Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Viewing Life From A Child's Perspective

My 4 ½ yrs old daughter is very fond of making drawings and colorings. One day she patiently drew plenty of different sizes of fish to fill up a while piece of paper and she creatively used many different colors on the fish. On seeing this and to encourage her furthermore, my mother told her:” Wow! That’s really nice and colorful. You have drawn so many fish.” She turned around and replied: “These are not fish. It’s the ocean.” Children have always had a different point of view of things. Sometimes, I wish we could all view things from a child’s perspective. For example if we are asked to draw a picture of the world, how many of us would think to represent it by putting together people from different countries with different languages, cultures and traditions? ... Read Full Story >>

Pay-It-Forward, A Labour of Love

Once a year my Great Aunt Glenna (both in relation and in just plain greatness) gets all the ladies in the family together for a weekend at a cabin set in the woods.  There are no distractions like television or radio.  It is a time to commune with nature and to draw close to one another.  We always have the MOST wonderful time! At the most recent of these get-togethers, I decided it would be a lot of fun to get a smile card going.  I envisioned it would be passed from lady to lady with one kind act after another the whole weekend.  The first morning I put a bag of mini M&M's in my Great Aunt Dorris' shoe related to a precious story she told about her grandson.  It started a string of questions aimed at uncovering the doer of the ANONYMOUS act of kindness.  I was suspect number one but I would never admit to it.  It did ... Read Full Story >>

A Little Package For Helpers In The Community

Recently, Aurelia posted a story on HelpOthers that was about Telephone Book Smiles. I was totally inspired by this! Thanks so much Aurelia for sharing.  I decided to do something similar.  I looked for good news stories in the local newspaper of people helping others in the community. Last weekend, I made lots of handmade Smile Card poems on lovely coloured card (Smiling is contagious you catch it like the flu.....).  I made little packages and placed the poem, smile card and some chocolates inside to send to these wonderful people who are helping others in their community. I so wanted to make these people's day, but in an anonymous way. I wanted to bring a smile to their faces. One story in the newspaper was about an 84 year-old woman still volunteering and helping others in the local community. She had been helping in the community for many years. I was so amazed by this and how someone ... Read Full Story >>

Two Wolves

Two Wolves - A Cherokee Parable An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...   "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."   "One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego."   "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."   "This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."   The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"   The old chief simply replied, "Whichever one you feed."     ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Help Two Stray Dogs

I have a Lhasa Apso dog. Two days ago I bought some new pet food for it which it didn't like! I was angry as the food had been quite expensive. 

In the evening, when I was taking my dog for a walk, I noticed two stray dogs sitting near our gate. When I got back, I took the new pet food out and gave it to them. And believe me - those two dogs really enjoyed the same food.  They lapped it up.  I felt happy and I have decided that I will get some food for those dogs regularly.

After all those dogs are God's creatures and I must take care of them too.

Turning Kindness Into A Habit

Last winter I was going through a rough patch in my life.  I had a bunch of terrible things going on around me. I felt very distant and became quite selfish. I hated the way I was feeling and one day I woke up and told myself, “You are above this, stop feeling sorry for yourself.”   Then, I tried out an experiment, and it has DEFINITELY changed me for the better. Every day I would do at least one act of kindness - It could be anything… Bringing the trash down to the trash compactor for my 80 year old neighbor, Going into the store to buy something for myself (like a bit of makeup) and coming out with something for someone else (like candy for my boyfriend) Sitting down with my sister or a friend and just simply listening. And I can ... Read Full Story >>

Taking The Time To Write a Letter

I wanted to do something similar to what I've read on this site, but nothing I read was exactly what I had in mind. I finally decided to write letters.

I picked a home for the elderly and a near-by cancer center. The first letter I wrote was a thank-you note along with a picture I had taken of a cheery summer flower. It was more of a "thank you" for being here, and staying strong rather than a "thank you" for a tangeble gift. I did a similar thing for the cancer center and left a note with each card asking  for it to be delivered to the person who deserved it the most.

Hopefully something as little as that can touch someone else.

A Treasured Gift For A Young Couple

I met a really nice young couple about a year ago through mutual friends on a social networking site.  They have just adopted a baby girl.  This is a beautiful gift to the world on its own, but what makes it even more special is how many hoops they jumped through and how much time and money they spent to get to that stage. I was going through some boxes from my mother’s house (she passed away at Christmas time in 2007) and I found some beautiful vintage baby dresses. So I thought, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if I sent some of this lovely vintage clothing to the couple for their adopted baby?  I knew they would love it.  This was truly a gift from the heart; I had planned on saving those for my daughter if I had one someday.  But, given that my husband died before we had any children, ... Read Full Story >>

A Random Act of Kindness Fulfill's a Wish

I was reading through some of the wishes on the wishuponahero website today. 

I saw one wish from a 27 year old woman for some scarves.  She has inoperable cancer and will have to have chemotherapy for the rest of her life. 

She has a little child of 5 years old and she is so content with her life.  She enjoys helping others.  She really is an earth angel.

I looked on ebay and found some really pretty scarves, as soon as they arrive I am going to send them to her.

This lady has touched my heart so deeply.

Random Acts Of Kindness Day - Feb 17th

When A Kind Act "Just Feels Right"

I was at the bus stop with my teenage son and daughter yesterday. We were on our way home from the summer fair at the children’s hospice. 

Extra Special Birthday Kindness For A Deserving Friend

Today was my friend's birthday.  My friend is such a kind and sincere person and he had recently told me about how when he was growing up his parents often forgot his birthday and it just silently passed without candles or hats or parties.  So this year, I decided to make it a special day for him.

I cleaned up his house, including taking out what seemed like weeks of piled up trash.  I then decorated it with candles and flower arrangements. 

I bought some cupcakes which I have seen him drool over but never buy because of his bank balance and cooked him dinner and called some friends.

Finally, I made a banner which read "Thanks for sharing your wisdom, humor, kindness, and compassion!".

This was my chance to make him happy and he was absolutely overjoyed.

Offering More Love, Less Fear

I'm sort of new to this small acts of kindness game, so I'm not sure how people feel about picking up hitchhikers. I've always felt that as long as you don't put your self in a completely unsafe position, it is an OK thing to do. But I'd never done it before until this week. It was about 9pm and I was walking in my school's campus from my office to my car. On the way, I ran into an fellow who was obviously lost. He asked me for directions, saying he needed to get to East Palo Alto. But the problem was he was walking in the complete opposite direction! I pointed him in the correct direction, but warned him it was a long ways off. He didn't speak English very well, and generally seemed disoriented. I quickly felt like helping him. Though he was a big guy, the vibe I ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson Learned From Helping Out

I had the chance to help someone out again today.  Lucky me. I had been in town doing some bank stuff. It had all gone smoothly and I was waiting at a town centre bus stop, about to head home. Then I heard someone say: “Hello? Is anyone there?” “Jack” and “Jill” are an older blind couple. I’ve seen them around town for a lot of years and they don’t seem to have any problems getting about. They walk in a little convoy. Jack and his dog to the fore and Jill and her dog following. When they let the dogs off to run around the park they attach little bells to them to keep an ear on where they are. They have it under control. But I’m sure they also know where the danger spots are! And this was one. The pavement narrows at this point. It’s beside a busy road and ... Read Full Story >>

Pay-It-Forward Chain Reaction at a Restaurant

My four grown children were all home visiting this weekend so we decided to go out for brunch.  The centre of attention was my toddler granddaughter.  She had never had pancakes before so we were excited about her trying them. We always try to make our family meals special so this time we decided to order every kind of pancake they had and asked that they be served on one big family-style platter! We each took turns digging in and also feeding it to the baby, who loved them.  There was a lovely environment at the table and lots of smiles.  As I was looking around the table, enjoying this wonderful scene, a gentleman at a nearby table caught my eye.  He was eating his breakfast alone quietly, in the corner.  He frequently looked over and smiled as my granddaughter continued to entertain us all.  Suddenly, I had a great idea. I dug ... Read Full Story >>

A Street Corner Conversation Using My Heart

It was a nice day today, so I rolled down my window as I was driving around with the window rolled down.  As I pulled up at some lights, I met a man who was down on his luck at a street corner.

I pulled out some loose change and held it out to him.  When he came over, I looked in his eyes and asked him how he was doing.  He asked me where I was from and when I told him he proceeded to tell me a story about his life and career in various places, including the place that I was from.

I smiled and listened and it was a good feeling to just listen to him.  Then the light changed and we said goodbye/take care and I drove off smiling. 

On the way home, I couldn't stop thinking about this interaction---how I was totally *present* in the moment while it happened and how my intention was just to *be there*.

An Act Of Kindness That Triggers Another One

Every summer my family goes to the Ontario Place for a day trip.  Before we go, I always look online to see if there are any coupons, as the entrance fee is quite pricey. 

The last time we went, I printed off some extra coupons and gave them to a couple of families waiting in line.  I purposely choose a large family of people and another that  were obviously visitors to Canada.  

Needless to say both families were ever so grateful as it cut their costs in half.  One of them even offered to buy us ice-cream once inside...proof that a random act of kindness does in fact encourage others to do the same!

A Night With The Homeless

A Night With The Homeless by: Ellis Moore (Age 10)   Every Saturday or Sunday night my family and I go out and feed the homeless people in the city of Orlando. There are thousands of people across The United States without any food or shelter. My family and I have been doing this for several months.   We wanted to see what it was like in the life of a homeless person.  One special thing I like to mention is, my family and I do not eat before we begin our journey so we know how it feels to be hungry. All of the areas we go to are very dangerous. We go on streets such as, Orange blossom trail, Parramore, Gore street, Colonial Dr, and down town Orlando.   We all get together in the kitchen and prepare the food. Some of the meals are sandwiches and cookies and a bottle of water. ... Read Full Story >>

The Little Things

The Little Things It really is the little things That mean the most of all The "let me help you with that" things That may seem very small The "I'll be glad to do it" things That make your cares much lighter, The ... Read Full Story >>

Finding Happiness Through Helping Others

I have just found that a small article I wrote about this site, and my own experience of it, has been published on the letters page of a UK magazine.  The magazine is called 'Natural Health'.  I was so shocked when I saw it there. If it interests just one person, then that would be fantastic! Here is the article: Finding Happiness I want to share how my life has changed for the better: I thought happiness came from buying a new dress or lipstick, but no sooner had I bought one thing than I wanted something else.  Life felt like I was forever seeking something, but never finding it.  Then, one afternoon, I was at my computer and I remembered a postcard called 'Random Acts of Kindness'.  I typed 'acts of kindness' into the search engine and found a site called 'helpothers.org'.  This was the beginning of my journey into happiness. The site is ... Read Full Story >>