Stories of Kindness from Around the World

In Memory of our Son

After becomming a recent single mom, that had no family with in 2,000 miles I found myself and my children with no where to spend last Thanksgiving. So I decided to make the best of it. My kids and I (they were 6 & 9) volunteered at the Salvation Army soup kitchen, handing out meals to the homeless (helped me be grateful that I have what I do) Then I splurged and the three of us went out to a very nice dinner downtown (I was behind on bills, and did not have the money for extra expenses) We sat down and enjoyed a wonderful meal ... they were impressed how nice it was (not our usual McDonalds). We had decided to eat dessert at home, but when the waiter came over he told me that another family in the dining room wanted to treat us to dessert, the kids were ... Read Full Story >>

Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal

After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: "If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately." Well -- one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. "Help," said the flight service person. "Talk to her. What is her problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this." I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. "Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, Sho bit se-wee?" The minute she heard any words she knew -- however poorly used -- she stopped crying.   She thought our flight had been cancelled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the following ... Read Full Story >>

Little Pieces Of Glass

Last night I went outside to practice skateboarding. Afterwards, I took a small walk in  the neighborhood. As I walked, I noticed there were pieces of broken glass on the side walk. I thought that I should scoot the broken glasses into the grass so people wouldn't step on it, after all, I have seen little kids playing around the neighborhood. But then a thought occurred to me, people could still get hurt from the glass even if they were in the grass. After a small debate within in my head... I went home and grabbed a plastic bag and returned to the same area. I decided to pick the pieces and put them into a plastic bag.   (At the same time, I was thinking that hopefully this isn't stealing.. because I'm suddenly taking these pieces of glass.. which were clearly not mine.) I grabbed as many as I could find ... Read Full Story >>

I Gave My First Smile Card!

The RA of my floor at my dorm is an amazing person. Her door is always open, and she's always ready with a ready ear, some great advice, a shoulder to cry on, and some of the best brownies I have ever tasted.

We've really been lucky that, as freshmen, we've had her as a resource and a friend. She's really become like a big sister to all of us. Sometimes I feel that we don't let her know enough how much she means to us, and how much of an impact she's had on our lives. So, when I got my smile cards in the mail, I decided that the first one would go to her.

I wrote a little note with it saying how much we appreciate all that she's done for us, even though we don't always show it. I slipped it under her door this afternoon... I'm waiting to see if any there is any noticeable reaction :D As long as she is smiling, I'll feel good.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

I had been having a rough week at school; exams, reports, papers just all seemed to be hitting me all at the same time. My boyfriend knew how much the week had worn me out so when Friday night came, he knew I wasn't up for too much excitement. We ended up just staying in my room talking and such, which was exactly what I needed.

We even made up a game. One would tell the other to draw something, and the other would do so, usually in a very original way. Sure, it may sound a little lame, but to me, it was the happiest I had been all week.

When I was little, I had a video of a Garth Brooks concert that I watched again and again (my mom even made me a guitar out of a tissue box, the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels, and a few rubber bands).  So as we played our little drawing game, I told my boyfriend to draw a guitar. When he showed me what he had drawn, I was speechless. Of course, it was a tissue box with a paper towel tube stuck in it with some rubber band strings.

It was a really little thing, but remembering something so little that I loved made me so happy. He definitely won our game hands down!

A Car Ride To Remember

A man named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shining new car admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked. Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what this lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh yes, I'd love that." After a ... Read Full Story >>

Finals In The Ap

So it was the finals week for our school. First two days had been a real drag for most students and for some it was about to get harder.  The AP European History class, for which I was a teacher's assistant, was next.  The teacher told me I didn't have to worry about showing up since there wasn't anything I'd need to do that day. The next morning I woke up extra early to get dressed and ready.  Taking from my small savings stash of money, I  then began to walk to the nearest grocery store about one and a half to two miles away from my house.  Running there I quickly searched the shelves for the freshly baked cookies.  Paying with what money I had, I left the change and rushed out of the store to head back to the school. Trying to juggle the bags along side my ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Person At the Breakfast Table

When we help others, God adds in some blessings.

I walked in a hotel the day before yesterday and I ordered my breakfast.  After me, an old lady walked in and said Hi! to me and sat next to me.  When I ordered breakfast, she also did the same thing. 

Now, I don't know her and I've never even met her.  She asked me of what I think is good for her to order and I told her whatever she feels is good.  She started ordering everything such that the waiter began to question her about who was actually going to pay for this.  And she pointed to me!

Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised.  Since I had the money, I  was ready to cater for an extra cost.

The analogy of this short experience is that  we should always be ready to perform our kindness acts at any place and anywhere we go.  We should be the mirror that reflects kindness.

A Firefighter's Point of View

Back in the day when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, I was studying to become a firefighter. I was a volunteer fire aide with the city of Milpitas, and was studying at mission college. As a firefighter, you're constantly thinking of other people and trying to help children. That's the mindset, at least for someone trying to get into a fraternity of brothers that is the No. 1 most difficult job in the country to get! One night after going to class I was heading home and decided to stop off at a burrito place. This was in a part of San Jose that wasn't very good. It was dark, and it was obvious that I wasn't in a place that I would normally go to. Well I got my burrito and started to head for my car when I was approached by a homeless ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers in the Communal Hall

I was thinking that it would be nice to put some flowers on the table in my communal hall in the block of flats where I live so when my neighbours get their post (mail) they will be able to see the flowers and maybe smile.

Recently, I was visiting a friend and she gave me a lovely bunch of daffodils she had brought from a neighbour's house.

Immediately, I put these on the table in my communal hallway thinking that the universe really does provide and how grateful I was.

A Lift From The Storm

My daughter works in a drive-thru coffee shop downtown.  Our town is small, so we know just about everyone that goes by. 

Gena is a less-abled mom who always walks with two crutches and her son, Sam, rides his bike along with her.  They don't have a car.  The other day a tremendous storm hit and my daughter called to tell me that Gena and Sam were walking in the freezing rain. 

I stopped what I was doing and went to pick them up.  They were so cold, wet and grateful. 

I was so proud of my daughter for taking the initiative to help others!

A Trail of Shells

I live in Florida in an area that is famous for its shells. Many tourists wake up at 5:00 in the morning to find the best shells.

Living here, we have learned where to find the best shells and how to look for them. A lot of tourists spend time walking up and down the shore on the same beach and they don't tend to find very interesting stuff. And I figure, since I live here, there's no real point in looking for shells for myself since I already have a big collection.

So, whenever I find really nice shells (and sand dollars- those are not easy to find but are in high demand), I go out at night and scatter them along the beach for some lucky tourist to find.

Once I saw a family find a really pretty sand dollar I had left and they were so excited! It made their vacation. Plus, they were from Europe and they had traveled a long way for their vacation. I was so glad that someone deserving got my little gift!

I'll continue to leave more shells along the beach whenever I can!

Reflection On Kindness

Kindness, and the world. I believe we are in many ways brought up to believe that kindness is very rare. We are taught about a cruel world, an unjust world. We are taught about mans inhumanity to man. War and violence, power and money. The world is becoming more and more corrupt, and its true and I won’t deny it , humankind has succumbed to selfishness, arrogance, and primitive savagery towards one another. Yet, in the pit of all humankinds violence and cruelties, there is a ray of hope that keeps us from ceasing to exist, and that is love. And with love comes kindness towards fellow mankind. Love motivates kindness, you cannot have love without kindness, and you cannot have kindness without love. It is the kindness in our hearts that brings us together as a race after awful things have happened to our world. It was inhumanity and sin ... Read Full Story >>

Small Acts Can Sometimes Be Great Deeds

Some times we fail to do a kind deed, because we think it needs to be something big to be considered a kindness. We think we need enormous amounts of time or money to be kind. I have often been at the mercy of kind strangers and I learn how to be kind from them. I was once at a grocery store and a lady offered to take my cart back to the store, saying she was going that way anyway. Something so simple, and yet so kind. Another time, I was at a meeting once were we were asked to stand and put on a robe. I was having trouble tying my robe and it was taking me longer than the others in the meeting. There was a lady behind me, that I noticed had finished with her robe, but she didn't sit down as all the other had done. It ... Read Full Story >>

Simple Kindness To a Stranger

Several years ago I started work at a new company. It was close to the Holiday Season and the office drew names for "Secret Santa".  Since I was new, I didn't really know anyone there I had no idea what I was going to get or do for my person. However, before I really had a chance to think much about it she became very ill and had to take a leave of absence.  I decided to send her a couple of cards and wrote a positive affirmation in each one.  The weeks went on and she was still quite ill; Christmas came and went and she still had not recovered.  I continued to send cards to her home and to the hospital and always included a positive message. Easter came and she was finally home so I arranged for a few of her "old friends" (they had worked with her for ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Mendicant's Treats

An old mendicant came to my road,singing some prayer songs and asking for food.

I was just heading home, and my key got stuck and I couldn't open my door.  So when I headed back to the where the old man was sitting on the roadside, with a home cooked meal, fruits and bread, I couldn't find him there.

I walked down the road, thinking that maybe I could find someone else who could use what I had prepared.

On the main road, I stumbled on two little children.  They were evidently ragpickers, and they had dropped their bags of trash, peering into an Italian restaurant where several wealthy people were having lunch.

It was such a magical moment, me going there and handing them this package.  I can never forget the joy on the little children's faces on seeing the warm food.

Bad Exam Leads To Random Tagging!

I had just finished writing a test and was not feeling so great about it so I decided that I was going to "tag" people to make myself feel better.

I bought a bag of chocolates and walked around the library asking people if they would like some chocolate.  Some people said no because they gave up chocolate for lent, but others definitely loved it!

I was definitely in a better mood after the hour of tagging people with chocolates.  The smiles that I received back  definitely made me feel better about my test.

Any ideas of other things that could be passed out instead of chocolate?

5 Things to do with Spare Change

Change is heavy, jingly, and annoying, so why keep it around in your wallet?

Here is a list of my top 5 kind things to do with pocket change:

1. Cover someone's expired parking meter. It only cost you a few quarters, but it might save someone a $40 parking ticket.
   
2. Put it in a vending machine, pay phone, laundromat, or any other service machine requiring change for the next person who comes along. Make sure you leave a note and a smile card so the person knows what you did.
   
3. Just Drop It! Someone in need of a lucky penny will come along and pick it up!
   
4. Throw it into a public fountain. The change from those usually go to a charity anyways. Plus, you get to make a wish!
   
5. The next time go get an ice cream or a cup of coffee, leave your extra change behind with the clerk and tell them to use it towards the next customer's purchase. Trust me, it'll make their day!

Lady on the Pavement

I was standing near a store window, waiting for my friend with whom I was supposed to find materials for our college assignment.

I was waiting for quite long, when I noticed an old woman sitting in front of me.  She looked very weak and poor and was rummaging through garbage cans looking for food.

Since many people work as garbage collectors, I thought that maybe she was one such person and didn't want to  degrade her self esteem by asking if she wanted any food.

Our eyes met and I smiled at her.  I don't know why,  but she suddenly came to me and said that she was feeling very hungry and didn't have any money.  It was evident that she wasnt a beggar but just that her circumstances were tough.

I went to a store in the next street and bought her some food that she could eat immmediately, and a bunch of fruit that she could eat over the next few weeks.

She looked very pleased and blessed me, making *me*  feel very happy for a long time.

The Pick-Me-Up BackPack

For the past month I have been down, which is not like me.  I'm uncertain about  my relationship, you know how that is.

Anyways, to try and get myself out of a funk, I decided to get a brand new back pack and fill it up with all sorts of neat things Pencils, note pads, t-shirts a purse and other stuff..  When I got done it was stuffed.  I put a note that said free  along with one of my smile cards.  I took it downstairs and left it in the laundry room  for somebody to take. 

I don't know about the person receiving it but it sure put a smile on my face.