Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Tiny Miracles of Nature

Yesterday I stopped at a small scrub and watched the ants 'milking' the aphids / plant louses.

 

An elderly lady approached the street crossing near which I stood and was struggling with her bags, so I asked her if she needed help. She refused but stopped for a moment to vent -- her day had been difficult so far and she did not feel well.

I listened and when she asked me what I was doing and where I was going, I told her that I had been distracted from my own tasks by watching the ants.

She was fascinated, looked for them herself and we stood there for another couple of minutes focused on the ants. She told me that as a child she used to be fascinated by all critters but stopped watching them when growing up.

When we parted she was far more relaxed, thanked me again for connecting her to nature's tiny miracles as she vowed to look for them more often. 😊🐜  It was a good reminder for myself too.

179 Reads

Compliments Are Meant To Be Spoken

After spending 20 minutes on hold for Customer Service the sweetest gal came on the line. She had a gentle manner, went the extra mile & was very efficient.

At the end of our call, I thanked her for her time & patient assistance & told her it was a pleasure speaking with her. Her effusive sharing of appreciation of my words touched me deeply.

It made me happy to feel the heartfelt uplift in her spirit. So easy to simply let someone know you appreciate them. 👌🏻

192 Reads

The Kamloops Doves and a Message of Love

When I heard about the mass grave found at the Kamloops Indian residential school in Canada, where the remains of 215 children were discovered, I felt the need to help transform the sorrow for those innocents into a measure of healing. After reading KindSpring friend Brad2’s post (https://www.kindspring.org/my/story.php?sid=206910) I asked Brad2 how I could respectfully honour the memory of the children by doing what I do, folding and sharing origami peace doves. He told me that orange was the official colour being used to highlight the healing journey of the survivors. He also explained that the stories of individuals from the school are shared to create an awareness that ‘Every Child Matters’. A prayer for the children that never made it home is being circulated on social media by all tribes. He added a prayer of support for the families involved and his own personal request for healing and reconciliation. After much thought, ... Read Full Story >>

202 Reads

From Laundry To Vegan Pepperoni

I'm back home and spreading my birthday gift on the west coast now. Many of my acts began at home this time, with my family. Since my return yesterday I've done two loads of laundry. I rose at 6 am, made coffee for my wife, along with vegan pancakes...a recipe that I've adapted myself. I took my daughter to Chipotle. The real act of kindness here was that I did this without lecturing her about eating out too much:). And I shared my Peet's coffee reward with her. I was telling my daughter about what I'm doing and asked her what acts of kindness she thought I've done today. I was happy to hear her say, "you opened the door for me!" That was small, but given that I wasn't going through the door with her, I'll count that. And now for dinner, I'm making wife and I VBLTA's for dinner (vegan bacon, ... Read Full Story >>

183 Reads

My Birthday Gift To Myself

As my 56th lap around the sun nears its completion I have chosen to borrow an idea from some on here, and others have done…complete one act of kindness for each lap. Today I completed four. This morning I opted for a small, local coffee shop, rather than the national chain. I wanted to randomly pay for someone’s coffee. Since they didn’t take cash (a covid thing) , I purchased a gift card. I gave the gift card and a Smile Card to the barista and suggested what she might do with both. Then this evening, while standing in line at WF, I noticed a young lady behind me with a few bagels. I asked if she’d let me pay for them. In a heavy German accent, she declined. I didn’t want to force it, but I told her she would really be helping me out and I explained to her her ... Read Full Story >>

244 Reads

The Baker, the Tailor, the Ray of Hope.

Many people have experienced negative consequences as a result of the Covid restrictions. This includes small business owners who were forced to close. However, there has also been a chance for some people to demonstrate great acts of kindness and shine a ray of hope.  One of my friends owns a bakery. Because of the lockdowns, he ran into a financial crisis. He had to shut his shop for months causing his debts to mount up.  My friend had previously rented his apartment to a tailor, but this man also struggled to earn a living due to the impact of COVID. Even after the restrictions were lifted his business was not picking. Somehow the tailor managed to arrange for the rent to be paid to my friend after months. However, my friend refused to take the money. He discovered that the tailor had sold one of his machines to pay it. He ... Read Full Story >>

276 Reads

Paying It Backwards Also Works

Good afternoon :) I went to McDonald's this morning and the line through the drive up was super long. Someone allowed me to go in before them. So, when I got to the window to pay for my food I also gave the cashier money to pay for the person who let me go ahead of them. I wanted them to know how much I appreciated their kindness.

231 Reads

A Morning When Everything Fell Into Place

I’d driven down to Los Angeles to interview a well-known artist, and afterwards met friends in Culver City for dinner. I hadn’t reserved a room anywhere, and after saying good night, I ended up at a Motel 6 fifteen or twenty miles east on Highway 10. It was still hot outside, maybe 90 degrees. From the look of things, I was deep in gang territory. A young couple checking in ahead of me added to this impression. I was nervous and felt out of place, but ended up having a good night’s sleep. In the morning, as I was carrying my bags to the car, a young man standing in the parking lot shouted out, “Good morning!”       “Good morning,” I responded.       And then, continuing to look at me with his smile, he said, “Have a blessed day.”       His words were so unexpected and so genuine, they passed into an unguarded place in ... Read Full Story >>

714 Reads

Favorite Meal Ordered For A Friend

A 90 plus family friend in Florida, shared about his love of Katz’s Deli, a longtime landmark restaurant in Manhattan that he frequented whenever he was in NYC. He talked about his favorite foods there & said his mouth was watering as he typed 😋

Our friend has had a few serious health scares this year, but is doing better now. At the end of his email he said he wondered if he’d ever get to taste his favorite foods there again.

My husband was so moved by what he said that he ordered a selection of his favorites from Katz’s to be delivered to him in a few days. When he told me that he did this, I was deeply moved by his loving act. ❤️

157 Reads

Chocolate Surprise

When I had a neighbour over for breakfast a while ago, while his dog underwent surgery, he especially enjoyed a vegan chocolate
spread I served.

As I saw him today (he is my haircutter and it was about time .... 😉) I made sure to buy a jar of this spread and gave it to him.

I know he will probably never buy it himself as he does not have that much money. Just seeing his smiling eyes over the mask made my day!

208 Reads

Caring for Our Four-Legged Friends

My wife Mindy and I sponsor a wild horse we've named “Imagine” at the Hot Springs SD wild horse sanctuary, a beautiful 14000 acre wildlife refuge in the southern Black Hills. The 750 horses here are free to roam the property with little human intervention. As the summers are dry and winters harsh, they do require additional feed, hay, and water sources that are funded by sponsors such as we are. I gift this sponsorship to Mindy annually on her birthday. As we are sponsoring a horse, we were allowed to give the horse a name.
Pictured below is “Imagine” when she was about 5 months old, and now about 14 months old. Isn't she beautiful!

150 Reads

Finding Old Friends

This week, I volunteered at Caring Kitchen, which makes meals for cancer patients in Ukiah. We picked blackberries and prepared fruit for dessert.

I said some kind and encouraging words to people on a social media platform, which I usually don't participate in.

I complimented one of my old classmates on a picture she posted on Instagram, and we had a nice conversation after that, which was great because I haven't talked to her in a long time.

171 Reads

One Man's Community Garden

Jeff has been putting a lot of time and effort into keeping our little community garden watered and protected from deer. “I plant all this stuff because I just like to grow things,” he said, with that Texas drawl. “Go ahead and thin the carrots and take what you want. Be sure to get some peas too. I don’t know what I’m going to do if all those pumpkins come in…” I assured him that I’d make him a pie and bread. Just look at those sweet beets! The first time we are growing and our crop is coming in well! Unfortunately, I’m the ONLY one in the family that likes them, so I’ll be sharing those with friends. With a combined effort in gardening, we learn to grow not only tasty fresh veggies but further friendships. Tomorrow is the area’s annual garden tour. We’ve invited a few friends and family to ride with ... Read Full Story >>

250 Reads

Rounding Up ⬆️


I  noticed the boy behind us in line at the grocery store. He looked hot and thirsty. All he had was a can of soda.

“Do you mind if I buy you that soda?” I asked him.

He nodded a yes and with a muttered “thanks” was out the door in a flash. Ah, the energy of youth!

Only a few dollars away from a total bill that would give us .20 cents off each gallon of fuel (at the store's station), we rounded up by purchasing a few candy bars.

The clerk’s choice was an Almond Joy, which she stashed away to enJOY at break time.

MisterM was surprised at how the opportunities for kindness came at us so quickly. It’s wonderful how when we open our hearts to giving, the Universe sends us more and more possibilities, keeping us on our toes -- as we round it all UP to the greater good!

 

270 Reads

Sympathy Card Of Love And Grace

Yesterday, I took my 4 year old daughter with me to a funeral for a close friend's husband who passed away. Before leaving for the funeral, I asked my daughter if she wanted to make a card to give my friend.

My daughter began to colour a scene, with trees, flowers, a few people, and lots of colours! When I asked her what she wanted to write in the card, she said “I love you. My heart is in your heart”.

My tears welled up in wonderment, she is only 4, but I am learning so much from her.My friends face when she was given the card, was a gift from God.❤️🙏

239 Reads

Free Coffee

I got this free coffee promo, but I don't drink coffee. So, I was going to leave this behind at the coffee counter. As I was leaving this guy came in to grab a coffee, but it looked like he didn't see it.

I told him, "I just left this for the next person, and you are the next person." He was so appreciative. I rarely get to see the recipients of these kinds of RAOK. :)

141 Reads

Simon Says :)

While a friend and I were dining at a "new to me" vegan restaurant, Simon, as his name turned out to be, approached us. He asked if we had a dollar to help him in his bid to find a meal. I went to my wallet and, knowing that one dollar would not buy Simon much, but that that $10 could get him something like the burrito I was eating at the time, I offered him the ten instead. We started talking and Simon said, "I think I saw you when you were much younger!" I replied, "yeah, maybe even in a previous life." Then Simon asked if we'd like a bottle of water. Since my glass was empty, I felt the need to accept his kindness and say yes. As Simon dug into the cooler he was wheeling, I noticed that rather than the normal ice you would see in ... Read Full Story >>

721 Reads

A Perfect Match

Declutter Give-Aways. How’s this for a perfect match?! I had a feeling one of our neighbors who travels a lot would want a hardly-used, personal-size Nutribullit I have to spare.

This was her reply: “YES you won't believe it we just bought a small one while house-sitting, because the one here broke and I do have a small one at home yet we could use the extra one for traveling. THANK you for thinking of us” ❤️

Perfecto 👌🏻

138 Reads

My Son Going Beyond His Comfort Level to Help

I asked my son to grab the plastic from the edge of the creek we were enjoying before we left. He collected it and untangled other pieces and then asked me to carry it to the trash.

As I gathered it up, I realized one bag was the remnants of a #2 dog bag, so when we got to the car we split a handy wipe. My son was very grateful to be able to clean his hands and I had not realized he knew what it was that I had asked him to collect.

I am grateful for his ability to see past the short term discomfort and develop water stewardship. 

150 Reads

Honest to God Miracle Answered

My story is of kindness given to me. I went to make an extra payment on my electric bill and instead of taking $20 they took out my previous payment of $220. I had to wait at least 3 weeks to get reimbursed for the excess payment.

I started praying that day at work because my gas tank on my car was empty and I didn't have enough food to last me until the next payday. I posted on my Facebook page I need a miracle. I need an honest-to-God miracle.

A cousin of mine that I only recently started to converse with about two months ago messaged me asking what's wrong. I told him and he asked, "will $300 cover it?" I replied, "yes" with tears rolling down my face. I told him I only need $50 to help me out until payday, but he wired me $300.

When I told him that I would pay him back as soon as I got the reimbursement for the electric bill overpayment, he said, "no don't pay me back, pay it forward." Amazing kindness from a relative whom I know only through texting and messaging. I hope to meet my Miracle Cousin one day.

205 Reads




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