Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Pretty Little Package

During the holidays I always maked baked goods and wrap them up in fancy little cellophane bags with the holiday appropriate ribbons and adornments.  People love getting gifts and the packaging makes it look so much more special.  It's not unusual for me to give Rich, the local homeless guy that has been hanging around my office for years, some food, cash, etc.  But this Valentines Day I did something I never had thought of.  Usually, when I give Rich food, it's usually in a little baggie.  This time, however, I had a couple extra "fancy" packages to give out.  I saw Rich outside and I first thought to take some of the cookies out of my little bowl on my desk and put them in a baggie to give him.  But then I thought... how fun it would be if I give him one of these wrapped up packages, instead of just a baggie ... Read Full Story >>

The More Unglamorous Jobs

Helga, my landlady 20 years ago when I first moved to CA, was always appreciative and naturally thoughtful. Knowing we were new to the area and didn't know a soul, she invited us to her Friday night happy hour get togethers with the other tenants and her friend.

What stayed with me even more than that kindness was that each Monday, when the garbagemen came to pick up the trash, she ALWAYS ran out to then with a bottle of iced tea or fruit juice for each of them. That was two guys plus the driver - every week! 

My parents always tipped the postman at Christmas along with the paper delivery boy, but I never knew of anyone who remembered the garbageman.

I'm not consistent, but from time to time - I too have tried to follow in Helga's footsteps!

It's What You Do, Not What You Say

When I was younger,  we lived out in the in what is now a forest preserve. People had the unfortunate habit of abandoning  dogs at the foot of our long driveway. This drove my poor mother crazy!  We were by no means well off and already had a dog. Staring out the window my mother would sputter and complain about the irresponsible and cruel people who had dumped their dog on us. She told us to stay away from the dog as we could not afford it, and that was that! I felt very upset, and I couldn't believe my mother refused to help the animal, but she was adamant.  She said, "Other people lived near by. Let them take care of the creature." The poor dog lay at the end of the driveway and hardly moved for two days, obviously heart broken. My heart was breaking too, but I dared not ... Read Full Story >>

Parking Lot Surprise!

My mom was recently hospitalized at a local inner city hospital that requires visitors to pay for parking. I cannot fault the organization for accepting revenue for parking when it is difficutl to find addequate spaces to park at many hospitals.

As I was leaving I was reflecting on how very fortunate I am that she is improving daily and that I have a job and can afford to pay for parking.

Having a family member or someone you care about to be in a hospital is difficult enough, many folks are grieving or afraid so to extend a small favor like a parking fee, maybe would help just a bit.

So as I left, I gave the parking lot attendant double the parking fee each time I visited and asked her to use the extra money to pay for the next person in line's parking. I have no idea if the person behind me felt any better about the "free parking" but I did!

Kindness, A New Definition

Two weeks ago I became quite ill, and lossed a great deal of my energy.  I had to cancel plans and work so I could rest.

Usually, I'm used to being the one to offer help to those who are ill or upset, and I tend to find it hard to recieve help.

Last week, I learned that when you deny the abilty for someone to help, you are denying them the abilty to feel good.  This is the same feeling I have when I help someone else.  So for the first time last week, I allowed a ride home one night, when I was to tired and too sore to walk.

To be kind is to learn to accept kindness back.

Being Alive and Well Fed

This morning I asked myself a question: ‘What does being alive mean to me?’. The question eventually led me to this moment now. Well, isn’t it only to be in the now to be alive, anyways? Well, at this particular moment-right now - being alive means sharing the abundance of kindness in a story. Two years ago, I was hitchhiking and a friendly man in his mid-sixties pulled over. Curt was brimming over with stories spiced with his joy for living. My journey to the chiropractor didn’t take it’s usual 3 or so rides.  Curt altered his route to drop me off directly in front of the office 45 minutes later. During the ride, I learned that Curt was just dropping off a van-load of free food for people in my small town.  He did this weekly just because "It is so fun to bring people food which otherwise would have gone ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Give

After many months of illness, the resulting financial troubles and the love and generosity of dear friends, family members and even strangers that helped me and my children through those difficult times, my life regained balance. On a trip to the grocery store I spotted  a young couple hitchhiking with two puppies. They were obviously tired and discouraged and had made a sign, which simply read, "Just Food." Praying that they would stay, I hurried into the grocery store and bought a bag full of  nutritious foods, puppy chow for the dogs along with items I needed. To my relief they were still there when I came out. I drove up beside them and the young man approached at my beckoning him. I handed him the bag full of groceries, saying, "this is for you..." then the bag of chow, "this is for your puppies", and then a ten dollar bill, "And here's ... Read Full Story >>

Just 1 Card To Say Happy Birthday...

I have a Aunt who is deaf and lives alone. To communicate with her when we visit we write in her notebook. Her birthday is in March. Last year she was 96 years old. I thought about things I could get her but aside from food there isn't much she needs. So, I decided to I send emails out to a few friends. I told everyone  about my Aunt and asked them if they could please take a few minutes and help celebrate her birthday by sending a card to her.  Little did I know how this one request would impact so many, especially my Aunt! My friends asked their own friends to join in. The cards started arriving every day for a month!! My Aunt was so excited! She couldn't believe so many people were thinking about her.  She recieved over 50 cards! Something so little, that takes just a few minutes ... Read Full Story >>

Fierce Love

Sometimes kindness has a ferocious beginning.

My dear friend Michael stood in line at a  grocery store. In the next line a mother had lost her temper with her screaming three year old sitting  in the cart seat. To everyone's shock the woman began slapping the little boy's face. Michael (a therapist) turned to  her and commanded, "Stop!" The woman jerked, as if from a trance and buried her face in her hands as she began to sob. Michael took her in his arms and held her as she cried. Then he comforted the little boy. The woman thanked him and tearfully told him about the tremendous stress she was experiencing in her life. Michael encouraged her and gave her a card to an excellent family therapist that he knew. Through her tears the mother apologized to to her little boy and hugged him and promised that she would make an appointment with the therapist.

I think most of us, at our worst, would benefit from someone stepping in to help us regain our bearings.

Michael is gone now, but the Love that he shared so generously in life continues on, rippling from those he touched to others.

Who's Packing Your Parachute?

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who was a jet pilot during the Vietnam War. After seventy-five combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb safely ejected and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on the lessons he learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" Somewhat surprised, Plumb asked, "How in the world did you know that?  The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked." "It sure did. If the chute you packed hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today!" Plumb responded. Plumb ... Read Full Story >>

Standing in Line For Someone Else

This happened to me 20 years ago and I'll always remember the kindness of this stranger. 

I was pregnant with my second child and I was at the DMV office waiting in line to get the title to my car.  It was taking a very long time. I must have sat down three times because I felt so dizzy.  This pregnancy had been a hard one. I was in my eighth month and I was not feeling so great. I stood up and got back in line and started to feel faint again so I turned to go sit down and this young man stopped me and said that he would stand in line for me if I didn't mind. He told me that his wife had seen me sit down several times and that she was pregnant and understood  how I was feeling.

I was living in Los Angeles at the time and hadn't met many people that were caring or polite. I was so thankful for that kind man who helped me out that day by standing in line for me.  I'll never forget how much he helped me that day! 

 

Saying 'Thanks' to a Military Family

It was the second year of the war in Iraq.  My husband and I went to dinner at TGI Friday's in Honolulu.  We were already seated and eating when we noticed a man in a US military uniform with his blonde wife and three children, the youngest in a stroller, waiting in line outside the restaurant.  My husband decided at that moment that he would pay the dinner bill for them and summoned the waiter to take care of it. The family was seated close enough so that we could see them clearly.  The kids were well behaved, except of course for the baby.  We ate slowly and watched while they finished their meal and the waiter announced to the man and his wife that the bill was paid in full by a fellow patron who wished to remain anonymous.  The man told his wife, and both looked around the room as if to get some sort of acknowledgment.  We could see tears welling up in the man's eyes.  My husband is retired Navy and a retired firefighter. I am so proud of him for that act of kindness.

Kindness On A Budget

It never ceases to amaze me how generous people who post on this site are.  From those who are fortunate enough to be able to use some of their money to help others, people making things for others, or just giving up a moment of their time to someone in need.   But what I would like to do here is offer some ideas on how to bring kindness into other people’s lives without needing to spend money.  So here I offer some ideas for acts of kindness that only need you, your hands, your knowledge or your ears. 1.  Help strangers find their way This is one I try to do every day if I can.  Here in London we have some useful information panels scattered around with maps of the local area on them.  If ever I see someone looking at the panel, or just looking at a map anywhere near where ... Read Full Story >>

A Tail Waggin Way Of A Blessing

Last week, I was out getting the mail and noticed a dog crossing the street that looked oddly familiar. I went near the dog to see if it had a tag or if I recognized it to see if I could find the owner. When I got close to the dog, I realized that it was the same dog that my neighbors had lost 4 years ago. A few months ago, these neighbors moved out of my neighborhood, but that was not going to stop me finding them! I remebered they moved to Minnesota. I spent the rest of the day searching all of the people with their last name in the Minnesota area.  Finally when I was starting to give up hope, I called the last number.  I couldn't' believe it, it was them!   I told them of how I found their dog that went missing 4 years ago.  They thought it ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers and Wheel Chairs

I am the Director of a little non profit Youth Centre and we do at least one act of kindness a month with the youth who attend. Just this month the youth handed out flowers to random community members. There was great energy among the kids that day, after we exchange stories on how we felt about the act of kindness we did. A 14 year old male stood up and said "Id like to say something." I was a bit surprised as he is a shy and quite boy but I said go ahead. "Today I gave a lady who was in a wheel chair a flower. She was putting her two kids in the back seat of her car. When I went up to her and said, hello, she was suprised when I handed her a flower. I quickly said Happy Valentines day and started to walk away. She ... Read Full Story >>

Helping A Stranger In Need

During the holidays my sisters and I were walking through town when we noticed that a lady was struggling so much to try and carry her groceries..far too much to try and carry them by herself. People were passing on by without taking a second look. All at once together my sisters and I all said to ourselves "lets go help out this lady" without giving it a second thought. We carried all her groceries to her car which was parked about 5 minutes walk down the road.

She was so happy and as she thanked us, you could see the happiness across her face.  It didn't cost anything nor did it take anything out of our day..only those few minutes but let me tell you...it was the best time during the entire day...helping a stranger in need :)

Smiles all round :)

The Power of a Simple Compliment

Yesterday I went to our local grocery store. I often go to their deli counter, and I understand that it can get a little hectic for the workers.  So normally none of them ever take the time to smile or seem overly friendly.  But yesterday it was completely different.  I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a very welcoming smile by the young man behind the counter.  He never sighed heavily or slumped back and forth (like some of the workers do) like he didn't want to be there.  He was all by himself and quite a long line.  But not once did he act concerned about it.  He just did his job efficiently and acted very kind the entire time. I was so impressed that I approached the manager, who was working nearby.  I explained to her that I often visit the deli counter and I have never been ... Read Full Story >>

A Guide Dog for the Blind

Many years ago I lived in a western country. My very first job saw me employed in the city and I was thrilled to commute to the office by public transport! I had never been employed before and my chances of travelling on a bus by myself had always been very remote.  So, I was very happy with my new lifestyle! I left home each morning in time to catch the 8.05 bus from the main road. One Autumn morning I could see the bus approaching. I could also see an elderly lady walking with an adorable dog beside her. There were some youngsters behind her. The bus arrived and we got on. Unlike in eastern countries only eight passengers were permitted to travel standing. I was inside the bus when the conducter called, "Only eight standing passengers! Could the last one to get on please get off?" I saw those youngsters ... Read Full Story >>

What Kindness Means to Me

Kindness to me is being in a mode of here/now ... despite differences ...

Kindness to me is sharing my feelings, ideas, thoughts to the other and being open to trusting my loved ones' feedbacks ... If I disagree, I feel, the great way seem to agree to disagree non-violently.

Kindness to me is respecting the time/efforts given by the other and show genuine gratitude.

Kindness to me is the sudden spontaneity at times filled with positive words and appreciation for what the other does, despite my own current troubles and shortcomings.

Kindness to me is treating friendship positively at challenging times, for being who the person is and not despite being who the person is.

Kindness to me is helping a person without losing one's true self to negativity. If yes, then not too long.

Kindness to me is being honest, firm and gentle when challenged.

God bless.

A Card For A Stranger

The mother of a friend of mine was in the hospital undergoing treatment for a serious illness.  Initally, we didn't know just how serious it would be, but we soon learned that she would be hospitalized for at least 3 months before getting to go home... assuming she survived the illness and treatments.  I posted her mother's hospital room's mailing address above my desk and made sure to drop her a card or uplifting note every few days.  Sadly, her mother did not survive the treatments and passed away during her stay at the hospital.  I just couldn't bring myself to throw out her room's address.  Each time it caught my eye I would say a quick prayer for strength for those who were mourning her death.  I never even met this dear lady... but it didn't matter... she was loved by someone that I loved... and that was enough.  Her address ... Read Full Story >>