Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Reborn through KindSpring

About 5 years ago I joined KindSpring. At the time, I was depressed, lonely, unhappy, angry, life was bad and there was no hope for anything and anyone.But you all changed that! Every single KindSpring member has helped me get out of that dark spot. It all started 5 years ago, very, very slowly at first and then faster and faster. With lots of setbacks in between. And these days I'm so amazed at how my life has changed. I feel connected, content, happy (more days than not, anyway!). I go out, meet strangers, make friends, laugh, give compliments, do "crazy" things, I'm pushing every single comfort zone I ever had. When I started, my usual response to nearly everything had always been "no", but now my most common response is "yes, sure, tell me more about it!" Anxiety still sometimes tells me to stay home, but I go out anyway even if ... Read Full Story >>

333 Reads

Precious Words

Today I bought a few pastries and had an 85 year old man who was sitting next to me chose one for himself. He was happily surprised and we got to talk about the sports he participated in until his late 70s.

Table tennis seemed to be his favorite. It was an interesting, fun and happy moment for both of us. We just have to keep open and opportunities to do good will show themselves. People are sometimes  starving for conversation or even a few kind words. These offers could be as precious as a loaf of bread.

762 Reads

What if Jesus were Homeless?

Near the front entrance of San Antonio’s St. Mary’s Church is a sculpture of the “homeless Jesus,” lying on park bench. His wounded feet stick out of the thin tattered blanket covering Him. It touched me so, especially with the homeless scattered about the area, clearly discouraged from entering the Riverwalk, but free to roam the downtown, asking for alms. So, that night, I assembled a meal from the items for sale at the convenience store. Made and colored a card to include...so glad  coloring/craft supplies travel with me! Before we left the hotel for the next portion of our journey, I placed the bag of food onto the sculpture bench, at the feet of “homeless Jesus,” along with my prayers. When we drove out of the parking garage a few minutes later, noticed that the bag was already gone. 🙏 Bless those who are homeless, poor and hungry. May they have shelter and enough ... Read Full Story >>

808 Reads

Lost And Found

Last week I dropped my mobile phone. Imagine my happiness after 4 hours of worries, when I learned that a woman in her 40's brought it to the subway station, intact, with my prepaid credit and travel cards still in its pockets. I could not reach her to thank her, as she left no name or phone number, but, I am so grateful. I wish her wellness, and  also wish she'll  get back some important lost thing.

466 Reads

An Unlikely Bond

So, I'm sitting in Starbucks having a cup of coffee and getting some schoolwork done when I notice this next to me. Then I see a gentleman helping the bee up on this lid (in order to enjoy some well placed honey) when the bee crawls down.

Turns out, the honeybee might have had an injured wing. It was cold and rainy outside so the man brought her into the store where hopefully she would have some time to warm up and recuperate to the point where he could release her back into the wild.

I was moved by the tenderness with which the gentleman treated the honeybee; he saw her as a living being, with feelings like you and I. The gentleman was doing his work and quite often would look over to check on his new friend. When I left the two of them were still bonding. I hope the bee was able to survive.
 

521 Reads

Restoring Faith in Kindness

After our complimentary hotel breakfast, I handed out Valentines to the other guests, as well as the staff (plus a tip for the breakfast host).

So many smiles and reciprocal wishes!

One big, gruff looking guy said, “You just made my day! Thank you darlin’. You restore my faith in kindness.”

Now, that, my kind friends, is a compliment that I will hold close in my heart.

He sure made my day, too!

*photo of traffic sign on a Texas roadway yesterday.


399 Reads

Breakfast for a Stranger In Need

This morning, before going to work, I went to McDonalds to get something for myself for breakfast. As it turns out, I wasn't there for msyelf, but for Bevan.

On my way in, I saw someone sitting outside the door who appeared to be houseless. When I asked, she said her name is Bevan. Unfortunately, Bevan is one of many in our community living without shelter. I felt moved to serve her in some small way. When I asked if she would like something to eat, she responded with "anything would be fine." I went inside and got her a breakfast meal with a hot coffee.

 

405 Reads

The Common Language Of ...

Since Marilyn couldn’t walk far with her recent knee injury, I stayed with her at Irene’s home while the rest of our group walked back to Cathie’s to wait while the guys fixed Carlos’ flat tire (grateful we had left a day early for the airport!). Of course, the spare was also flat, so a trip to the larger town (much farther away) was needed, which meant a nice visit with Irene and her daughter Lupita. Unfortunately, neither Marilyn or I speak much Spanish (yet!) and they don’t speak much English. Lupita showed us how to make a rubber band bracelet (from a kit gifted by the teen group on a recent visit from Cathie’s church back in the USA), and then gave it to me :))). She gave Marilyn a few she had previously done. I snuck one of the bracelets off my wrist into her bag of finished ones. While Lupita was ... Read Full Story >>

433 Reads

Blockage

Yesterday there was water gushing across the only road around my village. With freezing weather predicted at nightfall, I stopped my car and headed up the hillside by the road to locate the water channel I suspected was blocked up there. I was right, it was all blocked up with branches and debris. A few minutes pulling it all free and the water started running freely down the channel instead of down the hill and onto the road. Very cold hands and sodden trainers! ... Read Full Story >>

918 Reads

Keeping Warm By Staying Kind.

Yesterday was a busy day for me, or maybe I chose to make it busy, staying positive was the key. Made another appointment for physiotherapy on my injured left shoulder, surgery finally scheduled for early March, with a better, more patient attitude, with no attitude, lol. Made breakfast sandwiches for my co-workers, with help, carefully made coffee for them. Helped the Elder at our community college by putting together cree language and syllabics posters, also while I was there, helped a student artist by helping to finish his cree language 2019 calendar, did a run of 24, with more planned, did this for free because I was a student once. Made oven bannock for two elders for their supper, sat with a small family who a lost their brother to this cold spell, helped with soup and bannock there and listening to their stories, they really loved him. Today, I made more food ... Read Full Story >>

483 Reads

Love For Furry And Feathered Beings

Volunteered at the animal shelter to do anything from scoop poop to assist in surgery.
Went to the cages and talked to the fur babies and said that they are good doggies or sweet kitties. Spent more time with those who seemed distressed. Wish I could take them all home, but that would be hoarding and not a good thing. Put bread crumbs out for the birds as tomorrow will be very cold.
Gave staff gratitude cards and a Peace Dove with a $25 donation. Smiling heart ❤️

281 Reads

Small Act, Huge Outcome

I bought the security guy at the front gate of the office a cool drink in the hot weather we are experiencing right now in the Southern Hemisphere. He was so grateful. A small act of kindness can change someone's day.

304 Reads

Walk in kindness

Connecting dots and lines in New York City through kindness. It's pretty rare to wake and think to yourself," ok who's going through what I'm going through today?" But life has a strange way to make us see things. Yesterday, boy am I glad it is now called yesterday, one of those days - nothing seems to be going right. Long faces, not a smile in sight. Needless to say the old ticker was bummed. And bam! - it hit me - I reached in my bag and pulled out my smile cards  Scribbled a lil heartfelt and positive message  on each card.  Picked my self up and headed out. Dropped some at busy park benches, some at store registers. Handed some out to some who looked like they may need a dose of happy. As I reached my 2nd to last card and handed it to a young lady, I started about ... Read Full Story >>

756 Reads

Surprise Graduation Party!

My close childhood friend spent the last eight years attending night school to get his bachelor's degree while working a full-time job. Last month, after years of late nights and weekends of doing course work and studying, he finally graduated. He remained in our hometown after high school, but most of his friends, myself included, left our hometown long ago to other states for university and employment. Over time, newfound responsibilities, families, and other engagements have made it rare that we're back in our hometown at the same time. One of our mutual friends hatched a wonderful idea of kindness: plan a weekend that we'd all be free to have us fly back to our hometown to surprise him and celebrate his accomplishment. It was so much fun planning the behind-the-scenes! The bait: his mom told him that he was going to have dinner with just his grandparents to celebrate. Little did he ... Read Full Story >>

687 Reads

Reaching Out

We took ourselves out for Chinese food this afternoon at a favorite local place. I kept smiling at the fun a bunch of young people were having together at a nearby table. They were so full of laughter and good spirit . As we were leaving I just had to stop by and chat for a minute. I told them they must be good friends because they give off such good energy and I said I had enjoyed “sharing space with them.” They all smiled wide and one said she hoped they weren’t too noisy for us...I assured her “not at all.” Good vibes shared all around. I was glad I wasn’t too shy to approach them :))

473 Reads

Little Gifts

Today at the grocery store I gave my daughter two quarters and told her to put it in a random gum machine to make some kid happy. She added two of her own quarters and loaded up the most expensive dispenser machine there. 😊😊😊😊😊

506 Reads

Overflowing Gratitude

Today all kinds of interesting interactions occurred. First, at the soup kitchen, one of the guests gave several of us peppermint candies! That's the first time that ever happened! It was so sweet and I am happy to receive his gratitude. Another lady needed me to listen to her and asked me to pray for her husband. I hugged her and said of course I would. I always love hearing their stories if they want to share. So, so much love in just dissolving any barrier of "you" and "me" and seeing all of us as family. Afterwards went to the cafe to do some grading work and grab a sandwich before heading off to the next gathering. There was an older lady who was looking for an empty table. There was one empty table in the back, but I pushed my papers aside and gestured for her to sit across from ... Read Full Story >>

636 Reads

Pay It Forward Yoga Class


I surprised the students in my yoga class today by gifting them the class. I handed each student a smile card and asked them to use the money they would have spent on this class to instead fund random acts of kindness during the coming week. I can't wait to hear about all the kindness that circulated during the week!

233 Reads

Sometimes A Little Bit Of Our Time Can Achieve Lots!!

I met a young man who was feeling very discouraged about his current circumstances. He expressed concern about getting medical insurance.

I gave him a ride to the next city over and helped him complete the application packet. It only took a couple of hours but the look in his eyes when the lady told him it should be approved within 24 hours was priceless.

268 Reads
  • Posted by lori4ribcrib
  • Feb 28, 2019
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The Gift of Memories

I decided yesterday afternoon that I needed an attitude adjustment and after a meditation sitting and practicing Metta I began to have vivid memories of my older sister. My sister passed after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in her thirties. A decade before she became terminally ill from the unusual tumors, I remembered coming home to my meager cabin in Alaska with my infant son. I had been fired for bad typing. We were so poor that I had to wear socks on my hands to prevent frostbite. As I opened the door to our cabin I noticed a warm glow. Inside there was a fully decorated Christmas tree with gifts for both my baby and me. I later found that sis had gifted us toys AND ski gloves! As a vision of her compassion filled my mind yesterday, "Amazing Grace" began to spontaneously play on a music station! I began to both ... Read Full Story >>

689 Reads




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