a large pile of magazines and April is around the corner. "N" stands in front of the supermarket for 10 hours a few days a week and he has a fairly large family to support. I felt for him πŸ™... The magazine always contains interesting thought-provoking articles and only costs a couple of euros - not exactly a huge sum of money for the majority of people, although I do understand people are free to do with their money whatever they want and may have to watch ... Read Full Story >>

102 Reads

So Blessed And Thrilled ...

So blessed and thrilled to have received this amazing dove and this divinely inspired handwritten letter from Mindy and MrM. The mail in my country is slow and I must admit I haven't visited the post office in a while (with everything in cyberspace we forget the good old snail mail).

Mindy, your beautiful message gives me strength and hope that we live in a good world. I am so grateful for our friendship and your support. You are an inspiration in a world that seems greedy and negative at times.

Thanks so much.
 

76 Reads

Thank You

Thank you, my kind friends for your words of support and for being The Community Member of The Week. Glad to be back.

It snowed yesterday here in Maskwacis, but in true Alberta weather, The Sun was shining 20 mins later. So I took the opportunity to make a big pot of Turkey, vegetable and rice soup and fed my neighbours and anyone who needed a nice hot bowl of soup, along with fresh made bannock.

Vegetables included were: carrots, celery, onions, onions greens, garlic, cucumber, zucchini, kale plus the chicken in kfc spice mix which made for a delicious soup after putting in vegetable stock and coconut milk. Got quite a few compliments.

Might make Japaese Village stir fry with stuffed Bell Peppers next. Really trying to incorporate kind acts with my new healthier diet.
Thank you for reading my post and hope you have a good day today....peace.

83 Reads