Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Running On Empty

Not so long ago on my half-hour commute to work, I passed by a large white van stopped at the side of the road.  At first, I didn't think too much of the situation as it's not out of the ordinary in this area to see vehicles temporarily abandoned while the owners decide what should be done with them. Inside the van was a girl looking obviously distressed.  She sat in the passenger seat with her eyes fixated forward, ignoring everything.  Up ahead I noticed the only thing she could have been looking at -- about 300 feet up the road was a fellow about my age walking towards town with a red plastic gas can in his hands. Within a split second, I realized that he had run out of gas and was trying to fill it up.  While the drive to the nearest gas station was only about 5-10 minutes, ... Read Full Story >>

3294 Reads

Like The Flowing River!

[ One of my favorite stories from Paulo Coelho’s 'Like the Flowing River', in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.]


My wife and I met her on the corner of Rua Constante Ramos in Copacbana.  She was about sixty years old, sitting in a wheelchair, lost in the crowd. My wife offered to help her and the woman accepted the offer, asking us to take her to Rua Santa Clara.

There were a few plastic bags hanging from the back of the wheelchair. On the way, she told us that they contained all her belongings. She slept in shop doorways and lived off handouts.

We reached the place where she wanted to go. Other beggars were gathered there. The woman took out two packets of long-life milk from one of the plastic bags and gave it to the other members of the group.

“People are charitable to me, and so I must be charitable to others,” she said.

6752 Reads

Shopping Cart Outside A Car Door

A few weeks ago, I went to my usual retail therapy session at the local Target store. On my way to the front door, I noticed that there was a car parked by the front doors facing the wrong direction but with the passenger door open.  A woman came out of the driver side and waited by the passenger door, and out came a frail little old lady walking very slowly and using the shopping cart as as walker.  As she got closer to the passenger door, the driver took her by the hand to help her in the car and then I noticed that she had this look of uneasiness looking at the cart as if thinking, "Oh great, now what do I do with this?"  She had to put the lady in the car, drop off the cart in its place, go to the other side of her car, drive out ... Read Full Story >>

4179 Reads

My Neighbor Athena

As neighborhoods go children come and grow ... some leave some stay.

A new neighbor is always call for speculation..

Me .. I always look to see if they have kids toys.  If they do its just a matter of time when I will meet them.

Newest amongst our neighbors is Athena!  She's a real delight!  Single handedly, she seems to have brought our neighborhood alive.  She has one child and she has managed to get other parents to open doors and let their kids out.  Our neighborhood once again is alive..as it was when I was a kid and everyone had 4-5 kids.

So today, I appreciate ... my neighbor Athena.

2318 Reads

An Unsuspecting Restaurant Table

So there we are sitting in our little booth, finishing up a, tasty meal. It dawns on us, it’s time. Who will it be? Who will it be? Hmmm…. them! Who? Them, the couple behind me over my left shoulder. All right, lets do it! Our waiter comes over and asks: Would you like to take the rest with you? Yes, we would. Could we have our check? Ahhh, we’d also like to pay for that table. Uhh…what table? Any table really, but we were thinking of that table…. Fingers point discreetly, and the target is understood. We slip him a SMILE card and ask that it be given to them in lue of the bill. He walks over to the register and exchanges a few words with his manager. The Manager looks up, glances over, and smiles. The waiter returns and asks: He wants to know if this table would ... Read Full Story >>

80.5K Reads

$2.65 That Inspired Me To Be Kind!

Here in Canada, we have a chain of coffee places called Tim Hortons.  It was the middle of winter, and as usual, the drive-thru wait for coffee at Hortons was around 5 minutes.  Not forever, but long enough to create a slight inconvenience for me, who at the time was horribly late for work. Like I did everyday, I got to the order box and placed my order for a coffee and a muffin.  So far, nothing about my routine was different.  I proceeded to have my $2.65 ready, in exact change as I strive accomplish most mornings. As I approached the drive-thru window, I was handed my coffee.   This was a little odd, but didn't register at first.  Normally, they will not hand you your coffee and food until they have payment. The lady behind the window then says, "Sir, your order has been paid for by the person that was ... Read Full Story >>

6202 Reads

Story of a Blind Couple

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.  In fact, she disliked everyone, except her loving boyfriend who was always there for her.  She used to tell her boyfriend, "If I could only see the world, I would marry you." One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend for the first time. He asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: "Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they ... Read Full Story >>

23.8K Reads

A Christmas Gift For A Six Year Old

When I was 21 yrs old, I was dating a girl whose parent's friends were going through a divorce. They had a 6 year old daughter and unfortunately their separation was just before Christmas and we both knew how upset the little girl was. Her dad was not living in the house and wasn't planning on spending Christmas with them. So my girlfriend and I wrote little notes like, "On the first day of Christmas, my secret Santa gave to me...." and put a gift each night on their porch for the little girl.  We started this about 2 weeks before Christmas. Well into the first week, my girlfriend's parents heard that someone was leaving gifts on the porch for this little girl and wondering who it was. Of course....we didn't. :) As we got closer to Christmas it was getting more difficult doing what we were doing without getting ... Read Full Story >>

8469 Reads

A Gift For My Father

Today, I am feeling for my father.  Its been 11 years since I've been married, since I left home.  I want to confess that I have had a very troubled childhood.  Though born in an educated family, I had to  survive my mother's sudden death when I was five and the temper of my father.  My father was a very very short tempered man, though by heart he was not bad.  I had one big brother (two years elder), and my father used to beat us very badly for very small things. After a year of mother's accident, he remarried.  My second mother also had two children of her own, and she controlled the whole house and my father.  Though she was not that bad, she was partial with me ... may be because I was not that good looking.  Even if my younger step-sister would abuse me, my father would ... Read Full Story >>

4602 Reads

The First Earning Of My Life

I'm doing a work-experience internship at a hairdressing salon, and I noticed the other day that an old woman who had came in to get her hair permed, was sitting at the back of the shop and was looking rather sad.

So, naturally, I went over there and struck up a conversation with her. It turns out that she had just came out of hospital after weeks of treatment because she had a bad heart; to make matters worse, her daughter had recently given birth to a premature baby.

I sat and listened to her the whole time she was there, comforted her and just gave her words of advice and my philosophies. When she was finally ready to leave, she said,'You've made my day, duck. It's people like you I'll never forget.'

She tipped me one pound.

And that was the first money that I had earned in my life.

2905 Reads

Smile Card Surprises At Work

One of my heroes told me of how she likes to secretly leave little treats for people at work with a smile card. So, I started doing that too. I found these really great snacks made by Larabar called “cashew cookies.”  That was usually my go-to. Sometimes, I’d leave a book or a DVD that I liked for my co-workers on my way out. It was kind of cool, because everybody got it! Nobody tried very hard to find out who or how. They just kept doing it again and again. I got 3 of the smile cards given back my way. One of my best friends at work had her birthday a couple weeks ago. If you meet her, you would know that she’s an exceptional human being. She’s one of the most thoughtful people I know. On top of that, she’s very smart and always has good ... Read Full Story >>

3612 Reads

A Friendly Fender Bender

As everyone knows, learning to drive is a dangerous proposition for most teenagers and I was no exception. 

At 16, I was a very scary driver -- starting and stopping and starting a bit to fast very often.  One day, as I was pulling into a bank drive up window I bumped into the rear of a car in front of me.  I was mortified!  And I just sat in my car hoping that the car in front of me did not notice. 

But, of course, they noticed.  The driver got out of her car and looked at her car rear and looked at my car front.  Then she came to my window with a sweat smile on her face and said no real damage was done and I hope you have a nice day.

There are a million negative ways she could have reacted to my poor driving I was completely at fault.  And she kindly told me to have a nice day. 

Now nearly 40 I still think about her kindness and try to be understand and forgiving of other peoples flaws.

1462 Reads

A Colleague In Need

I could see she was in need today.  She needed empathy.  She needed somebody to show her an act of kindness.

I did not speak much because she had cried so many tears already and I did not want to start her off again.

Instead, I went to the kitchen and prepared a very sweet, wonderful, dessert to make her smile.

The smile did not happen but I could see she really appreciated the small act of nurturing.  I just wanted to say: "I am here as a friend if you need me, no pressure"

She may smile tomorrow, but even if she does not, I will be here anyway, or the next day or the next.

1426 Reads

Including An Only Child

My daughter is friends with a girl who is an 'only child'. She has no brothers or sisters.  She often tells my daughter how lonely it can be in the house with just parents.  She comes to our house often to hang around with my daughter and my daughter goes to her house also.

Yesterday my husband, daughter, son and I were headed out for a 'family night' dinner.  I thought about my daughter's friend and asked my husband if we could invite her to join us.  He thought it was a nice idea.  My daughter was so happy to call her friend and ask her to come with us. We had a nice time and the girls chatted all through dinner. After dinnerwe treated them to a nice icecream dessert.

Everyone was happy. I'm glad we included her to join us on our 'family night' dinner.

1613 Reads

Lesson From A Janitor

It was five in the morning. The room smelt weird. I saw him, next to me, deep in slumber. I went up to the bathroom and got my answer to the stench. He had had a few extra drinks last night, must have puked all over the wash basin. The basin was clogged and the stench inside was unbearable. A little angry I came back in the room with half a mind to wake him up and ask him to clean up. I could hear his soft snores and knew that he needs that sleep to be normal the next morning. This happened when we were vacationing in Dubai during Diwali holidays. I called up the reception and in an embarrassed tone explained my problem. It was a five star property and the receptionist promised to send someone over within a minute. Before hanging up, I requested him to send ... Read Full Story >>

5612 Reads

True Wealth Lies Hidden in Subtle Places

My hubby is an unusual salesperson. He simply presents the service or the item to you & leaves the decision to the individual. (He does not take kindly to pushy salespeople).  A few weeks ago, though, he resigned from his job when the Big Bosses wanted him to deceive the people so he could get more sales. In his resignation he said that as a Christian he could not lie. (What good moral person could?) As a result, he's been walking into town (no car at the moment) handing out his resume to various businesses. I've said all that to say this ... Even though we have had to pull in our belt a fair bit, we haven't been wanting because friends have secretly placed money & gift cards in our pockets or my handbag or on my seat where we go to Fellowship.   No one comes up to us & says ... Read Full Story >>

2794 Reads

An Old Man Crossing the Road

Long time ago, I was driving on a busy Delhi road and was in a little hurry to reach home as my daughter was unwell.

In the middle of the traffic, there was a pedestrian who was creating a long halt.  I was irritated badly, especially with the old man who was taking his own sweet time in crossing the road as he was just moving without any concern for people on wheels.

When he came near my car,i shouted at him and said, "Can't you move little faster?!?  The whole traffic has come to stand still because of you!"

Hearing this, he simply raised his trousers and showed his artificial legs.  My God!  It was a shock of a life for me.

In  fraction of a second, I felt terribly guilty.  I parked my car on the sidewalk and rushed to the old man and touched his feet and apologized to him.  He simply said, "Never mind.  God bless you."

This happened almost 12 years back but to this day, I remember it vividly.  And everytime I'm quick to judge someone, I hear the old man's voice: "Never mind.  God bless you."

9612 Reads

Three Important Things

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind. - Henry James Less than a snowball's chance in Madurai- the heart that encounters Unexpected Kindness in the world. And today I want to talk about Kindness. The way it follows you around the world. Wakes you up in the middle of a long train ride in an unfamiliar country to gently ask if you’d like some tea and when you say yes- makes it for you with such grave sincerity that you can’t help but wonder what makes some people so- decent. He doesn’t ask your name or where you’re going. But he hands you the cup steaming fragrance with careful, courteous hands. And then returns to his seat with dark beard and quiet eyes and you know you will never see him again. And you ... Read Full Story >>

12.4K Reads

Oh, That Is So Refreshing!

It was a very hot, late August day when I took my 8 year old grand daughter out to lunch at a beautiful, fancy restaurant, because she enjoyed feeling like a princess. 

As we sat out on the lovely deck with many other diners around us, she reached out to point to the flowers on the table and accidentally tipped my ice water glass into my lap. 

She gasped, her eyes grew large, the people at the next table peered to see my reaction.  I simply smiled and said, "Oh, that is so refreshing."

We can make a split second decision to have a different-than-expected reaction to happenings that, in their smallness, make the world a better place and teach our children at the same time.

3443 Reads

Little Doll At A Garage Sale

Recently, we had a garage sale as part of our fundraising efforts for a local organization that helps the old and lonely people. We have monthly meetings, picnics, shows etc.  and not all are senior citizens -- some (like my friend and myself) are young & enthusiastic members! :) After midday at our garage sale, and after some successful sales, we were all relaxing when an young girl walked in.  She looked as though she had very little money with her, and looked around & picked up a doll & came up to me asking for its price.   I knew she could not afford even the very reasonable priced doll but I did not want her to feel hurt or be belittled; so I counter questioned her: "How much do you have?"  She curiously opened her palm to show me 2 rupee coin that she was clutching.  I smiled at her ... Read Full Story >>

2067 Reads