Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A note of gratitude to a consumer rights organinization

I have been a member of an organization that fights for the protection of consumers' rights. As such, we may benefit from special discounts and offers. So, when we could get special tariffs on gas and electricity bills, a year ago, I decided to join a group and take advantage of lower prices. I must say that I feel quite satisfied by their customer service, no hard selling practices and the money I have saved this year. So when I got a mail from them summarizing their actions and the benefits I got thanks to them, I replied to their mail. There was a field where you could inquire about your file or ask a question. But I wrote :"I don't have any question but here is some feedback for you".  And I thanked the people and the team who worked hard and served their customers well. I told how I appreciated their ... Read Full Story >>

1090 Reads

Kindess ripples in a grocery store line, in Ireland

A year ago while I was living in Dublin, I was in a supermarket waiting in the line to pay for my items after a long and tiresome day at work.

Since the line was long my eyes were wandering everywhere. When I was getting nearer until I noticed an elderly lady around in her late 80's just joined the last line of the another line opposite to where I was standing. Without any thought I went to her and told her that she can take my spot.

First she didn't accept saying that, "Oh! dear. It's a long line. I don't want to trouble you." I said, "No worries mam. It is not a problem for me."  and I just smiled at her. Then she thanked me and I helped her to my spot then joined the line in the very last.

Within few seconds a couple of people standing in the line where I was standing started to offer me their spot and I ended up standing next to that elderly lady. For a moment it felt like that place was filled with kindness. Which was so beautiful to experience.

1389 Reads

The joy she found in Random Acts of Kindess

In my church class we talked about the tender mercies that happen every day to ordinary people. My young women leader talked about smile cards and told us about the opportunities they give us to do simple acts of service. I took on a challenge to do 3 acts of anonymous kindness each day and leave a smile card with them. It has been so fun to think of the endless reactions the people could have when they find my acts of kindness. I have enjoyed sticking quotes in lockers, treats on desks, and many more surprises. Every time I do service it makes me smile.

1430 Reads

Man's anynoumous act of kindness inspires a by stander

The other day, as I walked to school, I continued toward a bus station, past a small construction area, and by an area that is currently empty. I noticed someone bringing a bunch of things: shoes, blankets, some canned food, clothing, perhaps donations that he has gathered from family and friends. 

He started laying them down for people to take, and just left. By the time I was on my way home for the day, I saw that many of the items were taken by others. This was probably the sweetest act of kindness I've witnessed so far :)


1187 Reads

Santa Hats Spread Kindness

My husband and I wore our Santa hats to the downtown Christmas walk. We gave a lot of smiley ho-ho-ho's (see SMILEY POWER challenge :)), free cookies and cocoa.

We also left an origami Peace dove in each store; on Christmas trees, on a shelve or gave one a to particularly friendly employee.

At at restaurant for dinner, when we walked in everyone clapped! :) Seems they were doing it for everyone, but what a welcome! Felt great!
Our dinner waiter (who drew this awesome pic on take home box!) loved his dove too <3.

'Tis the season for holiday cheer, my kind friends.

1670 Reads

Reflections from a Giver

While driving, today I passed a man holding a sign, begging for donations. I had two dollars in my wallet. I decided I wasn't going to give because money is so tight right now. Then, it felt wrong of me not to give, so I decided to give him half of what I had. I rolled down my window and handed him one dollar. He said, "God Bless You!" and I said, "You too." It was not a full exchange. As I drove away, I wished I spoken more to him, and I wished I had given him all that I had, but instead I was too afraid to give more of myself. Driving home I wondered if I had neglected a powerful universal law, the law of giving from my heart instead of my head, a law that perhaps creates boomerangs of abundance?! By not giving it all from my heart, perhaps ... Read Full Story >>

2331 Reads

Compliments With a Compassionate Twist

I enjoy watching the video from the compliment guys with their positive and thoughtful dispositions! Personally I am careful however about complimenting only how people look . I have a little girl in my class who always tells me I am beautiful. Which I am not! It is an automatic kind if thing she is doing. I try to tell her it is how I act towards her that is really important. I really try to get the children to accept and honor the differences in themselves and others. Throughout the year I make a big outline of each of their bodies. We give compliments like you are compassionate, thoughtful, hilarious, artistic, fun loving etc. we cover the whole area of these bodies with words.  I hope the picture hangs in each child's bedroom and fills their soul.. No matter what they hear anywhere else. The kids then make a book for ... Read Full Story >>

2809 Reads

Grocery store kindess

Today, I was at the grocery store buying a few items when the lady in front of me couldn't find the change to complete her bill and was short 78 cents. She was all frazzled trying to find change to finish paying.

I then gave her a dollar to finish paying her bill. She was so grateful she kind of just stared at me surprised. She thanked me over and over again and apologized for not having the extra 78 cents. I told her not to worry about it and really it was only a dollar.

She kept smiling and thanking me for the littlest act of kindness and it felt really nice to help her out in a little way to keep her day running smoothly

 

1347 Reads

Smile -The universal sign of love

As I walk my dogs in the park to pray and meditate I regularly run into other people. Some are the faces of regular's; some have an occasional face; some I see for the 1st time.

I try in each case to do one or all of the following: make eye contact, smile, say an encouraging or positive word, and give a friendly wave of the hand. I find that doing some or all of this makes them at a minimum smile back. 
When I see them smile I know that I have touched a nerve of love inside of them, if only for a second. A smile is the universal sign of love. Therefore, I try my best to always make everyone I encounter smile as much as possible. I hope that this meme has made you too smile. Have a wonderful day! 

1171 Reads
  • Posted by maddog95603
  • Dec 17, 2015
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Faith renewed by a stranger's kindness

I was on my way home when a man came up to me excited, yelling: "Gil! Gil Gadson!" I said "yes," to which he grabbed me in a bear hug. He stepped back and saw the look of confusion on my face. He proceeded to explain how he knew me. You see, I work in the field of mental health and substance abuse and often speak at different venues. He said that at one such venue, I had given a speech about the power of gratitude and that it had changed his life. He said we had even talked for awhile after my speech and that my words had made him re-evaluate everything in his life. He continued by sharing that he started appreciating the things he had, stopped feeling sorry for himself and had become pro-active in his life and for others. He expressed that he had made amends to those ... Read Full Story >>

3686 Reads

Sharing Words You Yourself Most Needed to Hear

Today I Am grateful for the opportunity to help a friend in need. It's amazing how sometimes the advice you give is the same advice you need to hear. When that happens it's as if this friend is going through hard times for a purpose, and part of that purpose is to help you grow as a person. At the same time, perhaps the challenges you've faced and the lessons you've learned have lead you to this point and put you in a position to be of service, thus giving your own trails greater purpose. 

1177 Reads

Thai Community Kindness Saves the Day in a Remote Village!

My husband and I were serving in Peace Corps in a remote village in northern Thailand. There were many challenges and difficulties, particularly around our housing. We moved into our house this past June. Shortly thereafter, while we were away at a Peace Corps training, the owner ripped out all the surrounding banana groves and the lush undergrowth in order to raise the ground level--she had planned on tearing down our house and building a new one after we left.   She brought in literally tons of dirt. This left our house in a kind of moat, and when the heavy rains came, our house flooded. This, needless to say, was upsetting, but it turned into a blessing, because when he became aware of it, the principal at my school got my eighth-grade class to come help clean up. The boys dug into the moat to drain the water, and built a concrete path ... Read Full Story >>

3435 Reads
  • Posted by livingsimply
  • Dec 16, 2015
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Unexpected Thank You Card

I feel like my cousin is my 'soulmate' because we seem to be so connected. She is always so supportive with her time, laughter and her love. She is always smiling joyfully and loves to laugh.

I sent her a thank you card last week just to let her know how much I appreciate her presence in my life.

1357 Reads

A Chain of Gifts

I was on my way to teach my yoga class at a shelter one day, when I saw a homeless youth on the street. I felt an impulse to give all my one dollar bills. Shortly thereafter, I noticed another youth, also homeless. At that time all I could give was a smile and a connection.

When I reached the shelter there none who wanted to partake

in the yoga class.  However, I did bring with me some baked goods like donuts, cinnamon rolls etc, which I was able to give away. One the way back  to my car from the shelter, I noticed I had time left on my parking ticket. I also felts inspired to  give that away to a person I connected with a person on the street who needed it. 

All that little giving made me more aware of the abundance and the opportunity to connect and give. 

1316 Reads

The "Rich-ness" of Life

I am elderly and my health is not the best. I am always amazed when I go out with my oxygen tank how many people smile at me warmly, open doors for me, or ask if I need help. Truly, I believe most people have kind, loving hearts and are willing to share of themselves.

I have an abundant life - I have a husband who has loved me and been a strong support in my life for 60 years. I have children and grandchildren who have grown into beautiful adults, I have a roof over my head and am warm in the winter weather, I have an excellent medical team who work to make me feel better, and I live in an agricultural area and a lot of the food I eat is farm to table.   

Truly I have an abundant life for which I give thanks from a heart of gratitude. Do I have a lot of money? No, but I have the things that matter and make me rich. 

1492 Reads

Helping a Friend Heal Through the Holidays

A friend of mine is struggling with Lyme disease. I'm aware that because of it, my friend has a restrictive eating plan. To help heal her immune system, I came up with an idea for an advent calendar for her to enjoy - a new seasonal tea bag every day, plus a puzzle/doodle or idea/affirmation to do or share. And I enjoyed putting it together for her - it felt good to be doing something to support her recovery :)

1376 Reads

Going Above and Beyond to Help a Neighbor in Need

My neighbor, who is a young man with special needs knocked on my door one Friday evening. I've known him nearly twenty years. Occasionally, he will help me with odd jobs in the summer. When he came to my door, he humbly asked if I could possibly lend him five or ten dollars until his parents got back into town later in the week. Given our relationship over the years, I know asking must have been very difficult for him.  I quickly handed him twenty dollars. He then said he'd gladly work it off or pay me back as quickly as he could. To which I replied: "let's put it on account for spring clean-up." However, it kept me awake all night wondering how many groceries one could buy with twenty bucks. The next morning, I headed off to the grocery store and filled two bags with non-perishable food and some bread. ... Read Full Story >>

2716 Reads

Dinnertime Gift

Last minute errands to run before teaching my last college class before Thanksgiving. Break started. I ran into a Panda Express to grab a quick dinner. There were a few people ahead of me in line - distractedly I was eyeing the dishes to decide what to eat, and the young man ahead of me in line interrupted my thoughts and said, "Please, go ahead of me." I replied, "No, no worries, I'm not in a huge hurry." And he said, "Please, I'm a little tired so I want to rest against the wall." Then I noticed he had one and a half legs - his right leg from the knee down was missing. We started to chat about Thanksgiving, college (he was a student at UCLA studying to be a teacher), and various casual topics. Throughout he was very polite, cheerful and balancing perfectly on one leg, no crutches or cane to ... Read Full Story >>

1492 Reads

A little different kind of gift-exchange

Today during our team meeting at work, we decided to have a holiday celebration. We are going to meet for breakfast at a restaurant not too far from work. And we are bringing gifts. We drew names after the meeting. Now we each get to think about what gift/toy the person whose name we drew might have wanted/received for Christmas when he or she was a child.

We've done similar gift exchanges in the past. It is great fun as we each have the fun of opening a gift and letting everyone know if this was indeed a gift we would have wanted when we were children. But the gifts themselves will be re-wrapped and donated to Santa's Anonymous, a local organization that collects donations of all kinds throughout the year to help make children in need a bit happier at this time of year.

I'm so happy we decided to do this again. The breakfast party is Dec. 15 so I have time to think about the person whose name I drew and what she might have liked as a child.

2713 Reads

The Waiter at the fast food restaurant

My husband and I decided to go out for lunch . Our waiter who appeared to be at least 60+ years old was extremely nice and very attentive to our needs.

Since this place is almost considered as a fast food restaurant, not many tips are given. I'm a firm believer if I receive great service, I'm willing to give a nice tip.

When it was time for us to pay for our food, I gave the waiter a $10 tip. (which was more than our meal) She thanked me over and over again and stated she could really use the money.

She later walked in the back of the restaurant where her other co-workers were standing and started waving the $10 around. It put a huge smile on my face that God has blessed me to bless others.

2120 Reads




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