Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Finding Any Opportunity To Be Helpful

Today at work I was in the kitchen preparing some food for the 'Birthday Luncheon'.  I had a busy morning running around but once everything was in the oven I had a few spare moments whilst it was baking. I decided to go to the administration office and see if I could help them with anything while I was waiting – I know they had been very busy.   Sure enough, they needed help folding letters and stuffing them into envelopes. I sat down and starting folding away. I was quite amazed at how many letters I had folded and stuffed before the oven timer rang telling me the food was ready.    The ladies were very appreciative  to me for helping them get their boring job done more quickly.  It didn’t feel like a boring job to me, it felt great to help out...every little bit counts!         ... Read Full Story >>

Bobby's Dime

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend." Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be ... Read Full Story >>

A Cancer Victim Gives Lessons in Kindness

Life is too short and despite all the different problems people face, they can find happiness in the virtue of kindness. I would like to share an experience related to this. 

One of my close friends was suffering from cancer and was admitted to a hospital in town. It was shocking that he was affected by the killer disease. He was dejected initially, then his attitude was awesome.  He shows kindness to everyone around him. He never gets irritable. He was the one who inspired me to show kindness to all. 

At the ward in the hospital it was a pitiful sight  to see the children and adults suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment. I was dumbstruck at the bond they shared. They were very kind to each other.  

At this sight  my mind was jumping around to understand. Is this Love? Is this called Care?  Finally I could hear a voice from the bottom of my heart which was so true and serene. It told me this was "kindness."   Everyone  is benefited by this "magic" word. Thus, the value of kindness has no bounds.

The Gift of a Thank You

Not long ago, I was out at the mall, buying a gift for one of my younger friends. I stopoped by Claire's to find something for her. As I was glancing at items, I noticed a little girl around 8 or 9 yrs of age walk in, we were both looking at these cute little mini lip gloss boxes that had a picture in the front: one had penguins, dogs, cats, lots of cute pictures. She started thinking out loud, saying: "They're so cute!" I told her pointing at a box, "Did you see this one? It's super cute, too!" She was just delighted! She said to herself in a soft voice, "I wish I had money to get one." I heard her and I couldn't just leave the store, so I asked her, "Which one did you like the most?" She pointed to the pink box with puppies on the cover. I said, "Ok, ... Read Full Story >>

Finding An Opportunity to Help By Being Conscious of Others

On my way home, I had to stop at an auto shop to have something checked out. While pulling into the driveway of the auto shop - I noticed a woman out of the corner of my eye, she had a cell phone in hand and she looked pretty frustrated. I saw her wave at a cab going by but it just drove past. She then walked over into the shop to find out the address of where we were and then went back outside to make another call - I presumed to call a cab. This wasn't an area with a lot of cabs. When I left the shop some time later, she was still on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street, presumably for the cab that she had called. I asked if I could give her a ride somewhere. She looked relieved and told me where she was going. It wasn't on my ... Read Full Story >>

A Circle of Compassion and Consideration

I have recently got into a habit of catching up with my parents while I'm walking to the grocery store to buy my weekly food stuffs.  It takes about 10-12 minutes and I figure its a good time to talk.  The only thing is, I always end the conversation as I arrive at the grocery store.  It always seemed like my parents wanted to keep talking, but I wouldn't have it.  I'd just say "alright, I'm here, we'll talk later".  A couple of weeks ago when I said this, my dad was a bit annoyed and said "why don't you just wait a bit?", and so I waited outside and continued the conversation.  When it was over, I realized (quite late) that I was operating in too much of a me-centric world to see that my parents wanted to connect more.  Since then, I'll still call on my way to the grocery store, but now once ... Read Full Story >>

A Grocery Store ‘Tag’ Team

A few weeks ago I went grocery shopping with a wonderful friend. She had a handful of spare quarters in her handbag so the two of us decided to put them to some ‘good’ use. 

Finding Happiness By Giving It To Others

A young lady complained to her counselor that she felt that her whole life was empty and had no meaning to her. The counselor saw an old lady who cleaned the office floors and called her over.  She told the young lady that this old cleaning lady was happy and asked her to explain how she had found that happiness. The old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: "Well, some time back, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I was devastated.  I had nobody... I had nothing left... I could not sleep... I could not eat and I never smiled at anyone. I even thought of taking my own life." Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten ... Read Full Story >>

A Bus Ride, A Teddy Bear and a Happy Child

I take the buses and trains on my commute here in Los Angeles and I come in contact with all sorts of people.   I often purchase things from our local Goodwill store and the like - even before the economic downturn.  One time as I was walking past, I saw a stuffed bear and I simply couldn’t resist, so I indulged my inner child and bought it for a dollar or two.  I jumped on the bus after I had bought my bear.  I was sitting near , a mother who was trying to calm her small baby. The darling boy was probably just hungry or tired, or any of the other moods we display.  His outbursts were beginning to get the better of the other passengers, who were probably equally tired/hungry etc.   I pulled out my stuffed bear and asked the mom if I could offer it to her child ... Read Full Story >>

Walking a Mile in a Homeless Man's Shoes

This was a wonderful experience. It happened about three years ago and it has had a strong impact on me. I would like to pay tribute here to two men I do not know personally but whose actions gave a new meaning to the words kindness and generosity. I was walking down a busy street in the financial district on a cold, windy day in early winter. A barefoot homeless man, probably about 60, was begging for change on a street corner. A BMW pulled up on the other side of the street and stopped and an immaculately dressed executive stepped out of the car.  He was a tall, slim and imposing gentleman with silver harid, he was probably about 60 yrs old.  He was wearing a blue pinstriped business suit, deep red silk tie, white shirt, mirror-shined black shoes,  silver wristwatch, black overcoat, leather gloves, the works. Dapper, dignified, distinguished. He walked briskly and puposefully across the street ... Read Full Story >>

A Covert And Spontaneous 'Tag'

I arrived at the Embarcadero station in San Francisco and realized that all I had was a $5 bill, and that I would need to get some change to pay my Muni fare. I saw  a café nearby and thought I could buy something small in there and break my $5 bill.  I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I bought a muffin anyway to get some change.  I then had a thought – I could ‘tag’ someone with the muffin.  So as I waited for the Muni streetcar, I was then on the lookout for an opportunity to "tag" someone who was homeless or looked hungry.  I scanned Market Street and did not see anyone, so I walked a little further down.  Suddenly, a fairly fast moving homeless man pushing a shopping cart filled with his belongings caught my eye across the street.  I also saw my Muni streetcar was coming, so I'd have to ... Read Full Story >>

Making a Difference by Just Saying 'I Love You'

It may not seem like much, but it made such a difference. This morning I told my mum I loved her just because I wanted to.  It was so unexpected that she has been in a good mood all day. That one little comment made her so happy that I think everyone should tell those closest to them that they are loved every day

A Supermarket Checkout Operator with a Special Touch

I had posted an earlier story about a supermarket checkout operator who had risked her job to help an old man find his wife’s favourite talc.  Well, I was in her queue again today. In front of us were a woman and her young (maybe around 10 year old) daughter. As part of their shopping they were buying a DVD which had to be brought from elsewhere in the shop.   While the chechkout operator was scanning and bagging the rest of the shopping she chatted with the mother about Easter eggs, grandkids and other stuff.   I just happened to be looking at the daughter when another member of staff brought her the DVD. The girl’s face really lit up with delight and appreciation. Sad to say, it’s not a sight you see so often.   When it came my turn to be served I commented on the girl’s obvious happiness with her DVD. “She has ... Read Full Story >>

Parents Are Precious

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents. My parents left for our native land on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to ensure he experienced his first flight. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways.  The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself for that day. We all went to the airport and eagerly enjoyed the ... Read Full Story >>

Adding A Little Sweetness To A Stranger's Day

Once a month on a Saturday morning I go to a local grocery store with some other people to ‘tag’ people with cookies. 

We set up in the parking lot and then we randomly choose people who are there to do their grocery shopping to ‘tag’. We give them two boxes of a dozen cookies each. We tell them that one of the boxes is for them and the other box is for them to pass on to someone else who might they think might like to receive a little bit of brightening in their day. We get a range of reactions varying from, "no I don't know anyone to give them to" or "I know just who to give them to!”

Each time I do this, I am reminded that there are people everywhere who may just need some sweetness in their day. It really motivates me to ‘step out of my box’ and do something that I may not have thought of doing or would have been to shy to do otherwise.

A Smile Campaign

Two days ago I decided I was going to embark on a campaign to get people to smile some more. I started by putting together my ‘tool kit’.  This consisted of juggling balls, a magic trick, some bits and pieces to hand out and lots of jokes that I had dug up.  Once my ‘tool kit’ was done I was ready to start my campaign.    I went out and approached random strangers.  I would say, "Hi! I'm on a campaign to get people to smile. Do you have a few seconds?” Many people were intrigued and would stop to see what was next. I would then use one of the ‘tools’ from the kit depending on what I thought would work best with each person or group.  I managed to get some nice big grins!   Then to finish off, the most important part - I would give them a ‘smile card’ ... Read Full Story >>

Home Is, Where Again?

This economy has really got a lot of people moving and not always by a choice they wanted to make.  My wife and I now find ourselves among those unfortunates feeling that pressure. You see, at the end of last year, our counseling and consulting clientele just dried up.  Having been self-employed meant not being eligible for unemployment assistance.  As we did the math looking at retirement savings that was half-gone and quickly draining away, we had to make the painful decision to close up our office and put our house up for sale.  We haven’t lived in the house for two years yet and figured it would be the last one for a long time.  How quickly this world economic mess is changing our lives! As I get older, I find moving less adventurous and more burdensome.  It’s not just the strain on my body that bothers me as much as ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Lady Finds A Way To Express Her Gratitude

Four of my neighbors are quite old, they are in the 80’s and 90’s.   Last year at Easter I spontaneously decided to give them each a nice bouquet of flowers. I hoped it would brighten their day and put a little smile on their faces. It did a lot more than that – it made them so happy! Every time I see them now they always remember the bouquets and thank me! Yesterday I finally got around to sweeping my front steps. As I was sweeping, I saw one of my elderly neighbors come out with her broom too. I thought she was going to sweep her steps and was going about to tell her not to worry about it and that I would do it when I was done with mine. But instead, she came over and told me that she was going to sweep my steps and that she had in fact been doing that ... Read Full Story >>

Filled by a Daughter's Love

While getting ready for school today, my 16-year-old daughter made a point of coming into my room to give me a big hug and kiss. When I asked her the proverbial question, "What do you want?" she replied, "Nothing momma. You always tell us to have a good day before we leave the house, but I was thinking about who tells you to have a good day and lets you know how much you are loved." I am so touched by the capacity of love and understanding that comes from my children. My 15-year-old son asked me last night if there was a way for him to get a summer job this year in order to help us pay our bills. Unfortunately, in our area, he must be 16.  When telling him "no," he said that was ok because he had a lawn mower and as long as the grass grows, he ... Read Full Story >>

Giving And Receiving Kindness On The Same Day

Several years ago while living in Pittsburgh, PA my husband and I decided to buy a new couch.  We put the old one in the truck to take to the GoodWill.

On the way, we came upon a woman with a flat tire.  She had just come upon part of the bridge system so her vehicle was against a high wall just a few feet away from rushing traffic.

We stopped.  She and I stood so traffic would not hit my husband as he changed the tire.  She offered us some money as he put her flat back into her vehicle.  We told her to give it to the Salvation Army and went on our way.

We took the couch to the donation site, drove up to purchase our new couch and were attempting to move the (much heavier) couch into the house.  An off-duty volunteer fireman saw us struggling in the house with it and helped us.

None of us knew each other that day but I'm sure we made each others' day!