Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Are You a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as if as soon as one problem was solved a new one arose.  Her mother took her to the kitchen. The mother filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots. In the second she placed eggs. And the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.  About twenty minutes later, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she said, "Tell me what you ... Read Full Story >>

A Wave and a Smile Worth a Million Bucks

I was late for work, another 14 hour day.

At the stop sign on my way to work, it was unusually busy. An Indian family with a child who had disability was sitting on the wheelchair waiting for the traffic to clear in order to cross the street. The boy had a deformed face, not to mention the rest.

Finally after all the cars flew past the intersection, the family wheeled the child to the other side of the street.

The boy's sister(?), a young girl, suddenly turned around and waved at me with a big, bright smile. It seemed that she was saying, "Thanks for waiting so long."

All of a sudden, I realized that however busy it was at work, her smile was a million dollars to me. I didn't do anything but I received such precious gift of the day.

An Act of Neighborliness

I have been travelling a lot for work recently which means it gets difficult for me to keep up with my gardening (which I love) sometimes.  So I really appreciated it when my next door neighbor would cut the grass for me when he noticed it was getting too shaggy. Not only did I not have to try to jump right on it the moment I got home, it also helped my house look occupied while I was out of town. 

I really appreciated this jesture of neighborliness - it has had such a big impact on my happiness and piece of mind.

The A-Z of "Living a Masterpiece"

"Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece" Dalai Lama Avoid negative souces, people, places and habits Believe in yourself Consider things from every angle Don't give up and don't give in Everything you're looking for lies behind the mask you wear Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches Give more than you planned to Hang onto your dreams If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it Keep trying no matter how hard it seems Love yourself Make it happen Never lie, steal or cheat Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values Practice makes perfect Quality not quantity in anything you do Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer Stop procrastinating Take control of your own destiny Understand yourself in order to better understand others Visualise it When you lose, don't lose the lesson Xcellence in all your efforts You are unique, nothing can replace you Zero in ... Read Full Story >>

A Five Rupee Formula for Joy

On my way out the building in the morning, I search my pockets for 5 rupee coins. If I have one, I go to the shop downstairs and buy 5 packets of Gems-- an Indian version of M&Ms. There are 3 Gems per packet, giving me 14 chances to make someone smile (there would be 15 but invariably the first Gem ends up in my own mouth!). On the first day, I gave one each to the two youngs sons of my dhobi (washerman), and to the boy who lives in the makeshift shack in front of my building. Their hands were really dirty so I put them straight into their mouths. I thought for a second about giving them an impromptu lesson in hand-washing, but they are too young to understand Hindi and I haven't learned enough Kannada to explain properly. Next time I'll pick up the basics, and use ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers From a Stranger on the Street

I’m a receptionist at a law firm during my gap year before going to university and one of my duties is to take finances down to the bank. As I was walking back from doing the banking today - I was in my own little world and I had a smile on my face. A man jumped out in front of me and stopped in my path so I couldn’t go anywhere.  I was scared at first and didn’t know what to do.  I thought, “Who is this man? What’s the game?” He was a total stranger.   Then from behind his back he pulled out a beautiful bunch of orchids. I didn’t know what to say at first. I was a little in shock…  It’s usually me giving the flowers, or me helping others,  not others helping me. I have never had any stranger  do anything like this to me.  He said, “Please take ... Read Full Story >>

Taking A Moment To Show Some Care

One evening, a friend and I were returning home from college on our bikes. As we were cycling along, we saw an old man sitting on the pavement of the road holding his chest, with his scooter parked beside him. Guessing that he is probably suffering from a chest pain, we parked our bikes and went over to him to ask him if he was alright. He smiled at us through the pain and told us that he had called his son and they were on their way to pick him up. He also said that we were the first people to stop by to make sure he is ok, though that road is a very busy one.

It was just a small act of kindness from our side, but that day I learnt that sometimes a kind word is all it takes to show that you care :)

Turning Fear Into True Compassion

This is a true story that happened to my friend Rekha... Rekha maintains an exercise regime that includes a brisk walk every morning around some gardens in our neighbourhood.  One morning, she was walking earlier then usual, daybreak was only just beginning to set in and it was still relatively dark. As she was walking, a cyclist came up to her, snatched her handbag (containing her keys, phone and credit cards) and sped off with it! She ran after him shouting "thief - thief".  A man further ahead must have heard her, or seen what had happened.  He was washing a car and had a bucket of water with him.  He grabbed the bucket and threw the water on to the cyclist. The cyclist, caught off guard, drove off the pavement and his bike fell over.  The other people in the park rushed over and surrounded him.  My friend Rekha was worried that the people would ... Read Full Story >>

A Chocolate Impulse

I had just sat down on the train and opened a bar of chocolate when a really old looking man (probably around 80) sat down opposite with his huge bags. I nodded hello and smiled at him, and then I suddenly thought, why not offer him a piece of chocolate. So I did, and he was quite surprised but accepted the offer and thanked me in many words.  He said that people wouldn't usually do this and offer something to a stranger - at least that was what I understood, because he was speaking a really difficult dialect, and the train was loud. Then he opened one of his bags and handed me a handful of freshly picked cherries, explaining that he had just picked them in his garden. I learned that he had four trees and had already given away 100kg of cherries this season! His cherries were really lovely, better than ... Read Full Story >>

An Unforgettable Birthday Bracelet

Well, well, well, it's that time of the year again....ITS MY BIRTHDAY! Just like last year something extraordinary happened this year. Last year, I helped a homeless man in Fordham. This year I started going to a  nursing home to visit different people and I came upon a new comer. Usually when a new person arrives at a nursing home, they feel like all hope is gone and they are ready to die.  I try to convince them to keep going. This new comer was a lady... a strong and nice lady. She was very cheerful, and when her daughter brought her to the nursing home she became very unhappy. Everytime I would see her, she would frown at me and say, "Don't even waste your time on me, for I will die pretty soon." That scared and devasted me, but I never gave up on her. She finally got tired of me pushing her to talk to me, and started ... Read Full Story >>

The Smile Card Exchange

About a month ago, while in the drive through at Starbucks, I noticed a woman in a car behind me who appeared to be having a bad day. There were two kids in the back who looked to have too much energy at 8am on a Sunday morning.  The line moved slowly and at one point while pulling forward, the woman behind me bumped my car. I could tell this worried and concerned her. The entire time that I waited in line for my coffee this woman didn't smile. Looking back at her I could tell she was looking at the side view mirror wondering "Why me? Why today?" When I pulled up and paid for my coffee I requested that the Starbucks barista give the woman behind me a Smile Card and paid for her muffin and latte. Just 30 mins ago I was again waiting in line at the Starbucks. I heard a car door ... Read Full Story >>

Unexpected Roses During Challenging Times

I live in a small friendly town. Due to the current challenging times the number of charity shops is almost the same as the number of  " normal" shops.

I am a regular costumer at the local charity shops, lately looking for teddy bears. There are people that I see working there on a regular basis and I think how lovely it is that they always have volunteers to run the shops.

Today I decided to visit each of the charity shops and leave a rose, a 29gifts and a smile card to each of the volunteers working there. Most of them were surprised, one asked if I was selling the roses ( meaning, I hope, they looked good enough to be sold ) and a lady commented that it was a lovely idea.

My next project is to do the same on the villages around my town. One village at a time.

Kindness Rewarded With a Book

I've been handing out smile cards for quite a while now with the singular objective of seeing the person smile and today because of that I won a contest which was very cool!

My daily newspaper ran an article about 'spreading joy', and had a contest at the end of an article asking how people spread joy.  I entered and told them all about 'HelpOthers.org' so people could check it out.  In today's newspaper I saw my name in print, I was one of 4 winners.  I won a book about Joy and Happiness!!

How about that??

A Special Blessing That Lasted A Lifetime

Most of us have a few experiences each day that make us laugh or grin for a short period of time. If we are lucky, we may cross paths with something that makes us grin for a day or two. If we are truly blessed, somewhere on our path we are able to be part of something that will make us grin for the rest of our lives. I need to share such an event with you, with the hope that you would consider a similar project in your community. I am a building contractor from Lynchburg, Virginia. I have been volunteering with Greater Lynchburg Habitat For Humanity since our affiliate started in the late 1980’s. In the past 20 years, I have tried to give more to Habitat than I have received, but it is something I have not been able to accomplish. I have always said that if you look around, ... Read Full Story >>

Giving Away Flowers is Addictive

I love to surprise people. I like to start things with a "bang" and finish them with another "bang" usually related with acts of kindness.

This year on my last meeting as a chair of the PTA, I offered each member of the team a rose and a card.

Though they know me by now I guess I can still surprise them with unusual surprises from time to time.

The other day I gave a chocolate and a smile card to a charity worker, who seemed quite puzzled ...

Today I gave a rose and a card to a lady that I know who has been working very hard.

Giving flowers is lovely, the only danger is that it is highly addictive.

;-)

Moving Creates An Opportunity To Start Giving

Moving away gave me a chance to reflect on my good fortune and it was a wonderful opportunity to give away some of my things.   I’m not rich, but I decided to make sure that what I have an excess off (thanks to the kindness of wonderful friends and family) is passed on to those who really need it.   Once you start, its amazing how much you can do...   1.     I donated some clothes which were still in pretty good condition, which used to belong to my roomate or me (partly inspired by the story of Goonj posted by 'Anju73').  I spent a good deal of time laundering and ironing them I also added some lavender scents :).   I searched for the right place to give them to.  I could have given it to Habitat which is round the corner, but I checked out a great homeless shelter that I had heard about and gave it to them instead.   I popped ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Card Adventures on the Road... in New Zealand!

Last weekend, my sisters, Rebecca and Louisa, and I sing as "The Short Sistars."  We had gone to Hamilton, which is about one and a half hours from my home, for vocal coaching and to record a couple of songs at our cousin's recording studio. On our way Dad stopped at the petrol station and, as all petrol stations are pre-paid now, he went in and paid for our tank of petrol. He took the petrol cap off, we all got distracted and drove off. Ten minutes down the road Dad realized he didn't fill up the entire tank and the petrol cap was probably on the roof of the car when we drove off. So, we needed petrol and had to drive back.  When we got to the station, another car was just leaving after filling up from the same pump that we were at. We thought maybe we would ... Read Full Story >>

The Karma of Giving a Lift and Getting One

About two months ago, I was visiting my hometown and was taking a drive with a friend. We had decided to drive around for no particular reason when suddenly it began to rain. And rain. And rain. We happened across a young man walking down the road and asked if he wanted a ride. He quickly agreed. He stated that he lived about a mile away and was on his way home from work, which he had to walk to since his car had broken down. When we dropped him off, he thanked us generously and stated that it was great to find good people since he had recently moved here from out of state. Fast-forward a month. I was back in the town that I live in and was walking to the campus library about a mile away. It was a particularly hot day and I really didn't feel like walking, ... Read Full Story >>

Community Events For Low-income Kids

I live in a small mobile-home community . The people here have very low incomes. The children have nowhere to go and nothing to do. 

With the help of others in the community, I put on events for the kids and their families throughout the year. In the summer we have "Kids Safety Day ," where we have food, games and prizes and the local police & fire teams join us to talk to the kids. Everyone has a good day!

At Halloween we do a Haunted Forest. I think the adults organizing it probably have more fun then the kids and families here. At Christmas , we get presents for the kids to give to their parents. We pay for all of this by selling candy, having yard sales and taking donations of items from people to raise the money for these events. And that's not all, we do so many other events too!

The best thing about all of this, is to see the happy faces of the kids and their families. We ask for nothing in return except to have fun.

Just Doing The Right Thing

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday when I found a BlackBerry cell phone in a puddle of melted snow.  I picked it up and it still worked!  I started scrolling through the contact list and calling numbers to see if I could figure out whose phone it was.  Unfortunately, only one person answered and she didn't recognize the number that I was calling from.  She made a comment of "It is just so nice that you are trying to find out whose phone it is."  Since that lady didn't know whose phone it was, my friend suggested that we go back to the street and the house that we found the BlackBerry in front of.  I knocked on the door and two college-age people answered.  They hadn't lost their phones, but as I told them the story and mentioned some names on the contact list, the young man said that he had those names ... Read Full Story >>