Stories of Kindness from Around the World

What Can I Do To Help?

I helped a lady today. I saw her get up from where she was sitting and struggle to walk. She was heading towards the supermarket where I was with my trolley and my youngest son. Seeing her made me stop. It made me realise how grateful I am to have my mobility and health. Seeing her struggle to walk I wanted to help but didn’t know how. What can I do? I thought. I had no idea, so I asked her. I went up to her and said ‘Can I help you in any way?. Her whole face lit up. Someone cared. She asked me if I could get her a trolley and bring it to her which I did and she was ever so grateful. Couldn’t stop thanking me. I wanted to do more and would have done her whole shop for her if I could have. So all I could ... Read Full Story >>

3308 Reads

My Grandmother

Some of my most precious memories were spent with my Grandmother. We had a language barrier because she was French and from Canada and a hearing barrier because she went completely deaf at age 18. But our HEARTS spoke to each other loud and clear!

I spent a lot of my free time with her gardening, sewing, and having tea and cookies sitting by the fireplace. I will never forget the time she was teaching me how to make my first quilt. I was about 9 yrs old.

She had me pull the string to lower the ladder going up into her attic. I was so excited. I had never been in an attic in my life. She motioned I would find some boxes of fabric and to pick out some. I can still smell the attic and see all the old hats, winter coats, and huge boxes of old clothes and fabrics. My first quilt was a simple one made of 5 inch squares of a vast variety of colorful fabrics.

My Grandmother lived to be 97 yrs old and she taught me so much about life, and love, and patience, understanding, and giving all without hardly a word spoken!

1889 Reads

Awarding Compassion

My daughter Rachel won an award at her school for compassion a few years ago.

Her school recognizes one student each month for a specific trait. When the Caring pillar was recognized, Rachel was selected by her school. She was happy she won a bike. The principal read the reasons she had won.

It was so special to me to hear the many kind things she does at school and how she demonstrates kindness and compassion often. We work hard to instill kindness and compassion in our children and it is a wonderful thing to hear how it goes when we are not around.

It was a precious moment full of love. One of my top 5 biggest hugs ever was given was that day. Seeing my daughter’s kind heart in action is one of the most precious memories I will ever have!

3071 Reads

Someone Close To Me ...

Someone close to me recently crushed my intent to purchase some groceries for a person in need. They roughly asked me "You think when you're in need that someone is going to give you charity?" That really killed my spirit that day, but it also made me lose respect for the person. A lot of times, when I'm in great need is when I get unexpected help somehow. I like to pay it back or pay it forward. Yesterday I saw an elderly gentleman, neatly dressed, playing a harmonica on the market steps, with an empty plastic container at his feet. I saw him the day before as I hurried home. I thought, how sad that a man his age has to resort to this to scrape things together and survive. He had dignity though, and he wasn't begging; he was trying something while trying to hold his head up. When ... Read Full Story >>

1749 Reads

One Of My Most Precious Memories

Again, this has to be from my Grand Mother. She keeps a journal in which she writes her prayers down for people in her family. She has done this every single day for the past 37 years. We were discussing them one day and she said, "you should go read them".

So I did. I found my name listed, every single day for 37 years. Sweet unconditional love for me no matter where I was, what I was doing or what dilemma I was facing.

One passage said, "Oh dear Lord, please protect Savannah from things that would destroy her". I realized that this prayer was the same time as a very volatile and dangerous person was destroying my life. She has always known. Just simply known, when I was in the deepest need.

This makes me smile and feel safe and cloaked by God and my Granny every single day.

3736 Reads

Wonders Never Cease

When I was in my late 20s, my father received a prognosis from the doctor that he had about a year to live due to congestive heart failure. He and I had had a father/daughter love/conflict relationship since my adolescence. A few years before this prognosis, he and I had had a BIG blow up and did not speak to each other for years after. I had initiated the long silence with a confrontation. I reacted from a very hurt, and of course vulnerable, place toward my father. I had laid on all my young adult anger and blame that I could muster: “Either get some therapy and acknowledge the abuse and violence you’ve bestowed upon me, or I’m not speaking to you!” I am not particularly proud of this reactive behaviour, but it was my best awkward shot at finding a way through a difficult situation.  A long silence ensued. My ... Read Full Story >>

2867 Reads

Yard Sale

After my husband died, I had a yard sale to pare down all the duplicate possessions we had, things we didn't use, and the like. I included 2 large tables with free items.

 I saw a young lady, who had brought 2 children with her, struggling to hold items she had taken from the free table. I brought her some plastic bags to hold her items and she thanked me and as we spoke I found out that she had 3 other children at home! There were some items that she kept looking at, picking up, and putting back. I knew she wanted these items but did not have the money to pay for them.

I told her she could just take them. In addition, I had a Weber grill, with a quick charcoal starter cylinder, that I told her she could have. She was so thankful. However, I believe that giving her these items made me happier than it made her!

When I was a child, I had a little book that included a saying I have never forgotten: "Giving's receiving and receiving is giving. That's really the truth that lies behind living." How true!

1212 Reads

What Inconvenience Are You Grateful For?

I am grateful for the inconvenience of how my brain works. Because I have Asperger Syndrome, my brain doesn't automatically filter out irrelevant things - I take in everything and easily become overwhelmed and exhausted as a result. It's an inefficient way for a brain to work.

But.... it's also wonderful when I read novels - I take in all the details, and I remember the novels in great detail, years after reading them. It's easy to forget that most people don't do this. So when people say they have forgotten a book they have read, then I feel so fortunate that my brain stores all the books I've read in great detail, so I can remember them. It's like having a little library inside my head.

1698 Reads

Using Skills You Have In Kindness

In my professional life I am fortunate to have acquired some skills that I find I am able to use even though I've retired.  For instance, last week while at church, I met a family that had just moved to our state. Unfortunately, they were mugged shortly after their arrival and had the huge purse the wife was carrying with all their important papers (SS cards, IDs, birth certificates, etc.) stolen. A very kind person in the neighborhood had taken them in, but they had very little money, no transportation, and no way to enroll their son in school without the paperwork that had been stolen. Enrolling that little boy in school seemed to be their highest priority for establishing normalcy for the family. The school district was playing hardball with them with no sympathy for their plight. They had gone to the library to research how to replace this paperwork, but they ... Read Full Story >>

2033 Reads

Love, mystery, and gift.

I work at an elementary school. A little five year old boy has taken quite a shine to me. Though nonverbal, he waves to me, smiles at me, tugs my sleeve or pant leg, gives me high-fives, or holds my hand. At Halloween, he wouldn't dress in his cute giraffe costume until he saw me in my ballerina outfit.

I can't explain why he has this affinity for me, nor why I am so taken by him. I accept this joyous mystery as pure gift. Yesterday, as school ended for the day, our paths crossed on my way to the front office.

He let go of his teacher's hand, took mine and excitedly led me to the foyer. He wanted me to meet his parents. A little boy connecting the people he loves. O thank you, my Little Prince. You are he, who exclaimed "it's only with the heart that one truly sees."

1360 Reads
  • Posted by logancurrie
  • Jan 29, 2015
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Taking Time For Granted

Far too often, I take time for granted. I am always trying to fit as many things as possible into my day, never taking time to stop and just be.

While I acknowledge that we all have a finite time to spend on this earth, I also need to accept that I will never complete everything I want to complete, and I need to simply slow down every once in a while and take a little time to appreciate the life around me, the little things that so often go unnoticed.

The fragrant lilacs blooming outside my bedroom window, the hummingbird hovering at the feeder in my backyard, the Canada geese heading in their long "V" as they head for parts unknown.

I, like so many others, seem to take for granted the assumption that there will always be another time to pause and "smell the roses." I know I cannot assume that - the time to take the time is today.

1547 Reads

No Regrets: Living with Dying

[Author Kitty Edwards, left, and Patti Pansa, right] In May 2013, Patti Pansa, a professional engineer and life coach, contacted me to assist her in her journey towards death. She had taken care of all the literal preparations for death: she had spoken to her family members about her wishes for end-of-life care; her last will and testament, advanced health care directives, and medical durable power of attorney were all signed and delivered to the appropriate people; a list of her important accounts with passwords sat in a folder next to her computer. But Patti wanted more. She wanted to leave a legacy for her family and friends. Perhaps most of all, she wanted to discover ways to celebrate life while she still had time. I shared with Patti several articles on the regrets of the dying, chronicling how many regretted working too much, spending too little time with family, or living ... Read Full Story >>

17.6K Reads

Something I Can Never Repay

This is my share for day 2... I wrote it yesterday and then forgot to post it. Every year I go a protest in Fort Benning, Georgia, and serve as an interpreter for victims and the families of victims of torture. Last year I could not attend because my stepdaughter had died in October, and I had been ill and my husband was very depressed, so I asked the airline to credit my account with the unused tickets. Earlier this year my husband passed away, and then I went to Florida for my brother, who also passed away, and I completely forgot about these tickets, which were to expire on October 31 of this year. When I went to make reservations again, I found I had tickets that had expired on that day, and called Customer Service. The young woman who responded, called Ashley, spent a lot of time on the telephone, ... Read Full Story >>

1727 Reads
  • Posted by silviantonia
  • Jan 26, 2015
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Thank You to Mrs. Noel, First Grade Teacher

Today's gratitude challenge encouraged me to think about something I take for granted and then to express gratitude for it by writing a story. Every day, the first things I do - and a large percentage of the rest of the things I do throughout the day - depend on my ability to read. Some decades ago , I joined 40 other six-year-olds as a member of the first township-wide first grade – the previous year, first graders in the township had still attended one-room schools, but the Baby Boom had reached even that rural corner of central Pennsylvania. Sprawling in comparison to the previous schools, the new building had a separate classroom for each grade. First grade had been assigned to a veteran teacher from one of the one-room schools named Mrs. Noel. I don’t know how she did it, but Mrs. Noel taught most of us the basics of reading. In ... Read Full Story >>

3867 Reads
  • Posted by nancy.millichap
  • Jan 25, 2015
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Early Morning Walk

This morning I met my sister in law and we went for a walk around the savannah. The sun was just waking up and as I walked there was a slight drizzle. I felt the drops on me and they were refreshing. I am very grateful that I can walk and feel and be engaged in the wonders and beauty of all that is around me. I am so very thankful

1850 Reads

Bountifil Food - A Blessing

This morning I was helping with the Bountiful Baskets delivery in my town. The delivery truck arrives at 5:45am - well before sunrise. Volunteers unload, sort, and box the produce for pick-up.

This week's baskets included squash, spinach, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, apples, bananas, and several other fruits and vegetables. All of this food - fresh food - coming from so many different places; coming to my little town of 500 people in north-central South Dakota.

I am thankful for the gift of food - and for the abundance of good, healthy, and affordable food. May I never take this gift for granted.

1319 Reads

A Child's Innocence restored

I was standing in a long line at a cafe. In front of me stood a mom with her fidgety and clearly bored little boy. He looked to be 6 or 7 years old. A police car drove by the cafe and suddenly he came to life. "Mom, mom," he said excitedly, "It's the police, we better go outside, they're probably looking for us!". The mom looked mortified, her face red, as she explained to the long line of people waiting for a hot cup of coffee. "My son's bicycle was stolen last night. Someone took it from the front porch, cut the lock and carried it away. When we realized it had been stolen we called the police. He helped by describing what his bike looked like while the officer wrote the report. Now he thinks all the policemen in the city are out looking for his bike." Everyone in the line ... Read Full Story >>

4402 Reads

50th Birthday For A Cause

I will be turning 50 on December 7th but I didn't want this birthday to be about me. I have been given so much and helped so much in my life as a single mother, so I decided to do a "birthday for a cause/birthday wish event".

I asked all my friends and family for support and contributions. We have a women's transitional housing center in our city, with 20 women and 12 kids. In two days, I have received enough to provide new clothes, toys, pajamas and books to all 12 children and I am making a quilt for one of the women there also.

I will be making dinner for all the women and children who live there and taking all the gifts and donations there for them the night I get to do the dinner. I was so nervous when I decided to do this, but my heart is so grateful for all my friends and family who are helping me make my wish come true!!

Giving back to our community and single women and their children means so much to me, especially at Christmas. I am thankful I took the leap of faith to do my 50th birthday for a cause!! My heart is so full of joy!!

1829 Reads

Repaying kindness

There are so many people who have done wonderful things for my son and me: family, friends, medical professionals, and complete strangers.

I have a friend who paid my rent for me when I couldn't. I have another friend who drove me to apply for food assistance because I was too depressed to drive. I had a counselor who helped me come out of the abyss -- she and my friends and family helped me so much. I have a very old car and a great mechanic. He fixes my car and doesn't try to take advantage of the fact that I don't know much about cars.

Regarding paying it forward: I was standing in line waiting to get my prescriptions when I noticed a woman and her two crying children having a discussion with the cashier. The Mom was trying to pay for her children's medications and she was $1.00 short. I thought to myself, she needs this dollar more than I do, so I went to the front of the line and gave her the dollar. I will never forget the way she smiled at me.

2316 Reads
  • Posted by irishlori57
  • Jan 21, 2015
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A New Meaning To The Deepavali Festival:

Few days before this Deepavali we received a message saying that one should avoid talking about festive celebrations while traveling in Taxis, Buses or when 'not so lucky' people are around.. as they might not get a chance to celebrate the festival at all.

Me and my wife were feeling a little strange and thought let's celebrate this Deepavali with few strangers! We arranged for 25 sweet boxes to be shared with a Bus Conductor, Taxi Driver, Rag Pickers and a few others who came into contact with us randomly.

The smile and expressions on their faces touched our soul and gave us a new meaning to celebrate festivals!

We are grateful to Kindspring community, reading your stories gave us the strength to reach out to strangers and the show shall go on :)

Thank you.

 

1620 Reads




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