Stories of Kindness from Around the World

French Kindness on Valentine's Day

France is a very special place.  It is the favorite tourist destination for people from all over the world.  As an American who has lived here for over 20 years it's been for me "a hard nut to crack."  In New York City it was easy to just strike up a conversation with people I'd never met and would never meet again.  Many French consider this type of interaction "superficial" or "invasive." Inspired by this website I decided to find my way to create openings on Valentine's Day.  The key is "when in France do like the French,"  or learn to respect their ways and their limits.  I went to Paris and searched for hours, a woman on a mission, to find just the right chocolate hearts.  The last "maison du chocolat" or chocolate store on my list had them.  Small chocolate hearts, a beautiful deep red color, filled with dark chocolate, ... Read Full Story >>

A Truck Full of Winter Kindness

My mother always has an extra blanket, boots and other extra snow stuff in our car's trunk in cases of emergencies.  Once when we were driving in bad weather, we saw that a car had gone off of the side of the road.

We pulled over and asked if we could help them.  They were stuck in a ditch and we couldn't do much about getting them out, but the least we could do while they waited for emergency services was to give them all of the extra things in our trunk. They were very thankful.

Kindness Inspired By A Car

As I was parking last weekend in the Los Angeles area, I experienced one of those "I know I'm in the right place at the right time" moments.  I happened to find a space next to a car which had the most inspirational back window I've ever seen.

It said "The fruit of the Spirit is" and then listed all these qualities (but not as a bullet point list; it was quite artistic and fun!)

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Generosity
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-Control

The best part of it was that they were not promoting a business or any particular religion -- it was just the message.

I just happened to have a SmileDeck on me, so I wrote a note saying how inspired I was and then put the note and the SmileDeck under their windshield wiper.

Shopping Smiles

It's amazing what a little smile will do when you walk past someone in a store.  I found myself smiling the other day while I was shopping.  Most of the people who I smiled at smiled back!  It left me with a happy feeling inside.

Just after I had that experience, I saw a lady in a wheelchair enter the store's bathroom, where I was washing my hands.  She looked at me and said, "That was really nice of that man.  He just stopped and opened the door for me."  I recognized the man's voice...it belonged to my husband.  That made me smile even more!

Sharing Smiles on Valentine's Day

My husband gave me flowers at work for Valentine's Day.  On my way home, I went to the bank and had the flowers buckled into the passenger seat of my car as I pulled into one of the drive-thru lanes.  The bank teller saw the flowers and commented on how beautiful they were and that only one person in their office had received flowers for Valentine's Day.  We continued our transaction, and throughout she commented another two times on the flowers.  Upon leaving I decided to leave one of the flowers in the bank "capsule," which I sent back to her as I was leaving.  She was nice and helpful, and I had decided that she too could use a smile!

Kindness Karma Returned

When I lived in Portland, I lived pretty much hand to mouth.  I had injured my knee and couldn't work and my tiny early retirement check paid rent only.  I was on food stamps so I could eat, and getting around on crutches made bus travel challenging.  But it was my only recourse as my car had so many repairs needed, I couldn't afford to have it fixed. Curiously, I would find money all the time, so I started a FOUND MONEY jar.  It was the biggest jar I could find (a Mason quart jar), because I was always finding coins on the street or in theaters or in seats.  When I would come home with coins I had found, in they would go.  One time I found a $5 bill in my garden by my apartment.  It was the biggest bill I ever found, and it lived in the jar ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile Card Challenge For A Girl Facing A Difficult Time

This is my first story and I'm very excited to share. As a young teen, life can be tough when it comes to exclusion, especially when it comes to someone deemed "uncool."  To tell the truth, even as a leadership student, I was unmotivated to change someone's life since it could cost me my ranking. Sadly, in that week, my life went spiraling down when someone kicked me out of my group and told everyone else to ignore me. It was then that the truth hit me, that I didn't know how much exclusion can hurt. I had always been friendly with Patricia (as I will not take her real name), but never willing to be close friends with her and lift her up. I was always nice, just not very motivated. The week that I was kicked out of my group, though, I felt this hurt and throbbing agony of ... Read Full Story >>

Trying To Help With An Open Heart

Cons happen a lot in our city and it can be hard to know who is really in need and who is trying to exploit other people's kindness.   Recently, I was finishing my work at home when the dog barked letting me know someone was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw poor, fragile woman in her late fifties.   I said to her, "May I ask what you want?"   She replied, "Hello, ma'am, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live in the slum nearby. We earn our living working at construction sites. A few days ago my husband tripped on the stairs while carrying a heavy load. He is badly hurt and hasn't been able to work for the past five days, and so we have no food. Now he is at home in bed with a high temperature. Please help me! I need to take ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Deed But A Big Inner Reward

Yesterday I was shopping at our local grocery store, and I found some money and a receipt.  As I was standing there, holding it in my hand, I was wondering if there was any way to figure out how to return it to the proper owner.  

Then I noticed the person had gotten the employee discount, buying a sandwich of some sort.  Earlier I had stood at the deli counter forever and I remembered seeing one of the employees buy her lunch.  I felt so bad for her that she had lost her money, so I went to the service counter and explained the situation.  The manager had worked there forever and I trusted she would return it to the proper person.

Even though it was only a small amount of money, I hadn't earned it.  It may sound weird, but, as I walked away from the counter I felt so good about that tiny thing.  It made me smile all the way home as I pictured the employee having her money returned to her!

Inspired To Kindness

I was looking through the "wanted" section of an online advertising website hoping to find someone I could help or send a Smile Card to. 

I found a single mom with five children asking if someone could drop off some firewood so she could keep her children warm through the snow storms we have been having. 

I couldn't drop off firewood but I e-mailed and asked for her mailing address.  I mailed her a gift card to a supermarket in our area and of course enclosed a Smile Card.  I hope it helps!

Helping One Mother To Another

My husband stayed home with my daughter, and I took my son in to the ER after a fall off the slide, where he landed on his head.  We were in the ER for observation for a couple of hours and when it was time to leave I realized I had no money with me to pay the toll to leave the emergency parking lot.  It was late enough (10 p.m.) that the cafeteria wasn't open, and my credit card wasn't working in the ATM machine.  The hospital volunteer told me to find a security guard who might help me with a token, but they were no where to be found. So, I called my husband trying to figure out what's the easiest way to get us home.  All the time I'm holding my 3-year-old who is very tired and stressed from the ER visit.  Unknown to me,  a mom is listening ... Read Full Story >>

Sometimes I Need A Little Help To Help

I have been doing the 29 days giving challenge and I hope to post about it from time to time.  Today I have a question too.

On Day 4 (two days ago), I gave the gift of friendship.  One of my friends from school who I've known since middle school told me that she was being bullied, so I plan on helping her starting Monday to make the best of the delicate situation.

Yesterday, Day 5, was mostly a working day for me.  Me mummy was feeling a bit tired, and as sluggish as I was this afternoon, I pitched in with the house chores.  I made French Toast in the morning, helped fold laundry, and then spent some time simply chatting with her.

Now for my question - for the fellow members out there, what inspires you to be kind?  To give?  I must have lost my motivation these past two days, so maybe you can help me.  It would be nice to always have the motivation to give, and, as I mentioned in my first post, I strive to be like you all -- the wonderful, altruistic people who are so warm.  I hope to continue to meet and be influenced by kind, positive people, and what better place to start then here? 

The Smile-Effect

Here are some smiley related things that I did today: 1) Prepared Smileys of various sizes through the following method:     a) Selected a very beautiful Smiley from the Internet     b) Made a printout of that Smiley     c) Purchased thick paper     d) Used gum to paste each Smiley onto thick paper     e) Used scissors to cut the paper into a round shape     f) The Smileys looked very beautiful! 2) Gave the Smiley card that I prepared to a friend, and on the back, I mentioned how he helped me and what I liked about him.  He liked this. 3) Gave a Smiley card to another friend and on the back, mentioned that the suggestions he gave me in past helped me. He said, "Gift was very nice. I haven't received something like this for 10 years, and I'm very happy." 4) Gave 2 very small Smiley cards to two other friends during happy moments, and ... Read Full Story >>

Finding That Positive Note

My step-son is going through an extremely difficult time in his life and is battling many personal issues.   He calls his father several times a day, often consumed by sadness and negativity, sometimes near his breaking point. Trying to be supportive and non-critical takes it's toll on us all, but we keep trying.    This morning on our drive to work I asked my husband to try ending the telephone conversation with his son by simply saying, "Now, tell me something good about today".     Some days that might be an easy thing to do, other days it may be nearly impossible. But even if the only thing he could can up with to say is, "You were there for me again today, Dad," that would at least give him something positive to focus on.    Tonight, I heard my husband say to his son, "Okay, now let's end on a positive note. Tell me ... Read Full Story >>

Helping One Person At A Time

I live in Singapore where there are thousands of migrant workers from countries like India, Bangladesh and China. They work very hard, usually in construction sites, and are often away from their families for years in order to save money.

Smiling and Recycling

The other day when I arrived at my local recycling center I noticed I was the only one there who had arrived by car. 

A Friend Goes The Extra Fifteen Miles

During a recent ice storm, a friend and her two daughters had their power go out, and they did not have heat or a way to cook their food.  Understanding their plight, my husband and I decided to help them out.  Weathering his way on the slick, icy roads about 15 miles from our house, my husband went and picked them up. He brought them back to our house, and we let them stay with us so they could be warm and have a way to cook.

A Kindness Chain Made of Roses

I love this forum but I'm hesitant to post about my own "good works" as it sounds like I'm blowing my own horn.  I think that helping others should be a true gift from the heart rather than something that you receive applause for in a public forum. This said, I would like to share my story, not because I want to be thought well of by others but rather because I have discovered a recipe for happiness that I'm sure someone can benefit from. So here it is. It is hard for me to keep a smile on my face during certain times of the year and this is one of them. With the impending arrival of Valentine's Day I found myself thinking that if I didn't make a concerted effort to put myself in a good humor I would very quickly find myself sliding into depression. You see, I haven't received chocolates, ... Read Full Story >>

Gratitude For This Community

I have seen so much bickering, and people trying to "one-up" each other on websites, that this website almost doesn't feel real.  Could I have really found such a nice place with such kind people, that feel as I do?  When I try to share ideas of kindness, most people in my life think it's silly, a waste of time when there is so much I could be doing for myself.  They don't understand that by helping others I am helping myself.  It gives me energy, it gives me creativity, it makes me feel better physically and mentally.  AND IT HELPS SOMEONE ELSE IN THE PROCESS. How is that wrong?  It is wishy washy, and I can't save the world, they say.  No, I can't but when I becomes "we" and "we" becomes "just about everyone," it will have made a difference.  The world will have changed.  You know why that ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Could Be Just One Seat Away

Recently I was traveling on business and was on a long flight back home from the West to East Coast connecting through Charlotte. As I sat down in my seat (ailse seat) the women next to me extended her hand saying "Hi, I'm Eva".  I responded back and then she turned to the person next to her in the window seat and did the same thing.  I thought to myself, what a nice gesture for someone to introduce themself to the people around them.  You don't see that much. So after we took of, Eva soon pulls out all this paperwork from her bag, and starts to work very diligently.  Being a little nosey and somewhat curious, I could see that she had a stack of children profiless that looked like something you might see from Unicef or other organizations that help people around the world. I asked her what she was working ... Read Full Story >>