Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Kindness At Second Sight

I watched a wonderful act of kindess today and also learned a very valuable lesson myself. My daughter has been ice skating for 2 years and throughout those years, during the 'Open Skate' session, I often noticed one particular teenage boy at the rink. He always seemed to skating quite obnoxiously. I learned he was on the skating rink's prime hockey team. Then reading flyers and announcements, I found out he was actually the 'star' member of the team and thought to myself: "That figures..." I  continued to view his aggressive behavior coupled with a sense of arrogance throughout this time. Tonight, my daughter began her first session assisting with the 'special needs skaters'. (I am soooo proud of her!) Imagine my surprise to see this boy there, helping out, as well. After talking with the advisor, she pointed out to me how proud she was of that particular boy - because he has been helping out with that program for 3 years.  She said he is her most dedicated ... Read Full Story >>

A Creative Way to Teach My Children an Important Lesson

I have two sons who are 5 and 3 years old.  They love to take walks outside and one of the walks we often do is along a cycle path through some fields. This path eventually leads to the local high school, so  there is always some litter scattered on the sides, even though the city's cleaning squad sometimes tidies it up.   One day an idea occurred to me, I decided to show my children that we could do something to make a difference.  The next day, we took a plastic bag and some rubber gloves with us and the children and I collected whatever litter we found on our way. My sons had so much fun, since at that age they love picking up things from the ground (and with the rubber gloves I did not need to be scared they would catch something) and it was a creative ... Read Full Story >>

Smiling with a Purpose in the Workplace

   Ever since I found this website and joined your wonderful group of 'SMILERS', I have realized the true power of a Smile.  Earlier, I used to smile a lot, (thankfully smiling has always come very easily to me), but after I joined this website, it has added a new meaning, and now when I smile, there is a purpose – to spread happiness - to keep on smiling until I receive a smile back. It so happens that I work in an ‘analyst department’ where the members are always ploughing away at their work quite seriously, clicking the mouse, typing in the numbers, searching the net... you know how it is.  Prior, to my joining the team there was always a loud silence, broken only by hushed whispers, mouse clicks or keyboard sounds.  But today, I must confess after more than six months of “smiling with a purpose”, I can see ... Read Full Story >>

Receiving a Call From My Step-Son's Lost Cell Phone

As I sat down to dinner yesterday the phone rang. It was a child's voice on the other end that I didn't recognise. He explained that they had found the phone he was calling me on. They had looked up "Home" in the contacts file and so they were phoning the number that turned out to be me. From their description I recognised my step-son's phone. He'd left it at the football pitch where he'd been playing. I asked them to wait a few minutes, put my dinner in the oven, and headed over to the location they had given me.  When I arrived I saw a group of five children, aged about 7-9 years old. They came running over to meet me and were just charming and well-spoken kids. They told me how and where they'd found the phone. They also told me some bigger kids had tried to take it but they hadn't let ... Read Full Story >>

Turning Their Trash Into Our Treasure

Expert yard sale shoppers often say, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” Our yard sale was a couple of weeks ago and we were blessed to have lots of friends donate lots of things. On “Sale Saturday,” I opened the garage door at 5:30 a.m. to start moving the empty tables out so I could fill them with merchandise. I listened for Marcy on the monitor until Kara arrived at 8:00 a.m. to watch Marcy so I could be free to care for customers shopping the yard sale. By then I had everything out and organized and had already sold half a dozen things. We had a steady stream of people all day.   Things started slowing down around 1:00 p.m. or so.  I'm guessing we sold a little over half the stuff we had available for sale. Marcy wanted to keep leftovers to put them in future yard sales, so I packed them ... Read Full Story >>

The Universe Provides Us With What We Need

Last night, I was about to pull out of the parking lot at the dojo where I study Aikido when I noticed a hitchhiker who was having no luck getting a ride.  I know that picking up a hitchhiker can be a dangerous endeavor but I have a hard time not doing so, as they may have a sincere need to reach their destination.  I rolled down my window and beckoned the man to my car.  I asked him where he was heading and he told me that he needed a ride to his doctors office which closed in 15 minutes.  I told him to hop in and he gratefully obliged.  Once he got in he continued with his story, telling me that the person who was supposed to give him a ride had a stroke earlier in the day (maybe I'm just gullible but he seemed sincere).  He continued to ... Read Full Story >>

The Happiness Pandemic: HP101

The 'WWO' (World-Wellness-Organisation) foresees billions of people becoming infected within the coming decade! Here are the most prominent symptoms of this wonderful enlivening 'disease': 1). The tendency to let yourself be guided by intuition instead of acting under pressure of fear, forced ideas and pre-conditioned behaviour. 2). A total loss of interest in:- judging others, convicting yourself and preoccupation with things that create conflict. 3). A complete loss of the capacity to worry: This is one of the most serious symptoms! 4). A continual pleasure in appreciating humans and things the way they are, which weakens one's tendency to want to 'change' others. 5). The desire to change oneself so that innate thoughts, feelings, emotions and bodily matters are managed in ways that facilitate only Health, Creativity and Love. 6). Repetitive attacks of smiling - a smile that says THANK YOU and stimulates being at-one with all those around. 7). ... Read Full Story >>

Beauty Tips for Your Soul

Here are a few primping tips to increase the beauty of your soul: A dear old lady was ... Read Full Story >>

Being "Present" and Spreading Smiles on the Train

I'm smiling happily and brightly, feeling grateful, standing in a packed local transit train during the afternoon rush hour in San Francisco.  Looking around, I notice that everyone looks so heavy and somber.  Then I say lightly and with a smile, "Everyone looks so serious."  Several people nearby look at me blankly, and one person smiles.  Then I say "Come on guys, this is San Francisco!"  Suddenly a few more smiles.  Someone who looked very somber moments before smiles and says, "It's worse in New York."  Another person smiles and says, "It's worse on the BART train (another transit service in San Francisco) too."  Then I smile even bigger and say in a light tone, talking excitedly, "Well, I don't know much about that, but we gotta redouble our happiness."  Suddenly everyone smiles as we approach the next stop.  A few moments later, someone says, "Well, let's go out and spread ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Pregnant Lady

Two weeks back, one fine Sunday morning, I was awoken by a strange murmuring sound outside my house. I went out to check it out to see where the sound was coming from. To my surprise, I found a lady who was preganant just a couple of steps from my home. It appeared that she has lost her balance and slipped.  As it was Sunday, nobody was walking near by and she was helpless. The pregnant lady was losing her consicous slowly and murmuring as she was unable to get up. I felt stunned and helped her by taking her in my car to the nearby hospital. She was given treatment and was slowly getting back her consicousness. She looked at me in thankfulness and gave me her husband's number who was in home. I called her husband and informed him about what had happened and he rushed to the hospital. Everything was fine and I gave ... Read Full Story >>

Heartprints

No Better Time Than Now To Be Happy

"We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we're frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that ... Read Full Story >>

Finding the Courage to Smile

I was at a coffee shop last night where there was a wonderful folk music performance. I was busy tapping my feet and singing along to the soothing beats! As I got up to get a cup of coffee and a cookie, I noticed this middle-aged woman near me. She had obviously been caught in a fire of some sort. Her face was severely burned that it looked very tight.  She barely had a nose and her eyes were extremely tiny.  I took a deep breath and went back to my seat. I thought about how brave she was to come out and appear in public. I also felt ashamed of myself for mildly shuddering and looking down while I headed back to my seat, unable to send even a feeble smile her way. As I sipped my coffee and ate my cookie, I just kept thinking endlessly about whether I should ignore this ... Read Full Story >>

A Rush of Positive Energy from Sending Out Smiles

I volunteered to send out smile cards.  My parcel with the smile cards and the other items to put in the envelopes came today.  As soon as I opened the box I started putting the envelopes together, before I knew it I had already done 100 of them. :)

I then logged on and got the 10 names of the people I would be sending them to and mailed them off... I was so excited I was hoping id have more than just 10 to send...

After I left the post office I had a rush of positive energy within myself that I havent felt in a long time.  Sending those cards has made me feel better about myself! I

Pay-It-Forward $20 Tip For An Airport Shuttle Driver

After an inspired weekend with some kindred spirits, I stepped into the airport shuttle.  The shuttle driver offered me two seat options: the shot-gun seat or the seat way in the back of the van.  I said, "You know what, I'm going to take the back seat.   Perhaps the next passenger can enjoy the front seat."  Instantly, he did a double take and smiled.  As I got in, he made a public announcement to the four others already in the van: "This man took the back seat just so someone else could have the front.  What a nice guy!"  Then, he looked at me and said, "Welcome aboard, Sir."  It turns out that John, our driver, has been a long-time native to Santa Fe.  His ancestors, dating back to 1800s, were all based in the Native American communities locally.  "Yeah, I could tell you anything about Santa Fe," he joked ... Read Full Story >>

Franklin's City Employees Find An Extra Way To Help

A new friend, a city insider, recently forwarded a segment of an email sent by Franklin's 'City Administrator': “I thought it would be nice to share with you how our employees are helping a family that is experiencing tough times and struggling to feed four children ages 3-16. Jennifer Woods, in purchasing sent an e-mail to her co-workers about a family struggling during this time in our economy. The staff in Utility Billing immediately stepped up to buy 2 carloads of groceries, Easter baskets and clothes for the kids. “Our Building Maintenance staff also donated $250.00 and groceries. More food and money were also donated from Solid Waste and from the Franklin Police department." According to Jennifer, the mother of the family called the City of Franklin employees ‘her angels and heroes.’ “We are proud of our staff and their giving spirit. This is a true example of excellence, innovation, teamwork, integrity and being action oriented." “Thanks to all of ... Read Full Story >>

24 Hours of Non-Stop Kindness

I had titled the event “24 hours of kindness.” The goal was simple: to stay out for a full twenty-four hours without sleep, performing as many acts of kindness as possible. Thanks to our local radio station, Coast 93.1, and the support of Tim Wright and Eva Matteson, (two of the most kindhearted DJs you’ll ever meet) all of southern Maine now knew about The Kindness Center’s crazy event. Now known as “The Kindness Guy,” this was my first attempt at something this big. The local and even national media buzz was incredible. Since 9:00 that morning, two of my kindness cronies and I had been all over town delivering free baked goods to nursing homes and schools, buying coffee for strangers, giving out hugs, moving furniture, giving free city bus rides and completely flooding the town with a rainbow of flowers and balloons. Since it was April 15th, “tax ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Help Someone Like My Mother

I was visiting a friend in Delhi yesterday, together we went to visit a temple. While my friend was parking the car outside the temple, I saw an old woman asking for money from the people in the car next to ours. They ignored her, the car just pulled out of parking and drove off. I took out some money to give her. When I got off the car, I saw that the woman was using a walker support to help her walk and she looked quite troubled.  I went up to her and asked what her problem was. She said that she needed money to get to the hospital. I patted her on the shoulder and gave her enough money so that she could hire a rickshaw and go comfortably instead of taking public transport, which can be very bad in India. When we returned from the temple, she again walked up to us with ... Read Full Story >>

Caring for a Lost Little Dog

One morning last week, I was waiting at the bus stop ready to catch my bus to work when all of a sudden I was shocked to see a big lorry hit a small little dog.  I looked around but no one was around to look after the small dog. No one came for it and it was just lying there hurt – it was whimpering and its legs were bleeding.     I was very worried so I ran across the road to the small dog. I picked it up and took it to veterinarian that I knew nearby.   Once the vet had bandaged the small dog up, I took it to the animal shelter and left the dog with them.    Every evening since then I have been to the animal shelter to visit the small dog and give the animal shelter some money for it.   Everyday I go visit makes me very happy. I am so ... Read Full Story >>

The Lady Who Adopted Our Hearts

Mamá Inés [a fondly way to call Ms. Inés, in Mexico Mamá=Mom] was a humble woman with little "formal education". She suffered the very rare Addison’s Disease, which attacks at a rate of one per hundred thousand inhabitants. People suffer from constant fatigue, stomach problems and nausea. Their skin begins to tarnish, they get very dark and sometimes have black spots. Patients become very irritable and suffer from sudden changes in mood. During the time I met her, I could not perceive any of these symptoms. She was restless, always serving and giving something needed when she had it, if not, she found it and give it away. She was continuously giving herself away to the community. She was the adoptive mother of a dear friend of mine. Mama Ines never married nor had children of her own, although she was the best mother of the children she took. I think, Mama ... Read Full Story >>