Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Female Judge Recognizes Male Suspect As Friend From 35 Years Ago, Does Unexpected Kindness Act


What an unreal kindness. A female judge is trying a male suspect for petty theft and fleeing from the police. After hearing the case against the suspect the judge asks if he went to a specific school. He then recognizes her. It turns out Arthur Booth and Mindy Glazer  went to the same middle school 35 years beforehand. They played together and we're good friends. He then recognizes her.

The judge then does something unprecedented; sitting in her official role, she allows her heart to speak and she tells everyone what a good boy the suspect was when he was a child. He sobs hard. I've watched the online video and it's so moving.

What a kindness. This judge did not have to acknowledge that she even had an inkling who this guy was but instead she gives him a character reference in her court!

Something tells me this guy will never be on the wrong side of the law again.

1170 Reads

The Gift Of Forgiveness – Christmas Story

The Christmas of 1949 we didn’t have a tree. My dad had as much pride as anybody, I suppose, so he wouldn’t just say that we couldn’t afford one. When I mentioned it, my mother said that we weren’t going to have one this year, that we couldn’t afford one, and even if we could – it was stupid to clutter up your house with a dead tree. I wanted a tree badly though, and I thought – in my naive way – that if we had one, everybody would feel better. About three days before Christmas, I was out collecting for my paper route. It was fairly late – long after dark – it was snowing and very cold. I went to the apartment building to try to catch a customer who hadn’t paid me for nearly two months – she owed me seven dollars. Much to my surprise, she was home. She invited ... Read Full Story >>

2114 Reads

She picked up groceries last minute, and he got an unexpected holiday gift!

I love reading the amazing stories of kindness published here, but rarely post my own. It's not that I don't do RAK, but rather, as others have said, sometimes those acts seem kind of sacred and aren't crying out to be shared. Today, on Christmas Eve, I went to the local grocery store for a forgotten item for our family baking. Waiting in line, with my item, I heard the friendly voice of a clerk who has been working at this store for many years, always cheerful, always respectful of all the shoppers in his lane. So I got out of the lane I was in, detoured and picked up a gift card for a local sandwich shop,then got back in line in his lane. Two people ahead of me was a young father with two children and some groceries in his cart. He tried to pay with his credit card, but ... Read Full Story >>

1482 Reads

Mother Gets The Help Of 'Kindness Elves' To Join Family Kindness Challenge!

Hello Dear Ones, It's been a lovely season of Kindness at our home here in North Carolina. Inspired by a wonderful blog post I read years ago and of course all you amazing and inspiring good people of KindSpring, these little Elves appeared in my kitchen, asking for my children's help in bringing kindness challenges to life. 6 days of challenges building up to Christmas. My 7 year old son (also pictured) was super excited to share stories of the Kindness Elves, as he often wondered why Elf on the Shelf never visited our house. I told him, different houses have different magic... and different elves.  Here are a few photos of the Kindness Elves posing to share their kindness and love. (They were living in a Target store for a while until they told me they wanted to visit my house, born in China of some very talented artists, I'm ... Read Full Story >>

1793 Reads

Unexpected Visitor

Life is never dull! Last night we had a call from a neighbour to say that there was a foreign car parked up in the village, and was it someone heading to our project? We weren't expecting anyone, but my partner headed down to check they were OK.  It was a single lady who said she was searching for somewhere but had decided to park overnight as visibility was low. She didn't want any help, so my partner told her where to find us if required and then came home. So this morning I find a strange car in the driveway and she's wanting to use our toilet. No problem! I put the kettle on whilst she was busy and invited her in for a chat. Knowing we're lacking local shops etc. I checked if she'd had breakfast. So we sat down to chat, her equipped with porridge and tea, and it turns ... Read Full Story >>

1570 Reads

The Effect Of A Written Note

I have been in an active adult fitness class since I retired from work. There was a charming, delightful member of the group who always put a smile on our faces. Two years ago her husband became seriously ill and after having been released from hospital needed nursing home care....for two years.

She has spent most of the days of those two years at the nursing home with him for a good portion of the day. She didn't answer emails, so on occasion I would send her a note and she would reply with an update on her life.

Recently, members of the class wondered what she was doing. I dropped her a note and received a reply today. She was so tickled that we still thought and cared about her. A month ago, her husband was allowed to come home. She has a good caregiver for him who arrives early in the morning. She wants to know when our fitness class picks up again after the new year.

I'm so pleased that I wrote and so pleased that she may have the opportunity to return to class.

1247 Reads

Lunch Kindness

My son had a rotten day at school, and was delayed going to lunch as he was upset. Lunches must be bought in advance so he lost his meal opportunity and didn't have extra credit. A couple of older boys got together and bought him a sandwich and drink. I'm so grateful.

723 Reads

My Favorite Way To Start the Day

There's a massive construction going on in the area where I live. I've been told that this open area which was home to migratory birds in the winter and a walker's paradise will soon house hundred 'villas'. It may or may not be a good initiative but change is inevitable. So now, what used to be an open space of trees is replaced by bulldozers, noisy machines , construction vehicles. and workers. So now every morning while packing lunch, I prepare bags of fruits and water for the men who work here as appreciation for their effort and the interaction is beyond rewarding. I feel this is the best way to start a day. The beaming smile on each of their faces when you hand them this little bag melts your heart.. The content may actually be nothing but for them to feel cared is what really matters. I now have Mr. Khan, ... Read Full Story >>

1568 Reads

Silent Blessings To Someone I Never Met

On my way to an occupational health appointment today an ambulance overtook the line of traffic I was in. The traffic pulled to the side to enable the ambulance to drive by with greater ease. I thought of the person in the ambulance, flashing lights let me know the destination. I also thought of the paramedic and the driver and, I'm proud to say, I had a KindSpring inspired moment.... I sent a blessing to the casualty, a blessing to the paramedic and a blessing to the driver. Let me tell you I have thought of these individuals in this setting before but I've never sent them a blessing. How did this make me feel? It made me feel spiritual. It made me feel like I was willing a positive outcome for the sick person. It made me feel like I was willing the driver to drive safely and timely. It made me ... Read Full Story >>

876 Reads

A Christmas Card Give-away!

This year I did my Christmas Day card delivery round on my own as my wife was playing host to the family. I'd also procrastinated with actually writing the cards, so on Christmas Eve I locked myself in the study and hand wrote 50 Christmas Cards to give out to people who have to work on Christmas Day. Each one had a lottery scratch card inside and by the 50 th envelope I'd licked, I think I was ready to throw up. Time for a cup of tea, or maybe something stronger;-) I still feel that a hand written card is so much more personal than having them printed. Anyway I set off around 9am destined for my local hospital and I handed out around 35 cards to nurses, doctors, receptionists and cleaners. Then off to the ambulance station, then the fire station and I was still left with 5 cards. ... Read Full Story >>

1340 Reads

Helping Others During this Tough Time Helped Us

It was the 3rd month memorial on December 26th, 2016  of my husband's passing. In my husband's memory, I had planned to bring together more of my family and friends to share this December, a little bit of kindness and gratitude. I made a list of some basic groceries that we will need to fill up 30 Boxes. My sister and her husband donated the bulk of the groceries on their own initiative, towards the hampers and I arrived to find these being delivered at home. My 10-year-old nephew shopped with me for the balance and never tired out in the busy malls. Between my family members and friends ranging from 10-year-old to my 86-year-old dad (turned 86 today 27 Dec) who all helped buy the groceries, pack the boxes, seal the boxes , load the vehicles, drive to the townships to deliver each box to the needy families and finally to ... Read Full Story >>

1566 Reads

As Simple As Sharing A Peace Dove

When I realized it was the birthday of a young guy sitting at the table next to ours at the restaurant tonight , I tapped him on his arm and wished him a happy one and handed him a peace dove & shared about. Received such a beautiful smile from him and thanks . On his way out, he once again thanked me and each person at his table smiled and said said thank you as they passed me. Felt such good energy.

Acknowledged and thanked wait staff throughout our 4 hours there. So simple, so easy, so needed and appreciated by service people. We are all one. We are all equal.


990 Reads

An invitation for a change of heart

This morning I texted a friend to ask if he wanted to come over for lunch sometime later this week. He said "how about now, I can hang out for a bit?" and at first I wanted to say no because I had an appointment. but I ended up saying yes.

And I'm so glad I did. He is struggling with depression and had a bad day and just really needed to get out. After I left to go to an appointment he stayed to hang out with my husband and then ended up taking a long nap on our sofa. 

When he left he thanked me for doing this today as he really needed it. 

684 Reads

Kindness was everywhere I needed it today

Please let me share not what I did, but what three people did for me. I'm a 67 yr. old woman with white hair who walks with a cane and still limps.

The first lady, in a business suit, held the door open for me at a fast food place during morning rush hour. She gambled with being late just to help me. The second instance was a little boy - maybe 12 years old - who put my bagged groceries into my cart at the check out stand, and the third was a lady probably about my age who helped me in the parking lot by unloading my cart filled with groceries into the trunk of my car.

So what, you may say? Today I was in so much physical pain I almost didn't go to either place although I needed to go to both. To me, these simple acts of kindness were appreciated beyond words. They truly restored my faith in the inherent goodness of people of all ages.

704 Reads

No Charge for a Charge

I had stopped at a gas station the other day to fill up when I noticed a woman with 2 children standing outside her car with the hood open. She seemingly upset on her phone and appearing tearful. After I filled my tank, I walked by and asked if everything was ok. She explained to me that her car battery died and the kids' father does not get off of work for another 2 hours, and cannot be reached. I could have just expressed some empathy and walked away, but instead I mentioned that I had jumper cables and could give them a start. I drove up next to her, popped the hood, connected the cables and while waiting for the charge gave her and the kids some bottled waters I'd kept in the car as the outside temperature was well over 100 degrees. I cranked the A/C and invited them ... Read Full Story >>

1116 Reads
  • Posted by jaguarxk8s
  • Dec 27, 2016
  • Comments (8)
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For The Father In The Clinic Waiting Room

I was at a medical appointment and while sitting in the waiting room I overheard a conversation. A young father had his appointment time mixed up and was going to have to cancel because he was going to be late picking up his daughter. I gave up my time so he could leave in time to get his daughter. He thanked me and shook my hand. It felt good.

867 Reads
  • Posted by stephanieemori
  • Dec 27, 2016
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In Honor of My Late Husband

Today was my husbands 2 month memorial and the family came over to help me. We cooked a pot of food to feed 30 random needy souls. Blessings all around.

Each person did some part of the work, fetching the fresh bread from the store, adding a packet of cookies, dishing up, marking the containers, and finally splitting up to cover 3 different areas. These activities helped ease the heartache of my husbands loss a little. The blessings from the recipients of the food was precious, my husband was surely smiling down at us with pride and peace.

1030 Reads

A Magical Sweet Kindness Felt in The AIr

Today, I was traveling in a local bus and thought of practicing compassion.

After around half journey, I got up and gave my seat to a girl who was standing. She was busy on her mobile and after around 4 stops, asked me whether i will be getting down? When I told her, I would still be there, she was pleasantly surprised. She said in a sweeter and respectful tone that she was leaving at that stop. There was a magical effect of this change in tone.

Later I gave the seat to another girl, who used it for few stops. She realized later that i was still in the bus. While she passed by me to exit, i could sense small gratitude for a second, though no words were exchanged. She talked softly and kindly on her phone at this point.

These created an environment of concerned co-passengers and kindness could be felt in the space around. I felt happy sensing the ripple effect.

968 Reads

Reclaiming Back My Holiday Spirit

I'm excited because today I saw that they have a tree at the library with tags that have info about elderly people and what sort of presents they'd enjoy. You buy the gifts, and then bring them to the library where the volunteers wrap and deliver them. I can't wait to go shopping tomorrow and see what kind of goodies I can get! :)

This feels more like Christmas to me than anything has in recent years since losing my Mom and going through my divorce. I wasn't sure my heart would ever be in the holiday again, but today I realized that it's coming back to life and that makes me feel joyful and terrific. :)

1123 Reads

One stolen light projector and three friendly neighbors helped restore faith

I was just blown away with an act of kindness by three strangers, who are now friends. A few nights ago we had a light projector taken from our yard; it was my feeble attempt at decorating for Christmas. I made a posting on 'Nextdoor,' a neighborhood website. It wasn't a mean spirited post at all. I tried to muster all the love and compassion I could for whoever took it. In fact, many neighbors commented on how much they loved my approach. Then, out of the blue, I get a message of someone wanting to come over and introduce themselves to me. I drove up just in time and was approached by Cynthia and Ken, along with their son Nikhil. Cynthia had read my post and didn't want me to lose faith in humanity, so to show me that there are good people in our neighborhood they went out and ... Read Full Story >>

2945 Reads




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