Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Connecting Through Kindness

One of my students earned a McDonald's lunch today. So, as I was entering the restaurant I saw this man out front. I asked if he was hungry.

He told me he would appreciate a burger. So, I picked him up a burger, fries and a drink.

I chatted with him a bit. He asked what I did. He thanked me for the food and for teaching young people.

I asked his name. He said, "Billy Goat Dog."

I repeated, "Billy Goat Dog?"

He laughed and said, "Billy Goat, Dog." I told him, "Oh, I'm Dog, and you're Billy Goat."

"Riiight," he smiled.

#AprilRAOK
 

717 Reads

Every Bit Helps.

I bought some lottery scratchers on Sunday in order to pass out this week.

Walking to the bank today I saw a man with a sign: "Anything helps."

I gave hum a scratcher and a penny for scratching. "Hope this helps." I told him.

He seemed pleased and thanked me. On my way out of the bank I saw him. "Was it helpful?" I asked.

He smiled and held up the scratched ticket. It was a ten-dollar winner. "Every bit helps," he responded.

 

882 Reads

Women Of Influence

When we think of the term women of Influence what comes to our mind? Are they women who have social  tatus and power, whose work brings about great changes for their communities, countries and the world? As women of influence their work is important. There are other women of influence whose roles are equally as important but often go unnoticed in social media. The roles our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, friends and mentors play in our lives, influencing the people we’ve grown to be. These women also lead by example with love, resilience, strength, gentleness and vulnerability. They made and continue to make personal sacrifices so that we continue to flourish. There are many women in my life who have helped me grow into the woman I am today. First and foremost my Mom, whose strength and courage showed me how to be strong and courageous too. My memories of her still fill ... Read Full Story >>

1376 Reads

Surprise!!

I did something that I have always wanted to do today: saw one of those bumper stickers that said, “How’s my driving?”, and I called a stunned person that the driver was doing a careful and courteous job of driving. I would bet that is the only positive call that they have ever gotten.  Really felt good to give kudos to the driver. Lots of warm fuzzies! 

1207 Reads

What’s For Breakfast?

What’s For Breakfast?

Noticed a man nursing a steaming cup of coffee out on the fast food restaurant patio. He had an overstuffed backpack at this side and was staring at the sun rising over the beautiful, but very chilly Black Hills.
“Can I offer you some breakfast?” I asked, holding the packed paper sack and cup of OJ that I had ordered for him.

He looked somewhat startled from his morning reverie. His weathered face broke into a grin and said, “Thank you. I would.”

Walking back to the car, I told MisterM, “You know, it’s not really us that gives, it’s the hand of God. We are just instruments. It just sort of flows thru us.”

Looks like a trumpeting angel in the clouds ...  a great begin for the journey, don’t you think?

 

1150 Reads

He Ran So His Fellow Students Didn't have to

I was so proud of one of my students today. I found out what he did in PE yesterday.

We all went on a walking field trip yesterday, about 2.5 miles. And, it got into the 80's yesterday. When we returned they were pooped and didn't want to run at PE.

One student said, "I'll do anything so we don't have to run today."

The PE teacher said that the class won't have to run if this boy does 20 push-ups, 25 jumping jacks and something else (don't remember).

My student asked if he could replace the push-ups with a substitute exercise. PE teacher said he could run 3 laps in lieu of the push-ups.

He did it! He did the other exercises AND ran in order for his fellow students not to have run. Talk about sacrifice!

#AprilRAOK

1586 Reads

Henry's Light Garden

Color and sparkle caught my eye while riding my bicycle. Circling back, I founda modest front yard garden with loads of little fun knick knacks, shells, toys and statuettes. While admiring the spectacle, an elderly woman came out the front door and I asked if she was the creator. While we chatted, I noticed the name"Henry" and asked who he was. She replied he was her husband. After learning he had passed, she thanked me for my expression of empathy for her grief. She mentioned that he had also enjoyed the garden and agreed that he probably still enjoyed the garden.

After hearing her surname Luz, I said, "de la Luz," and she said that actually was her full (sur)name.

She was "of the light." Of course!

883 Reads

Unseen Hands Guiding Us

Where the heck did they come from? There must be spirits that somehow direct rescuers to victims of tragedy deep in the wilderness. That’s the only explanation for this near impossible chance meeting. My wife and I set out across a vast wasteland of sandy desert just headed for some mountains and canyons two miles away. There were no trails and we had no destination in mind. After about 4-5 miles, deep in the canyons, we sat down for lunch. We thought we heard our conversation echoing down through the canyon, but the distant echoes didn’t match. After a few minutes, high on the canyon wall we clearly heard someone else talking in the distance. I climbed a little up and saw a man shouting to us. He seemed desperate. We climbed up a few hundred feet to where he was. He was a retired policeman from California. He and his wife ... Read Full Story >>

1910 Reads

A Sweet Surprise From My Co-Worker

I love doing random acts of kindness, but lately, I've been pretty busy and have gotten out of the habit. However, I got a completely random act of kindness sprung on me and it totally surprised me! :)

I'm 18 and I work full time so I was sitting at my desk, really bored and tired because it was about 3:00 in the afternoon when my coworker called me (which is weird because she works in the cubicle right next to me). Come out in the parking lot, she said. I thought she had been crushed under a semi or something so I went running out and turns out one of my friends was standing in the parking lot with 2 Starbucks drinks (anyone else loves caramel macchiatos :D) for me and my coworker and a couple of bags of candy including Cadbury Eggs which are my favorite! :)

I was so surprised and happy because I'd had a really bad day that I gave her at least 5 hugs! Goes to show that something simple as taking time out of your day and about 10-15 bucks can really help someone :)
 

1371 Reads

A Sweet Ritual Between a Couple

My wife and I have this journal that we share. We write to each other when we are so inspired and leave it for the other person to find.

I have been writing a list in it about what I love about my wife. Today I left it for her on her pillow to find tonight. She's a wonderful woman! I'm a lucky man!

832 Reads

Being Present to Life And Taking It All In

Have we ever noticed that we are so busy doing that we are missing out on a great many things? Sometimes we are given the opportunity to sit in silence and take in our surroundings. It may seem difficult at first, but soon we are able to see, hear and feel what is going on around us. All our senses become engaged. Although our sense of smell is always working, while sitting quietly we may notice that we are able to more fully take in the aromas of the space we are in. Our ears pick up the sounds of the birds singing. As we sip our water we have the time to notice how it tastes and how it quenches our thirst. The contrast in the colors may become more visible as we take the time to see them fully. We also have time to observe the people who are ... Read Full Story >>

1767 Reads

Happy To Share

Yet another big carton of oranges and grapefruits gifted to us by our former neighbor who now lives in Florida! They are always appreciated and there are always more than enough to share with neighbors 

When the mailman rang our bell, he left with two oranges.  Hubby dropped some off with our neighbor who rescued a puppy mill dog on his way to the park. I had fun gifting the neighbors on either side of our house, and tomorrow a friend is stopping by to get some. 

I love how one gift given to us enables so many ripples of giving. 

1795 Reads

Finding a Way

It's not that easy to go shopping out here. There are not many stores or options.

So, I put on my thinking cap and made these paper roses with pencils as stems as a thank you for librarians during National Library Week.

A little bit of creativity can go a long way in expressing appreciation 😊.
 

1747 Reads

Cleaning Kindly

My students went on a field trip to the Santa Barbara Watershed Resource Center today. They learned about how plastics affect ocean life, then went on an hour-long beach clean up.


That's definitely an act of kindness. :)
 

1674 Reads

Invisible Love Warriors

While walking with my brother on a hiking trail, we came upon a "smile rock"! I have never encountered one in the "wild" like that! And was so thrilled to see the invisible love warriors who have made these ripples all the way across the country (and world, I know). I am so delighted to have shared this moment with my brother and to feel the LOVE of this wonderful community during my travels! It made me realize how little acts of kindness, whether a smile card, smile rock or anything else, can make such a big impact! ... Read Full Story >>

1253 Reads

For the Win!

“Hello! How’d you survive the snowstorm?” greeted Shelly, as she began to ring up my grocery purchases. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we exchanged stories about our winters, the height of snow on our roofs, how we’ve been keeping sane, how MisterM and I should’ve stayed in Texas and Mexico a little longer :)). Usually, I gift the cashiers their favorite bar, but this time… “Could you pick me out a lottery ticket?” I asked Shelly. “Any particular one?” “You decide.” I replied. After I paid for everything, I pushed the lottery ticket towards her, “This is for you, if you are able to receive it.” Shelly got this shocked look on her face (it was one of those $5 tickets) and said, “I didn’t think this was for me!” I smiled and requested, “If you win, how about taking me out for lunch?” That’s the funny thing about kindness, I already feel like a ... Read Full Story >>

1981 Reads

Many Levels of Grace

I have the most magical story ever!!!  It started with the Awakin Call that I was blessed to be a part of in January. Audrey forwarded me an email from a woman named Grace who said she would like to get in contact with me because she had also been sexually assaulted as a girl and perhaps I could help her move forward. Well, I was just blown away that a beautiful sister in Uganda felt like I could help, so I emailed her that day! Since then, we have emailed back and forth almost daily. During one email, she asked me to "kindly come to Uganda because the girls and women there already think of me as their mother." Gut punch, right?! Well, I shared that story with my friends at Service Space, and within a day I received an email saying someone wished to gift me a ticket to go work ... Read Full Story >>

1419 Reads

New Directions

I have started to manage an online club to spread "kind acts" in local community.https://cafe.naver.com/etainclub (Korean website)

The motto of the club is "Help it Forward", which is inspired by the 'Pay it Forward" of KindSpring.When 
you help someone you will get help when you need it. This "Help if Forward" is as simple as this.

Thank KindSpring for letting me pursue my life goal.

 

1474 Reads

Brothers Keeper

Late in the day my nephew and I were returning from an arduous hike up a narrow desert canyon. We passed a Japanese family with two small children headed up this slippery water tank canyon with no trail. Their apparel was out of place, like maybe they were tourists from a big city. We pointed out they were in for a real adventure. Perhaps they didn’t know what we meant, as they smiled and hurried up the remote canyon. Back at our camper we watched for them, expecting their brief return. A couple hours went by, then the sun set. Alarmed, we grabbed a few flash lights, rope and blankets, and headed back up. It would be so sad if the children were hurt. Pressing on into the night we became more and more frantic for their safety. Finally after a couple miles we were so excited to find them walking towards us. ... Read Full Story >>

2137 Reads

Heart Pillows For Open Heart Patients

This is something that affected me while I was in the hospital for open heart surgery and  made my decision to make things right. Just before my surgery, my doctor's office gave me a video to watch. In that video there were patients and each one had a heart pillow they were using, so of course I figured that I would get one. Right after my surgery, I asked about the heart pillow, and I was told that they took it out of the budget but one could be purchased at the hospital gift shop. My daughter purchased one for me. It was wonderful- it did so much more than for coughing, sneezing or moving wrong. It eventually became my "security blanket" and still is. I even bought and gave out 2 to heart patients I knew- they found it as comforting as I did. Okay, moving ahead- I was upset that ... Read Full Story >>

2006 Reads




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