Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Waiting Room Patience

I'm fairly young and I'm disabled and therefore I have to go to different doctors quite often.  I have always noticed that people in waiting rooms seem bored, they sit quietly ignoring each other, and everyone seems concerned about their own problems. 

I always try to take a few of my recent magazines to add to the racks, because their magazines are usually old and torn up.  I often offer a few to anyone there and try to start a conversation with them.  Anything to get them talking and to get their minds off their problems. 

The nurses accuse me of "working the waiting rooms like a stand up comedian" because I have jokes that I tell - only clean ones, usually!- but I have found that most people really want to pass time by talking about something other than what they are there for.  I respect someone if they choose not to participate, but so far everyone has enjoyed some very lively conversations. Even if you aren't a "chatty cathy" like me, you could try to start a conversation and you'll find most of the time, others will carry it for you.

Showering People With Card Kindness

My aunt, a very young 70, has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  The diagnosis in itself has been shattering, all she thinks about is how her family is going to react.  She says "I'm going to go crazy", and we're all trying to explain that's not the case.  It's reasonable to say she's been going through depression, and she tells me she cries herself to sleep at night. 

I went shopping and bought a ton of funny cards.  Every three days I mail a card to her - she's out of state - and eventually she called me. "I want to know", she said, "did you recently buy stock in a card company?"  I write little funny notes inside each card, sometimes on the envelope, too. 

Maybe if you have a relative, or a sick neighbor,  or a new mother around you, you could anonymously shower them with cards.  I get a kick each time I send one to her. I hope she's enjoying them, too, I don't want her to forget that I love her.

Goodness Begets More Goodness: How a Muffin Changed Our Day

Four of us walk into a coffee shop -- Jessica, Russell, Michelin and I.  We're all super committed to birthing a gift-economy world view.  Like all activities rooted in generosity, our conversation also takes on an escalating charge as we speak about the nature of things -- "Goodness just begets more goodness.  Lots of people don't trust that, because sometimes it takes time, but sooner or later, goodness does beget more goodness."   Right then, the waitress comes over and offers us a bran-muffin as a gift.  Completely stunned, we look at her silently begging for an explanation.  With a smile that says everything, she adds, "You know, we're closing and the muffin won't survive the night, so instead of wasting it, I thought I'd give it away." The waitress disappeared quickly, but we were bubbling with compassion that was very pregnant for expression.   We find the janitor, thank him for his ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity for Kindness at the Airport

I travel for business all the time and know that airports are places in urgent need of random kindness. Hurry and anxiety are rampant as people try to manage the stress of missed flights, late flights, tiny seats, bumpy rides, unexpected fees, and unwelcome surprises. Lately I've had opportunities to make a tiny dent in the airport frenzy at the cart line. I remember when we could rent a cart to haul your bags for $1.25, but over the last few months, airports have raised fees as high as $5 and often travelers stand at the cart line, stymied by a lack correct change or credit card to pay the fee. At first, impatience (the currency of airport life) was my reaction to people 'holding up the line.'   Then I realized this was an opportunity to help. Now when I see someone clearly frustrated by a need for help with their bags, unable to ... Read Full Story >>

The More I Help, The Lighter My Heart Feels

This morning I got up early and went for a walk at 5 a.m. to the teashop. I was wondering whether I could do an act of kindness and immediately an opportunity was presented. An old, poor gentleman arrived at the teashop on his bicycle and I seized the moment to offer him a cup of tea. He was happy and that act made me feel happy. As  I was walking back, I helped a family to reach the right bus stop so that they can reach the main bus stand at Koyambedu. They too were thankful. And then I was off to go help a family of four to pay the rent. The family consists of  a widow, her daughter (18 years old), son (19), and her husband's brother. Yesterday I heard my inner voice asking me to help them pay the rent. By the way this family lives in a slum.   In order to help ... Read Full Story >>

12 Days of Kindness

For my third day of the Twelve Days of Valentines Kindness, in honor of my wife, I decided to share a story about how kindness boomerangs back to us, after a request by deepula. As perhaps another example of this, the kindness I'm doing for my wife may just be having an effect on her.  Her boomerang hit me hard and with lots of love!  She posted four post-its with song lyrics peppered with little hearts on the bathroom mirror yesterday.  One was a Hindi song called “Kabhi Kabhi” with lyrics that translate as follows: "Every so often my heart feels as though you were made for me.  You used to live somewhere in the heavens.  And you were called to earth for me..." The other song was “My Song” from Moulin Rouge: "It's a little bit funny...this feeling inside.  I'm not one of those...who can easily hide.  I don't have much money  :-(  ... Read Full Story >>

Sandwich Mondays Feed Hungry People And Our Spirits

I am new to this group but not to the idea of helping others.  Funny thing is, I never really give helping others much thought, it is just something I do.  I am sure that most of those who find their way here are similar in nature and action.   The opportunities are all around us if we are open to them and not so caught up in our own routines. That being said, my first post here is not about something that would raise eyebrows, elicit sighs or gain a round of applause.  It is just a simple thing but I hope that it brings comfort to many and lets the recipients know that there ARE people out here who care about them. Following my aunt's death 5 years ago, I made a decision to hold on to her condo in the California desert .  It is a familiar and serene ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Is Three Inches Toward the Middle

I made my weekly stop to pick up mail from my post office box during icy weather.  Due to the nasty conditions, patrons were tramping their feet on the ground and navigating through the residual snow as they entered the building.

Suddenly, I heard a man exiting through the breezeway who let out a yelp.  His foot caught a haphazardly placed “Caution: Wet Floor” sign.  He nearly tumbled to the ground, but luckily he caught himself in time.

Afterward, I was alone in the breezeway.  Carefully, I placed the sign halfway between the two doors, moving it just three inches toward the middle of the cramped space.  Though the distance was small, the effect on the space dynamics would be significant to help people notice the sign before hitting it.

Content with my work, I stopped to think, “Kindness is three inches toward the middle.”  Even a small action, when coupled with a thoughtful intention, can make a difference.

An Unexpected Flower and a Lasting Smile

I had this strong desire to buy a flower.  So at lunchtime I went to the flower shop and bought a long single flower with my last £1.  I took it back to work and put it in my colleague's drawer as a suprise.  I knew at some point he would open his drawer and see it.

Later in the day, I got a phone call asking me if I had put the flower in his drawer.  I said "yes".  My colleague was very suprised and touched. He said, "it was a beautiful flower".

On Monday, when my colleague came to work he was still talking and telling me how nice the flower looked in his home.

I felt so happy that I had done that for him, to see him smile was well worth it.

Small Gestures in the Workplace

One day, while I was walking to work, I decided to bring some flowers that I had picked from my garden that morning. I came across a random stranger, and was inspired to give the bunch to him with a smile card.  Struck by the sense of joy I felt from giving flowers to another person, and maybe brightening his day, I wanted to do it again. When I got to my office, I had the idea of anonymously leaving flowers around the workplace. Sometimes, the impersonal atmosphere of the building where I work numbs my spirits a little. It's a nice building, with great light, but it just feels a little sterile sometimes. I figured lots of people might feel the same way, so why not put a little beauty there, and throw in an inspirational quote while I'm at it? After all, who doesn't like flowers? So, for the past month, I've been putting flowers ... Read Full Story >>

Helping the Elderly to Feel They Are Not Alone

I teach exercise classes to seniors  and I try to find ways to encourage them, not to just exercise, but to have fun in class and to make friends. Loneliness is one of the greatest complaints of the elderly.  I love encouraging our group to go out for breakfasts or lunches together.  On occasion I want to  pay for the meals of individuals that cannot pay for themselves.   I want to bring homemade coffee to our morning classes.

Standing around after a class and talking and smiling and CONNECTING with each other is so important.. I don't want anyone to be lonely!  This is my passion in life: to make others feel as if they are NOT ALONE.

When the Kindness of Strangers Can Alleviate Aches

Last winter, the East Coast was hit with large amounts of snow. In my area alone we saw upwards of 40 inches of snow in a particular week alone. The snow is pretty when it is falling and blanketing everything; not so pretty when you have to dig out.  One day, my car was completely buried, except for a very small portion of the top of the bumper. I had no shovel and no idea how I was going to dig it out. Along comes a gentleman who, almost in the same predicament, gave me the top to a rubbermaid tub and said "this should help with the dig out." Another gentleman, who's car was stuck, gave me a shovel to use.  Another kind young fellow, who had dug his car out earlier and was returning from some errands, saw me digging, parked his car and helped me dig my car out - ... Read Full Story >>

A Raspberry Danish to Make a Secretary Feel Appreciated

Earlier this year, we had a week at work that was a little hectic. Lots of sickness was going around. A few teachers were out sick, and one of the school secretaries had shingles and was out for over a week. The other secretary had been trying hard to be "super secretary" answering the door, phones and keeping the prinicpal, students and teachers happy.  She hadn't complained, but I knew she wasn't feeling too appreciated.

One morning, I stopped at the local bakery and picked up a raspberry danish for her. When I got to work, I drew purple and pink hearts on the white bakery bag and wrote Happy Valentine's Day and Thank You on it. She gave me a huge smile when I handed it to her.

After she ate it,  she visited me in my office and gave me a great big hug and expressed her thanks to me.

We all want feel appreciated, especially when we go above and beyond at work.

A Little Bit of Extra Love on Valentine's Day

My church was assigned Valentine’s Day to serve a meal to homeless people.  After reading a HelpOthers.org story about giving flowers out at a meal program, I formed the idea to augment our church activity with some colorful floral life.  Building off of my intention, a fellow church member came forward to help pay for the flowers.  At the event, we fed the hungry souls until they were stuffed, and then we gave flowers to anyone who wanted one.  Our pastor even joined in to pass out flowers at the tables.

Later that day, I saw a lady with a carnation in her hand hugging the pastor, which led me to believe that the flower must have touched her in a special way.  It is great that through a simple idea on this website, we were able to bring the food serving experience to a deeper level with some flower power!

Homeless Yet Helping Other Homeless

My boyfriend and I just went cross country from Florida to California.  We are currently in Palm Springs and it is wonderful. 

In this paradise there are also homeless people.  I saw one today that asked for money while we were sitting outside of Starbucks.  We couldn't give him anything because all we use is plastic.  This kid was my age, which is to say in his 20s.  

We had leftovers from earlier that day from Chilis and we gave it to him.  It was salsa and chips. Yummy!  Truthfully, we are homeless now too but we have money saved to start a life in an apartment.  

Acting On The Voice Of Kindness

I was riding my bike around lunch time today and passed a man sitting just off the sidewalk with his face in his hands.   My first thought was: "Stop! See if he needs help." But I was riding fast.  I slowed down and looked back.  It  looked as though he was either praying or crying, maybe both.  I decided that meant that I had to turn around.  I rode up and asked if he was ok.  No response.  For a second, I thought he might be a drunk or a bum.  But I asked again. He looked up with clear eyes and bright teeth, and gave me a big shiny smile.  He was about 55-60, wearing denim overalls and a farmer's hat, and had the hands of a manual laborer.  I quickly discovered that he spoke no English but I was able to make out that he was hungry and he had no ... Read Full Story >>

Heart To Heart And Out Of My Comfort Zone

I took my homemade cookies and candies to church today and came home with an empty tray which I was hoping for.  I also took about 20 pencils with printed hearts on them and glued bigger hearts on them and passed them out to some children and some adults that I wouldn't normally get the chance to talk to. This was a good way to show love and take me out of my comfort zone. It sure was worth it,  I got a lot of smiles back!!  A little can do a lot !!   :D 

Parking Permit to the Rescue During Chemo

A friend of mine who contracted cancer wrote me. Her story proves that there truly is compassion in this world: "A lady in my office has a "red" parking tag right by the front door (red tag spaces at my university are reserved spaces, and cost over a couple of hundred dollars). I have a "blue" tag, which means you end up walking a long way from the parking lot to your office. Chemo left me feeling exhausted. When I returned to work on a limited basis, my friend insisted I take her "red" tag and park near the front door. She took my "blue" tag, and said she didn't mind in the least. This was during a particularly snowy, icy period--I felt SO guilty that she was walking from so far ... Read Full Story >>

Sunday Morning Coffee Smiles

My friend and I were sharing Kindness Ideas with each other and one that  she told me warmed my heart so I wanted to share it.

As a college student she knew, Cindy, would walk to church on Sunday mornings. She'd pass a park on the way and see homeless sleeping on the benches.  She wanted to do something, but didn't know what and she felt afraid also to approach them.  She prayed over it and decided she would stop and get a couple of coffees for them on her way to church next Sunday.

She headed out a little earlier than normal on Sunday and stopped at the coffee shop for 2 coffees. Sure enough there were 2 homeless men sleeping on the benches. She quietly walked over a placed the coffee next to each of them and then hurried off to church. On her way home she saw the 2 of them sitting there chatting and drinking the coffee. She figured that the coffee wasn't hot anymore, but they were happy and that warmed her heart...as it does mine thinking of it.

My Nephew's Birthday Adventure In Paying It Forward

I want to say thanks to all of you for your special notes and ideas, after I sent my request for 'gifting acts of kindness ideas' for my nephew's birthday last month. I was excited to hear from some of you with suggestions. Pancho suggested that I give him my attention -- as the greatest gift one human being can give another -- yes! Nipun helped out by sharing his own story, and got me thinking further about how I could do a kindness tag, Idaho style. I gave that kid some super-duper hugs, not to mention every bit of attention I could muster, and a good dose of kindness stories, to boot. There is a long story with great sidenotes that goes with the birthday adventure story, but the short story is as follows: I gave my nephew twenty bucks for his birthday, with the condition that he use it to do something kind for someone ... Read Full Story >>