Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Fill Us Up With Gratitude

At the gas station I saw a family of three: Melanie, and two wee ones. The tire on their vehicle was flat, and they had no way to change it. Fortunately, there were highway workers returning from the job site. They had stopped at the gas station for the refilling of the company truck. "No problem for us," the three men told Melanie. With a community effort, the tire was changed and the donut spare tire put on. The guys gave Melanie instructions to get to a tire repair shop up the road in order to get the nail out from the tire tread. The baby was last seen gurgling in her car seat as Melanie and her brood continued on their way, east along the highway. Grateful I could help them get back on their journey home.   ... Read Full Story >>

1478 Reads

Strangers Reaching Out to Help Us

One Diwali, We were on a vacation in Dubai and having a good time and lots of fun. One day, we were visiting Abu-Dhabi, traveling with a few passengers in a bus. At our first stop, we got out to take some pictures. At our second stop, we noticed that we had forgotten our shoulder bag at the first stop. The worst part was that our passports, Visas, hotel booking papers, Itinerary...everything was inside that bag and we were very panicky, as we had to return to India in 2 days. During this process of searching for our bags we came into contact with so many strangers whom we found to be genuinely concerned and helpful with our situation: A tour guide and a bus driver helped us to locate a cab so that we could travel back the first destination to find our bag. A cab driver, who stayed with us for ... Read Full Story >>

2209 Reads

Where the Real Gold Is

We picked up a young fella just walking the interstate deep in the mountains. From the Texas coast, he spent all he had on a tiny motorized scooter board and escaped his home town to see America. A thousand miles north, in seemingly foreign land, he ran out of gas again. He hid his only possession on a back road in the forest and started walking to find a gas station. A real life "Forest Gump" character, he advised me to never work for family. He had worked for years for his uncle on the family shrimp boat for nothing, "and never got nothin' in the end either!" But he had a heart of gold, polite as could be, self reliant, and the only thing he asked was, "Where is the closest gas station?"  We filled up his little water bottle (gas can). He wouldn't take but a few cans of food, ... Read Full Story >>

2053 Reads

It's Yours Buddy

I took my son to a popular fast food chain today at lunch for a treat. And it seems everyone else had the exact same idea. The place was packed! I drove around the small parking lot doing loops for 5 minutes waiting for a spot. Finally I found one. A lady was returning to her car so I followed her and waited patiently for her to vacate the spot. As I did this I looked in my rear vision mirror and noticed a young male swiftly pull up behind me. As soon as he saw my indicator on for the spot he began hitting his steering wheel and swearing "f**k" (and lots of other angry words) in frustration. I knew this wasn't at me but at the sheer disappointment that he had missed a spot. I felt his pain. I too had been circling the place for ages. As the lady ... Read Full Story >>

1416 Reads

Using Music to Make Connections

My little harp and I journeyed to a memory care facility today and visited 3 hospice patients. The first resident was not verbal but was incredibly engaged with the music. She was up in a wheelchair and smiled broadly while intently watching me and my hands. If I gave a special flourish to a piece, she would laugh. Ambient noise that got loud caused her to look about in a concerned way. I loved every minute of playing for this charming elder. When I left, I waved goodbye and she wiggled her fingers at me, smiling again. I heard the CNA talking to her about the harp and she made some aahhh aahhhh sounds back. Her room mate was also there, but she was not present in a way I could discern. She went from being asleep to very slumped in her chair and her eyes were remote. She did have on ... Read Full Story >>

1181 Reads

Sharing a Sandwich with Aed

He stood on the corner looking a lot like Santa Claus, a smile on his face and a cup outstretched in his hands. I smiled back and asked if he was hungry: "Would you like to go somewhere and share a sandwich?" He responded with a bigger smile and a resounding YES. His name is Aed. We went together to a corner bakery and then over the next hour, he very slowly ate his sandwich, pausing with deep delight on each bite as he shared his life story with me. He was one of the few hand pruners still trying to work. He spoke lovingly and with deep passion about all sorts of plants and trees and how to properly care for them. Much like humans, each one requiring kindness and attention. He spoke of his time serving in Vietnam and how that forever affected him. He spoke about a pathway diverged but ... Read Full Story >>

1809 Reads

Unexpected Hospitality When We Were Stranded

Many years ago, when we first went to Canada, we were driving through Montana to Colorado with our two children, then ages 8 and 11. We thought we would find a motel on the way and had not made a booking. As it was getting late we started looking for a motel, only to find out that it was rodeo time in that part of the country, and all the motels were booked. Finally, around 9PM, we stopped at a gas station to fill up on gas. My husband asked for a phone book and told the woman at the counter that we were trying to find a motel. She told us it would be impossible. He tried for 15 more minutes. When he was unsuccessful, the woman, Linda, said she and her family lived nearby and would be happy if we spent the night at her home. My husband was stunned ... Read Full Story >>

3019 Reads
  • Posted by swapnagupta443
  • Mar 14, 2018
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Making a Picnic Out of An Accident

On my way back home I was stopped at a traffic light by some people who asked for help. A woman – in her attempt to give way to an ambulance – had driven her car over stony obstacles that separated the bike line from the street, and had gotten her car stuck as a result. She couldn't move the car in any direction without damaging it. A couple of people tried to lift the car back but the obstacles were too high. Seeing that they couldn’t do much about it, they left and the woman in the car tried to call for some service.  While watching the other people leave, I realized the woman would be on her own and I imagined how uncomfortable that would be if I were in her shoes. After some talking, she invited me to sit inside her car. She called for service and was ... Read Full Story >>

2128 Reads

Sharing My Good Fortune With A Coworker

Recently I was shopping in the local Walmart where I ran into a former coworker. We started talking about old times when we worked together at the store. Looking at her I could sense that she was not in the best of health so I asked, "when are you going to retire?" She told me with tears in her eyes that she had retired but had to come back to work because she couldn't make ends meet with her retirement income. I told her how sorry I was and left the store. A week later, I was fortunate to have a little extra cash and I was looking for someone to share it with. It wasn't a ton of money but it was more than what I had and I wanted to show my thanks by giving a bit of it to someone else. I was shopping at Walmart again and ... Read Full Story >>

1761 Reads

Flowers To The Rescue!

As an Insurance Agent I have to visit clients at their homes to collect their insurance premiums. I had an elderly client named Ms. Gooden. She is a sweet lady and always does her best to keep me at her home as long as she can. One day as I was leaving, she told me about the flowers she wished she had in her yard. She said that when she was growing up the only flowers she could remember seeing were the ones pictured on the large flour sacks. I asked her, "if you had flowers what colors would you have?" She answered me back in a sad voice that any color would be beautiful to her. One day when I knew she had a doctor's appointment I went to a nursery and bought many colorful and beautiful flowers. I went to her home and planted them in an area of ... Read Full Story >>

3376 Reads

Persisting in the Desire to Help

I had forgotten about this small favor to an old man with a flat tire precariously parked along a mountain highway. He was ashamed to ask for help and said he would be OK when I stopped. But recently, I had mentally asked the powers that be to send me someone who could use my help. So, I figured he must be mistaken about not needing help. So I cajoled him into at least letting me help him get on the road sooner. 45 minutes later, after fixing the flat, I knew this...he was severely handicapped and couldn't even stoop down, he didn't know where his jack was or where to jack at, and the car position made it almost impossible to jack up without significant work, I was the only one with a lug wrench, etc. I had smashed a couple Christmas balls from his shopping run when I shut his ... Read Full Story >>

1720 Reads

Firecracker!

One morning when I was delivery groceries to a woman I noticed a puppy in her yard. He was suffering with a horrible case of mange. I asked her if he was her puppy and she said yes. I asked what was wrong with him...she told me he had mange and there was nothing she could do about it...for lack of money. My heart broke as i watched him slowly trying to find some small amount of comfort. I asked her if she would mind if I tried to help him. I told her I would try to get something to help him. Instead of going to a regular store I went to the local animal doctor and told him what the dog looked like and he told me what I needed. When I returned to the woman's home I asked her if she would be sure to bath the puppy ... Read Full Story >>

1714 Reads

Literally Giving Away the Shirt Off of My Back

I've been traveling through Southeast Asia for a few months now, and I've learned how to be a minimalist and carry only what I really need. I thought I had reduced my backpack down to the bare essentials after a few months, when a RAOK opportunity presented itself to me and proved me wrong. It was laundry day in the mid-sized Indonesian city I happened to be in, meaning I was down to my last shirt, the least flattering shirt of my seven day collection: a ratty conference t-shirt of a well-known American company I've worn a hundred times. It's a shirt I don't feel particularly flattering in, so I try to stay indoors and use it as an opportunity to have a quiet, indoor day. I hadn't thought anything of the shirt until a young Indonesian man staying at my guest house saw me and immediately took notice of the corporate ... Read Full Story >>

2860 Reads

Unexpected Friendships

Yesterday I was trying to explain to someone that you cannot allow the evil in this world to overwhelm you when so much good also exists. On the way home I saw an elderly lady who needed a ride and I was inspired to live what I preached and stopped for her.

That's how I met Ms. Diana. For the next 10 minutes I enjoyed the company of this vibrant lady, originally from Chicago who lost her husband in 2002 and decided to travel. She has settled in Atlanta. She was just coming from dialysis.  They have finally put her on the transplant list, and Saturday at 6:00 a.m. she is flying to AZ to see her grandkids. She told me that If I'd like to come visit, she will be back in town soon and she plays the piano on Sundays between 11-12 at Defoor Baptist and is the only little black woman there!

What a treasure! Not for the first time that day did I think, if you dwell in darkness, you can't see the light. Remember to pay it forward. Every action we take has ripple effects.

1182 Reads

Giving the Gift of Sight to Guatemalans

"To those whom much is given, much is expected." There are so many of you on this site, living out the second part of this quote on a daily basis - being kind in unexpected ways, sharing the bounty of your lives with others. I, like many here, volunteer some of my time in order to give back just a little of what I am so blessed to have. This month, I had an incredible opportunity to step up my game a little, and step out of my comfort zone a lot. I volunteered to go to Guatemala with an eyeglass team from International Relief Teams - an organization I have supported in other ways for many years. Our team went to a small town in Guatemala, San Augustin. We set up our tables and packages of pre-made glasses in the dirt courtyard of a clinic, put up the Snellen chart taped ... Read Full Story >>

1394 Reads

The Power of Open Invitations

Charles doesn't come often to our coloring group. When he does, he sets his various plastic shopping bags on a seat nearby and gets right to work choosing pages, coloring with a determination and an intent of focus. He's sure not our regular coloring group demographic, but oh, how I love the diversity and interest he brings :)). The oversized diamond-looking cross earrings, gold tooth and deep thoughtful voice. You can tell that Charles has seen a lot of the world, without going very far out of our city. I don't think it's been a very pleasant journey, but still, he sees the beauty. Feels the creative expression that needs to manifest thru him. "I used to like to draw, a long time ago. Animals. People..." he confided to me. I got the feeling that life put his talents on hold. Knowing Charles doesn't have much, I put together a little artist portfolio: an assortment ... Read Full Story >>

1379 Reads

The Purple Flowers Are For You!

Took homemade cookies (made by a friend) to share with colleagues Helped facilitate a process for someone who needed to troubleshoot something she hadn't done before  After work, I stopped by grocery store to pick up two bunches of flowers for friends in the neighborhood. As I was paying, the cashier said "The purple ones are for you!"--and I didn't really understand (I just thought he meant I should keep them for myself) but then as I was walking away I saw the receipt and noticed that he only charged me for one bunch of flowers! I was so touched, I immediately went back inside to the manager with a box of toffees I'd purchased (for someone else) and asked him to give it to the cashier later ;-)  I love doing stealth RAOKs for the folks who work there--it was such a surprise to be "gifted" with flowers myself :-) I then ... Read Full Story >>

1327 Reads

Love Your Food

Today I had an aaah ha from one of my second graders, Luther. As we were walking and talking on the way back to my room he asked me "What superfood do you want to have and why?".

I shared that I wished to eat sweet and salty things with no calorie counts.

Luther suggested that I only "eat" what I like to eat, like kind words about myself, peaceful things that fill up my heart, and that I take time to eat slowly and with lots of love feelings around me.

His family has a family ritual that they practice every weekend morning at breakfast. They put bites of love into their mouths in the form of their breakfast morsels, a little goes a long way, then take the  time to create love notes to themselves to share at the family dinner hour.

It is Luther's favorite family treat.

"Hope you had a good day". "Love you" "Peace Be With You".
 

1086 Reads

Holding Each Other's Hands in the Snow

Yesterday I was asked to walk my granddaughter to the school bus stop. Her other Grandmother has mobility issues and is not able to walk through the snow and ice with her walker.

There was a mom walking her son to the same stop while struggling with 3-year-old twins. One was screaming and crying the entire way. After the bus left I walked with her and she explained that the boy she was carrying is non-verbal. He can make sounds but no words at this point.

I held out my hand to the boy who was walking and he took it. Soon I was holding the hands of both boys. They were quite content to walk with me while I chatted with their mom. I felt I was of service to all in those few minutes we walked, giving the boys my unconditional acceptance and their mom someone to talk to. It made me very happy, too.

1292 Reads

I See You

She sat in my class. A teenage girl. All the girls had grouped their desks but hers sat in isolation. I reformed groups and ensured that she never sat alone. I encouraged group ethos and it worked well. In this country, girls love to bring flowers and gifts for each other. Not Amani though. She had no friends to either give to or receive from. She has special needs and her communication level is low especially in English (I am teaching in the Middle East). Watching her face and it's lack of emotion pulled so hard at my heartstrings. Seeing her walk about alone during recreation was painful for me. What could I do? I couldn't be her classmate, I was her teacher. Despite this, I had to reach out. On the last day before school broke up at the end of term I brought a gift for Amani. It was a very generous gift ... Read Full Story >>

2360 Reads




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