Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Little Encouragement for Sarah

When I went to get my braces tightened the other day, a lady, who I had never seen before, came into the room.  At first, I was a little dissapointed that it wasn't my usual orthodontist. But, as time went on, I thought that she was so nice and I could tell that she was very nervous.  She was new and it took her a realllllly long time to tighten my braces.  She kept apologizing and I kept telling her, "Its fine, its fine, I get to miss more school!" =D

Later that weekend, when I got home, I dug around to find the address for the orthodontist's office.  I wrote on a card "I think you're doing a great job, Sarah." I didn't sign it and I mailed it without a return address. I hope it made her smile =D

A Smile In A Pocket

I received my first pack of smile cards not long ago.  I had bought some clothes for my granddaughter for her birthday and one pair of capris I got for her was too small.  A short time later, she gave them back to me.  There happens to be an adorable young girl in my church whom I thought would be a good fit for these capris.  So, I put a smile card in the pocket (sticking out a little), folded the capris up, put them into a bag, and wrote her name on the pant's tag so she could see it through the bag.  I brought it into church inside a white bag so no one could see what I was carrying because I wanted it to be anonymous.  During "Meet & Greet" while everyone was walking around greeting each other, I took the plastic bag out of the white ... Read Full Story >>

Being helped, and helpful

As part of her birthday treat I took my wife, Julie, to see Carmen at the Glasgow Concert Hall last night. We had a good night, but that's another story. When the show finished everyone stood and made their way to the exits. The place was busy and the crowd moved slowly. I became aware of a door being held open so we could pass through and an annoyed voice saying, "Why are you holding the door for people?" Through the crowd I saw two women, the one holding the door and the one being annoyed with her. "She's being kind," I said, "doing a good deed." "Oh, I know," said the exasperated woman." That's when I saw that the woman holding the door was also leaning heavily on two crutches. Her friend was trying to help her walk through the crowd, wanting to take care of her, but the woman on crutches ... Read Full Story >>

Angels Disguised as Strangers

We've lost a few folk in our family this past year, but the one I want to talk about was my mother-in-law. Suffering from cancer, she lived with us for her last couple of weeks and because I work from home, I kind of became her caregiver.

Just before she died she became quite agitated (she was under the influence of strong morphine medication) and I couldn't do anything to calm her.

Two district nurses arrived to see how we were doing. I went into the kitchen to make them a cuppa while they talked to my mother -in-law who lay in a hospital bed in our living room. I came back in to see one nurse who, having washed my mother-in-law's face, was now brushing her hair (which as a man I had not thought to do), telling her she was beautiful and just talking to her in a calm, soothing voice.

Amazingly, my mother-in-law, who had been inconsolable, fell alseep and moments later left us. Her last experience on earth was the kindness of a stranger.

For those of us who have to leave the care of our loved ones to others, just tknow - there are angels out there!

Coffee Karma

Today something happened that made me open my eyes wide.  It was at a Coffee Shop drive-thru. My morning was pretty much a disaster.  I was late dropping my daughter off at daycare, only to realize I had forgotten most of the things she needed for the day.  My journey home to grab those items cost me another 10 minutes of my morning.  The gas tank was running low.  Somehow I managed to make it all work, barely. Since I already knew I was going to be late, I decided to make my way to the Coffee Shop drive-thru to brighten my morning a bit.  After waiting in line for 5 or 6 minutes, I was finally near the order box when I noticed a lady struggling to enter the line from the other entrance to the parking lot.  She'd waited there for a while, I figured.  As I was already gonna ... Read Full Story >>

A Present For Grandparents Who Have Everything

My grandparents, Gene and Opal Howard, recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.  Our whole family was struggling with what to get them. They both had asked for only cards and no gifts -- they had everything already and just wanted to be with friends and family. Still everyone wanted to put money or get something for them.  I couldn't give money but wanted to do something special for them to let them know how proud I am of having them as my grandparents. So, I went to my Aunt, who they live with, and asked her to please give me all the old pictures of them that she could find.  Then, with the help of my best friend, I put together a hand-made scrapbook for them, which was filled with lots of fond memories. When I gave them their scrapbook at the open house, I told them I knew they ... Read Full Story >>

The Power Of Pizza And Role Reversal

My boyfriend and I had a late night out in the city of Grand Rapids, MI - something unusual for us forty-something's with a house full of kids. It was a cool, crisp fall night and we were hungry. The city streets were still alive with activity and we were trying to find a new little bistro that was still serving at 1 a.m. We walked and walked but could not find the place. We came upon a truck selling pizzas for $5.00. We picked up a small pizza and eagerly dug in. I still wanted to find the bistro for healthier food and to linger in my love's presence, but it was a good, temporary solution. Several homeless people were sitting up against buildings for warmth and shelter. One older gentleman was soliciting money for food. We walked past and I mentioned how much that bothered me - not ... Read Full Story >>

Help for the journey

This past weekend my mother and I drove from central Idaho to central Oregon and because gas prices are so high we brought along gas cans to fill up whenever we hit lower prices along the way.

At one of the rest areas along the way we encountered a man and his father who were on their way to a family gathering. They had started their journey, they told us, with just enough gas money for the trip. But along the way a car part broke and they had to use all of their gas money to get it fixed.

So, they were in need of gas and we had several cans of gas in the back. My mother gave them enough to reach the next town. (Several other kind people had given him money for gas once he got there :).

Yep, that's my story. He was really happy and talked with my mom quite a bit. My mother is a practicing Christian so he left with a prayer as well.

More Than Just a Coincidence

I just got off the phone with my eldest daughter and wanted to share this remarkable story.  My daughter is a good-deed doer and always has been.  She doesn't have much money and doesn't have a car.  She called me on her way home from work today to tell me that she stopped at the Dollar Store and got me some Halloween decorations for next year at 90% off.  She spent $6.00 on the decorations and some candy, after which she had $16.00 left.  She told me that she set aside $10.00 from what remained for a bus ticket for 10 rides, which would get her to and from work for a week.  My daughter called me again to tell me that while she was making her way to the bus stop, a lady asked if she had change for a dollar for her meter.  My daughter gladly gave it ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Unfolds in the Now

I wanted to mention how letting other people enter in traffic is such a small kind gesture but it goes a very long way. I love being kind and letting people enter in traffic, but I noticed that I can only do this if I am in the moment. When I am caught up in all of my thoughts then I totally don't even see the people waiting to pull out. I've realized what a difference it makes to be in the 'now' in order to clearly see opportunities to be kind to others.

You've Got Mail... and a Surprise Gift!

I often spend time thinking about my friends and family and wondering what special little thing I could get or do that would let them know they are loved and cared for. It is fun to do these things anonomously but they count just the same or maybe more if they know it was me who was thinking of them. I know this because it just happened to me. Just last week I was showing an apartment on the 2nd floor of our home to three very excited twenty something, young adults. I showed them the place and then left them alone up there to talk amoungst themselves about the possibilities for them regarding the apartment. They are  local family people of which two of them are elementary school teachers and the third is a buyer for a small bookstore/cafe right around the corner from our home. They were teaming up ... Read Full Story >>

Abraham Lincoln's Letter To His Son's Teacher

A cup of generosity

I just found out about this website recently and I have been reading many wonderful stories and ideas of ways to brighten someone's day.

Today I was driving to the grocery store to pick up some items and I had a terrible headache and decided to stop for coffee thinking that maybe some caffeine would help.

Funny thing is this drive-through coffee place is about two blocks from my house and I had never gone there before. While waiting in the drive-through I remembered the stories I had read about paying for the person behind you. So, when the cashier handed me my coffee I asked if I could pay for the person behind me. "I guess you can," he said, and then asked if I knew the person. When I said I didn't, he looked baffled.

But then the coolest thing happened. One of the other workers said, "she passes on the cheer Brad." Another worker shouted, "Way to go!" and several others started cheering "yes." I never got to see the reaction of the person in the car behind me, but the reaction of the people working in the coffee shop totally made my day.

Three Simple Words

The other day I was parked outside cleaning out my jeep.  Coming my way from across the street was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous, but there are other times when you just don't want to be bothered. At this particular time, I did not want to be bothered.  I hope he doesn't ask me for any money, I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the wall in front of the bus stop, to wait for the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. 'That's a very pretty Jeep,' he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity about him. His scraggly blond beard kept more than his face warm. I said thanks, and continued cleaning out the ... Read Full Story >>

A Mental Cry for Help

Last week I went to the store to recharge my cell phone credit. I only had 50 pesos and so I spent all the money I had available in cash. Once I paid, I realized there was this little kid crying because his mom had sent him to the store to buy orange juice, but once he paid for it, the bottle fell off his hands and he broke it, spilling the juice around. He was crying begging to the cashier to change him the juice bottle because his mom was going to spank him. The lady said so un-politely "I am not changing the bottle! It was your fault! pay for another one!" So there I was, without any cash and I couldn't help this little boy! I felt so sad about this situation, and I thought I couldn't do anything.  I left the store feeling bad about it and then ... Read Full Story >>

The Helping Movement

The Helping Movement is continuing to gain momentum and is proving to be an effective and easy to use resource for people in need as well as providing volunteers a unique opportunity to help their community on an individual basis. Just recently a local Ithaca resident, Helen, was given until the end of March to remove all of her collected life belongings from her basement or her landlord would have been forced to dispose of the items due to fire code issues. These items meant the world to Helen and to lose any of them would have been devastating. After extensive searching for a place to store her belongings she was able to secure an affordable storage unit; but her next challenge was moving a completely full basement across town without access to a truck or manpower. Helen contacted the Helping Movement and explained her dilemma. The Helping Movement was ... Read Full Story >>

These stories matter

Hello everyone.

This site is full of wonderful people who are making a difference, often not even knowing the impact they are having. Your kind words and stories are not boasting. Every kindness shared reminds and teaches others. It matters!

I have found myself performing more acts of kindness because of all of you! I get great ideas from your stories and they touch my heart, causing me to pass along the goodness. Your kind comments about the stories others write often mean so much to them. Please don't forget that. Some of my best experiences here have been finding out that a small note made someone's day and watching the kindness flow so freely to everyone.

Thank you all. Keep up the great work! I very much appreciate all that you share here. Remember this.

Unconditional Compassion of an Animal Keeper

We have been living in a hotel for the past couple of months and this hotel allows pets inside of the rooms.  My son, who is an animal lover, tries to make sure that all of the animals in the hotel are taken care of because this is what he loves to do.  Last night, he noticed that a dog was locked up in a car that was parked at the hotel.  He went to the hotel office to see what he could do to find the owner of the car and of course they could not give out personal information.  So, Michael took it upon himself to stay outside with the dog to make sure it was okay in the car. The owner saw Michael standing around his car and thought that he was trying to do something wrong, so he called the police on him.  When the police got there, Michael ... Read Full Story >>

Relaxjacks

The other night I was speaking to the owner of a coffee shop who was concerned about some business matters and was feeling down.  To cheer her up, I am going to take her a tray of totally scrumptious homemade 'relaxjacks' (instead of 'FLAP'jacks).  People can sense dis-ease and it won't help her business if her customers feel uneasy.  I figure that if I can help her to relax and put a smile on her face by doing a small act of kindness, then hopefully her smile will spread too and things will start to look brighter!

Reaching Out in a Waiting Room

While I was waiting at the neurooncologist's office for my 3-month check-up on my brain cancer (it is inoperable, so they just monitor it), I noticed a nice older lady sitting in the waiting room, who seemed a little upset.  I smiled at her and asked how her day was going.  She came to sit next to me and tears started falling.  She was just informed that her daughter had a new tumour growing in her brain.  Although it may not seem like much to some people, I decided to share my story with her, hoping it would help her to realize that she is not alone.  I am a 40 year-old mother of 3 teenagers and I was diagnosed with two inoperable brain tumours last year.  The doctors say my life expectancy is 5-7 years, but God says something different.  I have learned that everyday is a blessing.   I talked with the lady for some time, ... Read Full Story >>