Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Long Queue Made A Little Shorter

 During a recent business trip there was a hold on trains to the airport and many people were stranded and had to buy new tickets for flights and also arrange hotels for the night. I was traveling alone and like everyone else I had to stand in very long queues. I had queued for about 30-40 minutes and was looking around when I saw a lady with a small child in her arms near the back of the queue. I knew she had at least another 30-40 minutes to wait just to reach my position and maybe 10 more minutes from there as I was quite close to the front of the queue. I could also see that she was quite tired and the child was heavy and asleep on her shoulder. I looked back until I caught her attention. Once I got her attention I waved her forward and asked the ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Help at the Nursery

I was picking up a few plants at a nursery for my small patio area. The young woman who assisted me was helpful and pleasant to the point of making my day a better one.

As I was finishing at the cash register a supervisor told the young woman to go for her lunch break. She said she didn't want to go. When pressed on the issue she said she was so broke she didn't have any food at home to make a lunch. She laughed it off, saying she'd go get a coffee.

I gathered my things and she offered to help me out. As I parted I put a $10 bill in her hand and encouraged her, with a smile, to enjoy lunch today. She smiled widely and said she would.

Kindness With Wheels On For A Young Girl

My wonderful Aunt Helen Louise recently passed away very unexpectedly. I have been trying to stay positive during this time.  Today was an especially emotional day, so I decided to try and keep myself busy by doing a little 'treasure hunting' at my local Goodwill store. Whilst I was browsing, I saw a young girl trying to ride a bicycle. Her grandmother and grandfather were steadying it for her. Her grandmother was very encouraging and it made me smile to see the look of determination on the little girl's face. I browsed through the racks but didn't find anything I wanted to buy. I was on my way out of the store, when I noticed the bicycle parked at the checkout counter. A light bulb went off right away in my mind, and I asked the clerk if the bicyle had been paid for. She told me that the little girl's grandparents were going to buy it ... Read Full Story >>

A Creative Solution to Helping the Homeless

In Denver, CO, there are people who stand on the corners of intersections and highway exits holding signs asking for money.  Unfortunately, I have heard information communicating that some of these beggars are a part of a scam.  People hire individuals, homeless, etc. to do the begging, after which they retrieve the money and pay the beggars outside of what they were given (how in the heck could this make sense?).  The other problem I have heard is that some homeless people use the money given to them to buy alcohol or drugs, continuing the negative cycle they are experiencing in life.

It is difficult for me to stop at these intersections while not knowing what their situation is but still wanting to help.  I certainly don't want to give money to someone using the homeless for profit, and I do not want to contribute to alcoholism or drug problems.  So what I do to help is this: I keep a case of water in my car or boxes of granola bars and give beggars some relief without contributing to one of the above-mentioned problems centered on money.

An Act of Honesty Saves a Vacation

My oldest daughter is on vacation this week. She called last night to tell us that she arrived safely in North Carolina. She said, "Don't get mad but I lost my wallet." Then she quickly added, "But it's been returned to me!" She had left the highway to get gas and some food. Her boyfriend was in a hurry to get going  because they had a few more hours to drive before reaching their desitination. She placed her wallet on the car roof, put the puppy in the back seat, and quickly jumped into the car. Off they went, with the wallet still on the roof! They were about a  half hour away and they came to a toll booth. She reached in her purse for her wallet and couldn't find it. She had a lump in her throat as she remembered leaving it on the roof. She started to cry. Then, almost ... Read Full Story >>

Two Little Hearts - Both For Sharing

I found a website that sells tiny pewter hearts which are not too expensive, so, I bought a batch and I keep a couple in my pocket most of the time.

Whenever I find the opportunity, when I am out in stores, at a yard sale or at work or anywhere really, I will ask the person I am speaking with to give me their hand. I put two of those little hearts in the palm of their hand saying, "Keep one and pass the other one on."

The responses I get are amazing! If I had won the Lottery there would not be bigger smiles or more excitement.  Everyone immediately wants to tell me who is getting the other heart; someone with cancer, their child who was grumpy this morning, and so on.  

A little sharing really makes people happy!

P.S.  In my other pocket I carry dog biscuits so even their canine friends can be happy!

My Father's Silent Life Lessons

Earlier today I was thinking about my dad. Pops is in ill-health right now but his spirit is strong. He might forget where he’s at from time to time but I know that deep inside his spirit is as strong and vibrant as it has ever been.  Every now and then he will surprise us and just talk and talk and talk about the good ol’ days. He is eternally faithful to my mom, and I really feel he hasn’t abandoned ship yet because he fears for her when he is gone. Guess what, Pops?  We’ve got your back. You can enjoy what time you have left worrying about what to eat, what show to watch, how long to sit in that front porch rocker, or just waiting around for football season to start!  You know, the big stuff! You see, my dad is a quiet man. He has always been a quiet ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Away and Make Someone's Day

Try to remember that even when you don't have any extra cash to share or spare and you still have that burning desire to do good and make a difference, you can always smile!

Yesterday I was picking my daughter up from school. As we drove home I got stuck behind a 'transport vehicle'. I didn't know then but it was a van that took elderly folk in wheelchairs wherever they needed to go. Anyway, when I decided to pass the van I put a big smile on my face!

The van had large windows and you could see right inside. There she was, looking right at us, an elderly lady. She was in a wheelchair and still in her pajamas. Who knows  where she was about to go; to the hospital for testing, to a room in a new nursing home, I just didn't know.

So I smiled widely and waved at her. She looked surprised and then started smiling and waving back to me. It was as though we knew each other! My daughter and her friend started waving too. It felt good and really gave me a lift! 

We made each others days with those smiles that cost nothing. I am sure of it! Smiles are contagious!

A Labradoodle Shares A Little Love

Molly, my Labradoodle, comes with me to visit my mum at her nursing home. 

My mum likes to sit a while with Molly before going to sleep. When this happens, after she's asleep, I take Molly around to the other residents.. 

There was one lady that the nurses were trying to get a reaction from. She was leaning forward in her chair, not responding to their voices even though she was clearly awake. So, I took Molly over to her and Molly started to lick her.

Now this lady rarely speaks.

She laughed out loud, a real belly laugh! Then she met Molly's gaze and hugged her!

Seeing what a difference animals make to people in this situation is so uplifting and rewarding.

Meeting Anger With Kindness

From 1993 through 1998 I was a vendor for Chevrolet dealearships. Each week I would take a look at their used cars that were for sale. I would fix cracks in leather, cigarette burns in fabric,  re-color carpets that had stains, repair windshields that had been hit by a rock, etc. Every week I would walk into this specific Chevrolet dealer's used car lot  to see what the used cars needed in the way of repairs. The general manager's wife was named Cindy. Cindy was always very rude,  treating me like I was below her or that she was better than me.  I was always upbeat, possitive and kind, but that never seemed to work with her.  One day she accused me of charging  her to dye the carpet in a mini-van that had a stain in the carpet.  She had driven the van for the weekend and said the stain was not there.  Just trying to continually be agressive, and negitive without ... Read Full Story >>

A Kind Act in Time Saves Three

One Saturday evening I was going to the movies with a friend. After driving a short while, we saw a crowd of people on the side of the road surrounding a woman lying on the ground. We stopped our car and, without hesitating for a minute, my friend and I ran to the unconscious woman and lifted her up and put her in our car. We took her to the nearest hospital and stayed there as she was admitted. We were extremely relieved when the doctors told us she was alive and would be alright. Two weeks later I got a call from an unfamiliar number and when I asked who it was, the caller replied that she was the woman my friend and I had taken to the hospital! She asked to meet us and when we got together, she could hardly express how thankful she was and how blessed ... Read Full Story >>

Harvesting Kindness From An Orange Tree

I have an orange tree that keeps giving and giving. 

I wanted to use my smile cards, so I picked about 60 oranges, divided them up among ten bags or so and taped one of the smile cards on each bag. 

Then I went around my neighborhood leaving these bags of freshly picked, juicy sweet oranges by the doors of my neighbors. 

I hope they'll enjoy them.

School Children Play The 'Appreciation' Game

My favorite teacher plays a game with us at least once a week called "Appreciations".  In this game, one person throws a ball to another person in the class who he would like to appreciate.  Usually, we thank other kids for saying "hi" in the halls or hanging out on the weekend. Today, however, the first appreciation was very deep, and the receiver began to cry.  Afterward, we continued to go deeper and deeper, and our teacher decided to hold off on the lesson we were supposed to learn today.  Instead, she had us all make envelopes to put on our desk (like on Valentines Day in grade school)  :)  After that, we spent the full hour writing a note to every single person in the class about anything we wanted to tell them. The comments made me smile so much that my mouth hurt and some of then even made me cry!  It just ... Read Full Story >>

Cool It With Kindness

I have read posts like this one many times, so letting someone go ahead of me in the check-out lane is no big deal to me. Not only does it seem right, it seems totally wrong if you don't! So, as you can guess, that's what happened to me recently. I was waiting a LO-O-O-O-ONG time in line because of the transaction ahead of me. I wasn't in a hurry to be anywhere but standing there was beginning to be tiring and it was a scorcher of a day. Then I was aware that someone had walked up behind me to join the line. Out of my peripheral vision I saw it was an elderly lady. I inched my way up to take my turn at getting out of the store, driving home and relaxing in air conditioning. I turned to see she only had a half gallon of ice cream. ''Go ahead of me if you ... Read Full Story >>

A Refreshing Act of Kindness on a Hot Day

On one of those hot days last week I went to the supermarket to pick up some groceries. The walk alone made me thirsty.

On route I saw a local homeless women and thought to myself, 'She must be parched!"  So I decided I was going to pick up a few extra bottled waters at the supermarket. 

I returned with three extra waters; one I gave to the homeless lady. She gave me a big, grateful smile before she opened the bottle and drank. The second bottle I gave to a  local man who watches the store displays out in the street. 

The third bottle I drank myself. It was amazing how refreshing it was - or maybe that was just the buzz from helping others!

I went home feeling good. 

Helping Even in the Midst of Losing a Home

Thank God for the beautiful souls in this world! Today a friend and I went to a garage sale. The reason for the sale was that a family had lost their house and they were moving in with their relatives. My friend is pregnant and doesn't have enough money to get all of the things she will need for her baby. So, I brought her a pram and car seat at the garage sale. My friend asked about a cot the family were selling but it was beyond both our price ranges. She made the best offer she could and left her number with them just in case the cot didn't sell and they decided to accept her offer. Later in the afternoon the women rang my friend and said that they had sold the cot - but had a lot of things that didn't sell if she wanted them! These included pregnancy clothes, ... Read Full Story >>

An Easter Act to Remember

Two years ago, on the day before Easter, I had given my three children money instead of Easter baskets.  Later that evening, we were all sat watching TV,  when an infomercial came on about starving children. 

I couldn't help tearing up when my children said, "Mom, can we give our Easter money to these children?"  I told them yes and that God was going to bless them for this.  I wrote a cheque and sent it off in the mail.  I wanted to go get them Easter baskets for their kind act, but I didn't have any more money.

To my surprise, on Easter morning, a couple of ladies from a church we used to attend came over with a big box.  I didn't open it until they left, and when I did, tears started streaming down my and I fell to the floor with gratitude.  It contained Easter baskets for my children and a gas card for my family.

The universe is good and sometimes knocks you on your knees in tears from the way it works...

More Importantly, How Are You?

I would never have expected to learn a powerful life lesson while waiting for a massage!

I was restlessly waiting for my masseuse. I was in desperate need of some relaxation because rigorous army phyiscal training was turning my body into a stiff board. 

Then, in walked my lesson - a man whose face and body bore the horrible scars of many conflicts.  His treatment probably involved much more than just a massage.

He sat next to me and I said, "How are you, sir?"  He replied, "More importantly, how are you?" 

How could someone who had suffered such pain take time to care about how I was? Well, suffering is what makes us or breaks us. Suffering can make us bitter, or it can make us better. 

Clearly, this man of war had accepted his own pain and, through it, had acquired a greater empathy for the pain of others. 

He touched my life forever by that one statement.  May God bless his life!

Pay-it-Forward Starts With Some Cold Water

Today was the first step in my project to 'Pay-it-forward.  It is only a small gesture, but I hope it made some peoples' day. 

Yesterday as I was driving home from school I saw the crossing guards and thought they would probably like some water on a warm day. 

So today I went to school with a cooler filled with water and ice.  I stoped after school with a friend and handed out cold water bottles to any crossing guard we saw.  It was a thrill and made us both feel great. 

Most crossing guards were very happy and thanked us, but there we a few who didn't acknowledge us :( Oh well, we told all of them despite a lack in intrest that we appreciate them and what they do in our community and for the children :) 

What a great day. 

Biggest Drive-thru Smile Ever

Last night my husband and I were on the way to a show. We were both hungry and wanted to grab a quick bite on our way there, so we swung through a Jack-N-the Box drive-thru and placed our order.  When we got up to the window the lady smiled at me (which is sometimes rare) and asked how I was doing while she was collected our money for the food.  I replied, "Fine, and how are you?" She went to get our order ready and I asked my husband to pass me my "Drive-thru Smil bag". He handed it to me and watched in amazement as I gathered together a "You make a difference" paper, a Smile Card, a smiley stamper and a smile button.  She came back to the window almost before I finished putting it all together.  Without looking too closely she passed the bag and said, "Thank you. Have a good ... Read Full Story >>