Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Gift of Light

Earlier today, in a medical clinic, I used a pen with a light on it in the rather dim office. An elderly lady sitting next to me asked where I got it, sharing that she thought it was a good idea, especially for people with cataracts, like her.

As she was called to her appointment, I handed her the pen as a gift. She was thrilled and thanked me profusely. I hope that simple, little gift will help her light her way as she writes despite her poor vision. 

1181 Reads

Hand-made For The Doctor

Today I had to take my eldest child to the doctor. 

Our doctor is wonderful so I made her a gift of a necklace and a small key-ring. She was so surprised to get them and she gave me a hug! 

I love gifting hand-made things to people who appreciate them!

866 Reads

Free Dinner In Fifteen

At the grocery store I noticed that there was sale on some frozen dinners. So, I picked up a few extra for the freezer at work. 

I am always hearing people at work saying they are hungry, but they only get a fifteen minute break and can't really go out to get something to eat in that short amount of time. 

Sure enough, the next day someone said they were hungry. I told them there were a few dinners in the freezer and they could eat one on their fifteen minute break. 

The smile on her face was priceless! It's a easy as that. And smiles are contagious!​

1477 Reads

A Mile Of Trash

Today I walked the mile to the end of the main road by our house, to the beautiful corn-fields and farm-land.

As I prepared to walk the mile back I pulled out a big clear trash-bag. Then I started filling it with the beer cans, cigarette packs, lottery tickets and other trash that people throw out their car windows. 

Along the way a couple of friends and strangers stopped to thank me for doing it. But I also hope that many more people noticed what I was doing and perhaps they will think twice before throwing things "away" next time. As we know there is no "away." 

I now have a giant bag of trash and recyclables to sort out to keep the kindness going. I love doing this for my neighborhood and for our community.

2545 Reads

Contagious Gardening

A couple days ago, while I was mowing my lawn, I noticed some garbage and debris on my neighbor's lawn. I went over and neatly stacked it to the side so that his yard would look a little bit better. I also pulled weeds along the sidewalk in front of my house and my neighbor's. I used my hose to wash it all down to one spot and then swept it up. 

As I was doing this, someone came to visit the neighbors two doors down from me. No one answered the door so he started walking back down the driveway to his truck. When he looked over and saw what I was doing, without saying a word, he took a weed eater out from his truck and started cutting down the grass growing onto the edge of the sidewalk. When he had to go, he walked over and ask if things looked okay. I thanked him for his help and wished him a very good day.

1703 Reads

Words Of Courage For A Little Heart

There's a boy in the coder class I teach who doesn't seem to get a long with most of the kids in the class. While I can understand why the other kids aren't so happy with him, I can't help feeling a bit sad for him.

When the kids were choosing their partners and projects for class to parents presentation day, he ended up doing his presentation alone. I told him it is a very brave thing to do and I believed he could do it very well, and that he's going to make me and his parents very proud.

He made some changes to the project he's going to present and excitedly showed me the changes he made. He said he couldn't wait to show it to his parents. It warms my heart thinking that perhaps my words of encouragement has helped him feel better.

1521 Reads

Jumping in Headfirst

I stumbled across this website a few days ago and ordered my smile cards immediately, but I couldn't wait for them to get here, so I printed some out at home and have already used several.

Our church has a snack bar available for the high school kids, so I anonymously left an envelope there with ten smile cards and $20 and instructions to pass out the snacks (and smile cards) to the kids for free until the money ran out.

I walk my dogs along a local bike path a few times a week, but today I made a concerted effort to smile and greet everyone I met along the way.

I bought my son an ice cream cone from McDonald's on the way home from school and paid for the order of the car behind me, leaving a smile card to give to the recipient.

I'm new to all this, but I can't wait to see how much more I can do with a little more time and practice!

1774 Reads

A Simple Tool to Inspire: Chalk

Here are a few snaps of the chalking I did on the sidewalk down my block and in front of every driveway on my street. I wanted to leave simple, inspiring reminders for runners, bikers, and walkers to see as they go by. 

1342 Reads

Recycling Moving Boxes

About two weeks ago, one of my neighbors moved out of an apartment in my building.

In her wake, she left miscellaneous items she didn't want to take, first in the entrance to the building, then out on the sidewalk. (Perhaps someone else in the building moved the items to the sidewalk...) She also left an enormous pile of heavy cardboard boxes, un-flattened and un-tied, next to the recycling bins.

Predictably, the sanitation workers did NOT pick up the boxes. And the cleaning person for the building, who comes twice a week, did not take care of the boxes, either. So, they have been sitting out by the recycling bins, getting wet in the rain.

This afternoon, I flattened and recycled half the boxes. Will have to wait until the bin is empty to get the rest done. 

1687 Reads

Inspired by KindSpring

I was inspired by a couple stories, here!
 
I decided to have a burrito from a local fast food restaurant. I went through the drive-through. I was telling my dad about this 21 day challenge and how a lot of people pay for the next person in line. My dad and I decided that we should try it!

 I order my $2 burrito and go to the window. I ask the cashier if I can pay for the person behind me and he asked me if I was sure I wanted to do that. I said yes, and told him to give the next customer a smile card.

I asked how much the total is, and he said, “Woah! It’s over $17!”
At this point, I’m thinking, “Woah that's a lot!” too. But in that time I also thought - well hey, If I were in his situation and someone paid for my $17 meal, I would be the happiest person there is. THAT would make my day.

I told the cashier that it was fine and he asked, “You sure? Think about it... Are you sure?”

Even though I was nearly $18 short for a $2 burrito, I've never felt better. My dad encouraged me and my mom was proud of me.

2590 Reads
  • Posted by karishma1090
  • Aug 2, 2014
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Kindness to Elderly People is a Reward in Itself

I was flying back to my hometown and sat next to an old lady in the plane. I could see that she was scared -- she was clutching her bag on her lap and did not want to put in on the floor as the air hostess asked her to do.

I started chatting and told her about the birth of my grandson, etc. She started talking about her life and before we knew it the flight was over. I also helped her collect her luggage and she couldn't thank me enough -especially for the chat.

She commented that most people ignore old people and that she really appreciated it. On our way out, I waved and she pointed very proudly to the two people with her and mouthed that this is my daughter and granddaughter.

She kept on turning back and waving until we couldn't see each other any longer. I believe we have to try and make a difference in each and everyone's life that we meet - even if we never see them again!

3631 Reads

Beautifying The Neighborhood

Our next door neighbor had to move out of her house as she could no longer afford it after her husband passed away. Since then, I have been mowing the yard to help keep up the looks of our neighborhood (and to keep the mosquitos away!).

Soon after, the neighbor on the other side of the house noticed what I was doing. He offered to donate his time and effort as well, and we now work together to mow the lawn.

1057 Reads

Making Nature Accessible to Everyone

As the mom of a child with cerebral palsy (a disorder that causes physical disability), I know that there are not a lot of parks or trails where my son can truly experience nature. Thus, I volunteer at a neighborhood arboretum, where I work with other volunteers to add a sensory garden with raised flower beds. Those confined to chairs are able to touch and feel the plants.

The park is full of plants with various textures, scents, and bright colors. This week, we are adding fall plants, mums, tall grasses, and ornamental cabbages. Our special needs program is going to have students craft scarecrows and jack-O-laterns to decorate the park with.

It fills me with joy to see so many happy faces filled with pride when they see the disabled people come through and enjoy the festive park we helped create!

2024 Reads

Adding Beauty To My Neighborhood

To add beauty to my community and hopefully a smile to a neighbor's face I just delivered a chrysanthemum plant to people who recently moved in across the street. 

I knew they wouldn't be home so I left it with a Smile Card and a note that said, "Welcome to the neighborhood!"

And, as a side benefit, I'll get to enjoy the plant from my window across the street - without having to take care of it!

1491 Reads

Reconnection To Life

My mother-in-law was visiting after losing her partner (my father-in-law.) We wanted to help her feel connected with life again, so I wrote her a letter listing all the good qualities of hers I have noticed since I first met her in 1996. 

I took her shopping, packed her bag, got her a gift, and read lot of stories to her from this site. As she was getting ready to leave again she showered us with words of kindness. 

Our intention was to make her feel connected and I think, as a family, we achieved that!

1115 Reads

Combined Weekend Kindness

On Saturday we bought groceries for a local food pantry and also animal food for an animal rescue group. We almost adopted a puppy...but are thinking on it.

On Sunday I visited an old friend I lost touch with. It was beautiful. We shared the good and the bad and vowed to keep in touch. It was so nice seeing her again. We were childhood friends and were always together until we both married and relocated.

Today is a rainy Monday, but I'm motivated to make something good happen for someone today. Oh, we also left a gift card for our mail carrier to honor those who serve us no matter what the weather.

1467 Reads

All-ways

I've been kind of semi-unemployed for almost three years. And its becoming easier and easier to cope with this situation. Why? I have a lot of time to meditate.

Having subscribed to KindSpring and other positive and good news pages makes me focus on appreciation and gratitude more so my meditations can be... peaceful and very ordinary uplifting experiences. I get the opportunity to watch if depression wants to step in and choose what I want.

My soul chose to have this experience and probably has been one of the best ones in several lifetimes; to learn to unconditionally be kind and loving to myself always and all-ways. And then, sharing to others is a pleasure.

1471 Reads

Message In A Wallet

Many years ago, when I was in high school and working weekends to pay for the extras that my folks couldn't really afford (like a school ring, class trip, etc.), I lost my wallet.  My old car required putting gas in the back (remember that?).  I had prepaid and then put my wallet on the bumper, and drove off.  I hadn't even had time to miss it when our phone rang and a man asked me if I had lost my wallet.  I checked my purse and to my horror, I had.  He asked me to tell him how much $$ was in it, and I told him.  He then told me where to pickup my wallet.  As I pulled into his driveway, I noticed his handicapped van and the ramp going up to the house.  I was thinking that there is no way this man easily got out of his van ... Read Full Story >>

35.2K Reads

Reconnecting

For Day 2, reconnecting with an old pal, I sent a message to a woman I've known since pre-school (we're now 39!). She had a lot of challenges and personal difficulties in her life, struggles with drugs and alcohol, etc., but really pulled out of it and has become a counselor focusing on helping youth with drug and alcohol issues (!). Turns out that I caught her at exactly a time when she was really needing some support due to some marital issues, and she was really grateful that I had reached out and told her what an inspirational person I think she is.

2908 Reads

Park Clean-up

Yesterday evening, my husband and I took our grandson to the playground for a little while after supper. While we were there, he had a snack and on our way to the trash to throw away the wrapper, we all worked together to pick up some other trash that had been misplaced.

I think this helps create more of a "community" feel rather than just "me and mine". No matter how the trash got there, I want everyone to enjoy a clean, beautiful area.

1460 Reads




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