Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Driveway Turns Into A Beach

A dear friend was only weeks away from death from cancer. She said she was sorry she wouldn't be able to see the ocean again and get her toes in the sand. We live in Central Virginia and she was unable to travel so the trip to the coast wasn't going to happen. Some of us decided the solution was pretty simple. We would surprise her and bring the beach to her. The beach included three tons of beautiful white sand dumped in her driveway, two cabanas, beach balls, pails, shovels, beach chairs, a variety of decorations and a fire pit for the bonfire on the beach at night. Of course we had s'mores on the beach. We also rented a sno-cone machine since it had gotten to the point where flavored ice was about all she was able to eat. We ... Read Full Story >>

A Sweet Afternoon

Last week, I had stopped to get the mail before going to pick up my son from school.  Included in my mail was a coupon for a free chocolate bar. After picking up my son, I saw a student sitting all alone on the side walk waiting to be picked up.  I thought it would be a good idea to offer her the free coupon.  She flashed a big smile when I handed it to her and said thanks.

When my son and I returned home, what did we see in the refrigerator?!?  The same exact candy bar.  I guess my husband had gone to the store the night before!!! : ) 

What goes around comes around.  It was a sweet afternoon indeed! : )

A Simple Rule Since I was 12

Since I was 12, I've had a simple rule -- remember birthdays!  So, if I know a person's name, I consider it my duty to remember the person's birthday (family, friend and otherwise). One characteristic EVERY human being has is the need to feel special, significant and appreciated, and what better way and time to make a friend, neighbor, client, co-worker, your child's teacher, or even the cashier at your neighborhood grocery store feel special than by simply remembering their birthday each year. Talk about putting an instant smile on that person's face, if only but once a year.  It brightens their day and it brings so much personal joy to me each time I do it.  And because I know so many people, I'm pretty much telling someone happy birthday every month of the year.  I'm now 30-something, so I guess you could call me the "Happy B-Day Diva"! And here's a ... Read Full Story >>

The Crying Baby

Today was dreary day in Seattle.  It is the start of our rainy season. While I was at the supermarket, standing in line, a young mother with a small child was behind me.  The child must have been 3 months or so; and man, she was crying!  And I mean crying. The young mother did absolutely nothing to calm this child; it was almost as if she didn't know what to do. Usually when a child cries like this -- and I know this from experience -- it is either because the child is bored or hungry.  So I turned around and started to talk to this child. And all of a sudden -- she stopped crying!  In fact, she began to smile and laugh. The mother asked me what I did and I said, "Well, I talked to her."  She replied that she never thought of this.  As a single mother working two jobs, she ... Read Full Story >>

Twelve Minute Cab Ride To Penn Station

"Penn Station," I told the cab driver.  The young, heavy-set man peered at me through his sunglasses and motioned me to get in. "I've got to get to JFK airport by 2:30PM.  You think I'll be able to get there via LIRR or should I cab it all the way?" I ask him, as I get comfortable in the back seat.  "Hmmm.  You should be okay.  Yeah, you'll make it.  It will be much cheaper to take the train," he replied in a mild South Asian accent. "Thanks," I told him.  Given his engaging nature, we naturally started a conversation, which went from the weather and quickly veered into the struggles of a cab driver's life.  "How long have you been driving cabs?"  "Three years."  "You like it?"  "It's really hard work.  Not all people are so nice.  I get tired, but what can you do?  You have to pay the bills."  ... Read Full Story >>

Requesting A Comment For Sara

The kindness story I am about to tell is a collaborative project, and it will hopefully involve you!   I live on Cape Ann in Eastern Massachusetts, and this Thursday, one of our youngest community leaders will be celebrating her 29th birthday.   Her name is Sara, and she’s is a very wonderful and hard-working young woman who has already made a big difference to the lives of many people in Gloucester, as the 2007 manager of our summer Farmers’ Market which she helped start in 2006, as the director of our very dynamic local arts organization, and as a wonderful human being with many friends, a great dog, and a fabulous smile! I need your creative help to cook up a special gift for Sara’s birthday.   Let me explain! A friend of Sara recent sent me an invitation to the birthday party which said… “You are invited to the ‘beginning-of-an-end-of-an-era-with-Sara’ party!  That's right.  Sara ... Read Full Story >>

Two Signs, Different Results

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in ... Read Full Story >>

Reaching Out To My Addressbook

There are a number of people that I have met over the years.  Some are older, some are single parents. Some are just alone in the world. Many I don't know terrible well.  They are in my  e-mail address book. 

Every now and then, maybe once a month or every couple of month, I send an email  just to say they were in my thoughts that day and that I hope that their life is full and magical. 

It seems to touch a place in people to know that some one has taken the time to say hello, not send a forward but taken the time to say some personal and caring.  

Cheap, easy, actually fun to reach out.

A Clean House And an Apple Pie!

One of my dear friends is having a rough time of it, as her husband of 21 years just walked out and announced he wants a divorce.  She is working full-time while trying to raise two teenagers, and barely has time to think. I told her sister I wished there was something more we could do for her.  "Maybe there is," her sister said, with a twinkle in her eye. We went to my friend's house the other day while she was at work. Her sister has a key to get in. She cleaned up a bit, put fresh flowers on the table, and I left a freshly baked apple pie on the counter. I also put a meal of pot roast and vegetables into her crock pot and plugged it in. Then we left. She called me later that night and told me how much that meant to her. She and ... Read Full Story >>

Seeing the Same Stranger Twice

It was a freezing cold winter day. During a late night run to the grocery store, I saw an old man slip on some ice.   An ambulance came but the man didn't want to go to the hospital (perhaps due to insurance reasons). I saw the old man starting to walk home. Feeling sorry for his condition, not even knowing who he was, I offered him a ride home.  On our way, he wanted to stop by a bar for some silly reason, so I obliged; he said he'd only be a second, but I waited nearly 15 minutes.  Still, I continued taking him home.  When we arrived at his house, about 10 minutes later, the man offered me some money, but I refused event though it was a ways out of my way. Thinking I would never see this man again, I went on home and went on with my life. Well, ... Read Full Story >>

Cereal For the Soul

A sweet and charming little old lady came up to me at the supermarket about 5 months ago.  She had strict orders from her doctor to avoid artificial ingredients, but she couldn't read the ingredients on the cereal box and was asking me for some help. "No problem," I instantly said.   I picked up the box and indeed, it's a shame that the print was so small that even I had to struggle to read it.  It turned out that it did have artificial ingredients.  With a slightly dejected face, she explained, "I'm struggling to have a decent breakfast in the mornings, because although I love porridge, I don't have enough energy to make it myself.  So I need to find something instant that doesn't have artificial ingredients." Just then, I had an idea.  "Well, I make my own muesli out of natural products and if you could give me you address, I ... Read Full Story >>

Bullying Incident on the Sidewalk

This past week, I found myself sick with the most evil flu ever. I could barely make it out of bed, much less to the outside world. Come Wednesday, though, it was parent-teacher night and there's now way I was going to miss it. So off I drive in my wobbly old van, and when I am almost at the school I see a group of kids gathered on the sidewalk. I slowed down, thinking my son may be with them and I could offer him a ride home with me, when I noticed that what I thought was a group of friends was actually a mob of all size children, kicking and hitting one boy. He was crouched down with his hands over his head, trying to block their blows with his backpack. I slammed on my breaks so suddenly the traffic behind me almost hit my rear end. I ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Nudge During Lunch

The other day, I was in the checkout line for lunch at school when I realized that I had forgotten my lunch money.

I was freaking out because I hadn't eaten breakfast that day or dinner the night before. I was really hungry -- and I was starting to get dizzy.  I stepped out of the checkout line and started putting my lunch tray down, when out of nowhere this kid pulls my arm and nudges me towards checkout line. He tosses a smile card on my tray, smiles at me, and tells the cashier that he's paying for my lunch. 

It was so sweet -- it made my day!  I never did catch his name but if I see him again at lunch, I'm most definitely  returning the favor.

Later that day, I passed the smile card on to a girl who had gotten bookchecked in the hall.  I helped her pick up her stuff and get to her class.

It feels like nice to receive kindness and to be kind!

Vending Machine Help At The Hospital

I was in Pittsburgh Children Hospital yesterday for my son's chemo treatment.  While sitting in the treatment room, I recognized a lady who was there with her daughter the week before. 

I overheard her asking a nurse if she had change for a $20 for the vending machine.  No one did and her daughter was really hungry.  She is 5 and also receiving chemo. 

So I went over and said that I had overheard and wanted to know what the little girl wanted.  The mother was kindly  persistent that she did not want me to bother myself with doing it, but I told her that so many people have been kind to me and my family and it was the least I could do. 

Well, the greatest part of the whole situation was the smile on the little girls face and the nice lady that I got to develop a friendship with.  It just goes to show that even under the worst situations something great can come from it.

Half-Priced Toy, Full-Priced Joy

After noticing a few very good deals at Toys R' Us in our local paper, I decided that I would go and pick up a few specific toys so that I would have them on hand for gift giving occasions. Very specifically, there is a "Home Depot" toolkit that was half-off for $10.   Not thinking anything of it, I had planned to go pick up two of them. After browsing the store for a bit, I found the section and found the items I was looking for.  Oddly, there were just two left on the rack.  "Just enough," I thought. As I grabbed both and started my way to the cashier, I noticed that a father and his son were watching me as I passed by them.  The little boy was clearly disappointed and couldn't take his eyes off the toolkit that I was walking away with. Without being prompted, the father mentioned for ... Read Full Story >>

Smiling In The Rain

Story of Mushkil Gusha

A wonderful Sufi story by Idries Shah: Once upon a time, not a thousand miles from here, there lived a poor old wood-cutter, who was a widower, and his little daughter. He used to go every day into the mountains to cut firewood which he brought home and tied into bundles. Then he used to have breakfast and walk into the nearest town, where he would sell his wood and rest for a time before returning home. One day, when he got home very late, the girl said to him: ‘Father, I sometimes wish that we would have some nicer food, and more and different kinds of things to eat.’ 'Very well, my child,’ said the old man, ‘tomorrow I shall get up much earlier than I usually do. I shall go further into the mountains where there is more wood, and I shall bring back a much larger quantity than ... Read Full Story >>

Power of Two Mothers Praying Together

A few years ago my 21 year old son was shot with a hollow point bullet.  While in the ICU, I met another mother whose son had been thrown from a car into a tree, causing him to go into a comma. The doctors didn't have much hope for either son. 

One day, we decided to get together with a group of people and prayed holding each others hands in a circle.  It so happened that all the people who had loved ones in serious condition, every single one of them in the group, had their loved ones go home fine.

That other mother I met, the doctors were afraid that her son had brain damage, but he is fine and my son is doing fantastic as well.   In fact, my son is now the father of a beautiful 1 year old boy. 

A mothers love can work miracles. Two mothers love, is the answer to all life's prayers.   I know now why my son was shot -- God needed me there for her as he needed her there for me. Our strength helped each other grow.

Contagious Kindness Everywhere?

I always come by the site to read an off-the-wall sort of story, but since joining the site a few days ago, I'm experiencing an amazing transformation -- I see kindness EVERYWHERE!

The bus driver who waited for this old man, then bent the rules and let him out where he wanted to get off (rather than at the next stop).

The man smiling at the little boy playing.

The Dr who rushed round to a (nearly) closed clinic to give my mum the all-clear, rather than make her wait two-weeks for the usual paperwork/report to be written.

The driver who spent 5 minutes giving me accurate directions when I was lost.

My neighbor who brought round a bag of fresh fruit.

The shop-assistant who hurried up my order because she thought I was waiting too long for it.

The receptionist who understood that patients should come before Doctors.

The almost-stranger who gave me some good, unexpected advice.

 
Is this unique to me, or are you all going through this amazing experience?

My Hour On the Streets of New York

On Nov 11 of 2006, I made a deal with myself that I would give $1 to every homeless person who asked. Call it a moment of clarity or whatever, but I woke up from a rough night of partying in Vegas and just felt like this model of taking wasn't working for me anymore. Still, to be honest, I embarked on this experiment thinking that I would just bleed money, that there would be 20 or so homeless people a day coming up to me in NYC and that I would run out of money soon. This never happened. When I returned to NY, it took 8 days before I walked past a homeless person who asked me for some spare change. And by that time I had seen the folly of my own mind and was more than happy to part with a measly dollar. It wasn't about the money, ... Read Full Story >>