Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Simple Act of Patience

Recently we've had a popular department store open in our area.  It's been the talk of the town for months!!  On about the third day of the grand opening, I thought I'd stop by to check it out.  I noticed right away that the parking area was extrememly busy.  As I was about to exit my car, a lady was about to enter her car to leave.  She was parked on the opposite side of me and there was a four way stop behind our parking areas.  As the lady tried to back out to leave,  some of the shoppers were extremely rude to her!!  They yelled and beeped their horns at the lady and she had a look of terror on her face.  She looked at me and threw up both of her hands as if she didn't know what to do. I gestured for the lady to put her ... Read Full Story >>

Circle of Support for an Elderly Neighbor

A few years ago, I met an older gentleman while I was out walking dogs.  His dog was always out in his front yard so we got to know one another as I would pass by.  At the time, his wife was undergoing dialysis at the end of a lifetime of diabletes and I offered to care for his dog on the days he had to take his wife to the doctor.  That became a regular thing and eventually, when his wife passed away, we had become friends. This man had no children or close relatives and did not know his neighbors well.  Consequently, the loss of his wife hit him even harder than this kind of tragedy ordinarily would have.  Since my work hours were (and are) very very long, I could only spend a little time with him, so I started talking to his neighbors when I would see them ... Read Full Story >>

Rescuing a Little White Kitten

Sometime during 2003 winter, while we were driving back home late at night, my boyfriend and I were on a rocky road, going up a hill.  We were having quite an argument and the mood in the car was pretty tense.  We were both angry and he was almost losing his temper, when suddenly he stopped the car in the middle of the road. As usual we had an electricity cut and it was pretty dark all around.  I thought it was going to get bad, because of what I had said.  He opened the door and climbed out of the car.  At this point, I didn't know what to do and think.  Next thing I knew, he went to the front of the car and kneeled.  When he got up, he had a little white kitten in his hands!  The kitten was so tiny, wet and shaking from the cold. I was ... Read Full Story >>

Call Centre Operators Doing Their Best

We all hate call centres. Right? Me too. Recently we changed our internet provider. There were the usual set up problems and I called the helpline. Someone in India told me, in my living room in the UK, how to get the computer to work. I changed my bank account at the same time and had to re-direct Child Benefit payments. I phoned a big government department and a woman there dealt whith my problem in seconds - and even fixed a problem I didn't know I had. My daughter has a Bebo page (a friends chat site) and some twisted soul hacked into it, putting inapropriate contents on it. Luckily she told me and we were able to hide it but not delete it. I phoned someone in California(!) who told me it would be fixed, but it might take a week. Today, I checked the Bebo page and, without any further ... Read Full Story >>

Surprise Flowers to Brighten My Day

I seemed to have caught the winter time blues like a lot of my friends and family.  Trying to jerk myself out of it, I spring cleaned a bit around the apartment and put a lime green table cloth on the dining room table to brighten things up as well as my mood. I found some paper napkins that had bright and colorful butterflies on them and placed them in the middle of the table as there are many meals shared here.

I went to pick up my husband from work and he put the biggest smile on my face when he handed me a bouquet of spring flowers from the flower shop at the store he works at.  I placed them on the table as well.  He told me one of his co-workers claimed to have seen a robin hopping about.  My day brightened up sooo much! I wouldn't trade my husband  for anything -- no matter how much Mel Gibson begged me!! :)

A Timeless Gift

Every day I pass by a homeless man on the street near where I attend college.  He tells me 'hello'  in a cheerful manner, and I always say it back.  I give him any extra change I have.  He always wears a watch.  Not an expensive watch by any means, but it serves its purpose.  One day I noticed he wasn't wearing it anymore.  I asked him why and he looked down and told me that the battery had died so he threw it away.  I knew he couldn't afford a new battery and he certainly couldn't afford a new watch.  He stayed on my mind all day, and I knew what I had to do.  I went out and bought him a watch.  Not an expensive one, but one that was very similar to the one he had.     When I saw him the next day, he was smiling and cheerful ... Read Full Story >>

12 Cents Short

I just experienced a moment that turned my entire day around, and had to tell all of you about it! I went to the cafeteria today to purchase my lunch, a fairly routine activity for me. But, today was different. I entered the line, ready to purchase my lunch. However, when I reached the cashier, I realized that I did not have a debit or credit card with me. So, I dug through different sections of my bag, looking for loose change. After a while, it became clear that, while I found most of the money I needed, I was still too short to make my purchase. I started looking around for people who may respond nicely to a request for a small amount of change. I thought about all the times we pass people on the street and say that we don't have anything to share. Would that happen to ... Read Full Story >>

A Boxful of Kindness

Me and my friend wanted to do something nice for someone who we think deserves it. And so we came up with this wonderfull idea.

There is this homeless guy who stands outside of the supermarket all the time. Everytime I walk by he is always smiling and helping people with their groceries, in exchange of some pocketchange.  My friend and I think that it is just amazing, that the person who has the most reasons to be upset, is the one with the biggest smile on his face, so we wanted to do something nice for him.

We filled this big box with shower gel, drinks, chocolate, socks, a scarf, etc. It was very important to us that the box was not filled with things you NEED to survive, but with things that make you happy and things a homeless person couldn't afford.

We gave him the box, and he loved it!  He was really touched by this.

Giving a Lift to a Nurse

Walking alongside a  lady in her late 20's on my way to work the other day, I asked her to join me and catch the micro-bus to the city centre.  She was coming from an all-night shift and told me she was a Nurse Assistant. She told me that  she walks into town as she cannot afford the fare.  When I thought about it, I realized that meant she had to walk 10kms!

I quickly told her that I would pay her fare. She was very amazed and grateful .So, we waited for the bus  to pick us up and fortunately a friend  of mine  stopped and gave us a free lift, so I didn't even have to pay for her or myself.

When we got into the city centre my friend dropped us off. The lady said thank you to me and said may your act of kindness be trebled too ... i shared a tear of joy and felt very happy, very happy inside me ... I never felt this way before.

A Tribute to You

Here is to sharing a piece that celebrates you: "You deserve to be credited for defying the opinions and expectations of many of the people around you. When they said that it couldn't be done, you would not hear. You set your goals on something that only you seemed to see, and you refused to back down until your dream was realized. The course you chose was demanding and difficult. I saw you in the middle of situations that required both courage and sacrifice in order to achieve the greater end. The scars you've earned are really the marks of a true hero, and I want to let you know how proud I am to know you. Seeing you set your goal and gather the courage it took to face the disbelief of others, to struggle and forge your way to a new horizon, has been an inspiration to me. Your growth has ... Read Full Story >>

Tiny Seeds of Love

If seeds could think the one that fell into the builder's yard must have thought itself really unlucky! It had drifted down through chain link fencing, perhaps rolling off angle iron struts. Eventually it landed on the rubble and rubbish strewn soil - under two discarded metal gates, each of which would have needed two strong men to put them there. What chance did it have? What could grow under all that iron and debris? It should have given up. Instead it tried. It grew. A little shoot not big enough to move any of the rubbish around it, so it grew around it. But surely those great heavy gates would stop its efforts coming to anything. So it grew some more. It found spaces, grew through them, grew around them, and joined up on the other side of them. It kept going. Now there's a twelve foot tree in that space. Metal struts are trapped ... Read Full Story >>

Being Kind To The Strangers In Our Own Bodies

I have been having some health challenges lately, and it's been a big eye-opening and humbling experience. For one thing, it turns out that they are a whole lot of folks in my life that have been working very hard on my behalf for years without my ever showing them much appreciation or gratefulness! They are called Liver, Heart, Kidneys, Lung, Cells, Good Intestinal Bacteria etc. In my 30+ years on the planet, I can't say I have taken the time to learn a whole lot about them, how they work, what makes them happy etc. They basically have been Strangers to me! Worse, I have totally taken these guys for granted and put them under a lot of pressure to perform under more and more challenging situations... stress, environmental pollution, too much work, too many sweets etc. And wow, ... Read Full Story >>

Releasing Books Into the Wild

Most of you probably know about bookcrossing - an online community working towards making the world a library.  Well I have been a member since the beginning of the year and have released about 15 books into the wild (that's were you leave a book somewhere as a random gift for the person who finds it).  Today was the first time that someone actually registered that they had found one of my books and her message was a great reminder of the power of simple random acts of kindness.

The young women who found it was off to the doctors and so the book not only kept her company and took her mind off her troubles while she was waiting for the doctor and on her trip home but put a great big smile on her face!

Imagine how you would feel finding a free book when you were feeling a little down and in need of something to take your mind off things...so get those books off your shelf where they are gathering dust and out into the hands of people who will enjoy them as much as you have!

Getting Help Unexpectedly

As I was buying stamps at the post office the other day, I observed sadness and dejection on the face of the lady at the counter.  I waited for others in the queue to finish their turn and for the lady to be free.

I asked her if she could spare two minutes and she suspiciously said, 'yes.'  I told her that I was a volunteer working for persons with mental illness and their caregivers and handed her my visiting card.  I said you seem to be in need of some help and asked if there was anything I could do for her. 

She gripped and squeezed my hand, tears rolling down her tired cheeks.  She told me that whenever she needed help she would just pray somebody would appear from out of nowhere!  I have been able to put her in touch with a cancer patients' support group which is doing a wonderful job.  My being there at that moment and offering her help couldn't be a coincidence, it surely is unseen providence at work.

Forget Technology and Listen

   Sometimes the best kindness we can offer is to simply listen. They say  talk is cheap, but in a world of technology, it seems that simply listening to someone else's voice, is secondary to the tv or game consuls.


   While the internet is  fantastic  in the way it brings people together, and introduces people all over the world to each other, sometimes to be still, and listen to another voice who needs you to hear them, is the one thing that all these modern day devices can't replace. 
  
   There are times when a friend, child or relative, needs to share with you tales of their day, or  they simply have a need to voice fears, hopes and dreams.

   Listening is a big part of who we are, not just the talking and doing. It is something special that we take for granted every day without really thinking about it.

   One of the greatest gifts we can bestow, is to be still and just listen!    

The Old Man on the Highway

As I turned off the highway onto the ramp to go home, I encountered a little old man on the side of the road.  His sign read, "Stranded, need ride to get to friend."  He had a bag, a cane and the clothes on his back. I turned my car to the right, the traffic horrific, no one letting me turn around.  So I went around the block and pulled a u-turn so that I could drive by this little man to offer him help.  A s I got turned, he had already begun walking up the road towards me.  It was like he knew what I was doing.  I stopped beside him and asked him what he was doing. He responded, "Well pretty lady, I am trying to get to my friend who is dying.  We have been friends for almost 50 years and now he lay dying -- I want to be with ... Read Full Story >>

Every Little Thing Matters

I wonder how many dozens of little acts of kindness we'd find if we really looked back at the end of each day? Do we have a good friend we check in with each day?  Each time we come to a 4-way stop, we often wave the other car through first.  And when we respectfully stop a few feet back from the crosswalk as someone passes, rather than stop right at the edge, the walker feels respected  and safe. Someone at the checkout stand drops a dime and you bend down and pick it up and hand it to them. You pick up one piece of trash on the sidewalk and place it in a garbage can. You're walking your dog and have an extra bag to pick up that poop someone else left behind. You wash the dishes one night instead of leaving them for your spouse - whose "job" it is.  You take your own bag to the ... Read Full Story >>

Helping by Stepping Out of Line

It was mid-summer and my father had taken me to Boston to see the ducklings in the public gardens. We had spent most of the day just playing on the duck sculptures, running around, anything an eight-year-old would enjoy doing. More than anything I wanted to go on the swan boat in the pond, where the little ducklings were lead to by their mother. The line was long, and it was a little after noon.  I was hungry and hot and was starting to get a little cranky. The boat was coming back and the line finally started to move forward. I excitedly looked around, silently saying to all around me,  "I'm going to ride the swan boat!" I saw to my left, on the other side of the chain linked barrier, a mother pushing her baby in a carriage. The baby had thrown his bottle out of the ... Read Full Story >>

Breaking My Six Week Streak

I'm a bit of an introvert. I've spent every weekend so far this year in my room or in the library working. It doesn't matter what kind of work, school work, debate work, just work that requires only a book, word document, and a quiet space. So yesterday when my friend asked me to go to an improv show with her after dinner I habitually retorted "No thanks, I have a lot of work to do." I didn't anticipate this being much of an argument, but 10 minutes and a few persuasive exchanges later I found myself saying "Ok I'll go, but just this once." I was still in a bit of shock about my response, to be honest. I had broken my streak of 6 straight weeks without socializing. But I couldn't say no to my friend this time.  I decided I would be a kind fellow and keep ... Read Full Story >>

Sunday Papers and Frozen Smiles

I've done it again....

I headed outside to get the SUNDAY paper, but before I got mine, I took a stroll down my street and brought the papers to the front door steps of people who haven't had a chance to get dressed and grab the paper yet. The delivery person just throws the paper on the driveway and it's cold and icy out there.  

I just returned from my  Antarctic Stroll.  My ears are chilled, my nose feels like it's going to fall off, BUT I have a SMILE  FROZEN on my face. Exercise and Smiles in store for me :0)