Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Doggie Treats

When I went to volunteer at the animal shelter yesterday, I saw one of the dogs had a bandana wrapped around his neck and I thought that it was very cute and added a little personal touch.

Today, I passed by a discount store and I saw they sold bandanas for 99 cents each. I decided to buy one of every pattern. I plan to bring it with me the next time I go and put it on the dogs I walk. Certainly, it'll appeal to people who come in looking to adopt a pet.

I also bought a box of milkbones to give to the dogs as treats. They absolutely deserve to be loved.  It is really really important they they get adopted. Sadly, the shelter I volunteer at is a kill shelter and they put dogs and cats asleep because we have very limited space and because we're funded by the city, we cannot refuse to take in an animal that is found or surrendered.

I hope getting them treats and spending time with them would make them feel better. Sometimes, I feel like I have very limited power to help but I'm going my best. Still, I remain hopeful.

Yardsale Freebies

This weekend in our community there was a community yardsale and fundraiser. I thought maybe I would try something a little different.

I collected all the books I had around that I no longer needed (as I have been collecting books for 20 years). I had almost 200 books. I took these and other items, radios, stickers, toys, etc, and put them on a couple of tables and propped up a sign marked FREE and walked away.

I think this is a great idea, some people come with little money in their pockets and all kids love free toys.

Six year old Adam's Gift To Us All

A story that made me appreciate how precious life is. While recuperating from her second open heart surgery at Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, my six-year-old daughter Kelley was moved from the intensive care unit to the floor with  the other children.  Because a section of the floor was closed, Kelley was put in the wing reserved for cancer patients. In the adjacent room, a six-year-old boy named Adam was fighting a battle with leukemia.  Adam stayed at the hospital for a portion of each month while receiving chemotherapy treatments.  Every day Adam sauntered into Kelley's room to visit, pushing the pole that held his chemotherapy bag.  Despite the discomfort of the treatments, Adam was always smiling and cheerful.  He entertained us for hours with his many stories.  Adam had a way of finding the positive and the humor in any situation, however difficult. One particular day, I was feeling tired and anxious ... Read Full Story >>

Cooking, With Love

My cousins wife is expecting a baby and she has been feeling very tired and sick. My cousin had returned from a long trip abroad and was feeling jet lagged and tired too.

I went over to visit them and spent the evening making a large, fresh, wholesome meal for them from scratch (I just hate using precooked food).

They were really happy at the end of the day to eat the healthy food and we all sat outside near the garden and watched the rain fall and ate hot food.

I have been through a very rough patch lately, and doing something like this physically for someone other than myself really lifted my spirits.

Love

today i saw a white dove

today i think im falling in love

today i smiled and had a laugh

today i spoke to the best friend i have

today will be like tommorrow so feel the love

because i have been sent an angel from above

there is an angel out there they will shine in your life dont look for the angel the angel will find you   

hugssssss for all with love

Miracle Man's Wedding Proposal

Three events, five hours. That was my Saturday evening schedule. It would've been nice to thoroughly enjoy one event, but how can you pick between a high school friend's first baby shower, cousin's i-am-turning-five birthday party, and a suprise proposal between two friends who met at your house?!? So my wife and I zoomed in Fred's beamer, from Milpitas to Santa Clara to San Francisco, and the excitement was building as we landed at Buca di Bepo at 7PM. We had no idea what the evening would hold. The plan was for Pete to propose to Linda, and bring her to a restaurant where Pete had gathered their closest friends, including Linda's four-grade classmate whom he had flown in from Salt Lake City! And it was executed perfectly. Pete had taken Linda to the spot of their first date, struggled to find a private spot with his "binoculars", got down ... Read Full Story >>

A Helping Hand

I volunteer at a charity on fridays. I take calls and assess needs and then find churches to fill those needs. Everything is done over the phone. I have been wanting to make a connection and today I got the chance. Someone called in about a developmentally disabled young woman who had a one year old son.

She used her whole check to pay a deposit on an apartment and had no money left to feed her son. He had been eating tater tots cooked in a microwave for three days. She literally has nothing but an apartment, a bed and a microwave.

My friend and I decided to try and reach out and help this woman. We rounded up food and diapers, pots pans, utensils, toilet paper ---  a whole truck load of donated stuff and went to meet her. Tomorrow we are taking her a sofa and chair that someone donated.she was very shy because she stutters. The baby was so cute. She was very happy to see us. Hopefully she is going to be open to us mentoring her. We will be trying to build a relationship with her and her son.

It is very fullfilling to help someone in this way, to actually see a face and know that we helped.

Go Ahead Of Me

Just a simple Act, but it was appreciated.

I was in line at a department store. It was very busy and lines were long. I over heard the conversation behind me in line. A man was apologizing to a lady, saying he should have got in line sooner. She had already gone through the line and had her packages in her hands. I guess they must have been traveling together.  As you might have already guessed, I had a full basket of items. I could see that that lady wasn't happy with him so I asked him if he'd like to go ahead of me in line since he was in a hurry to leave.

He was so pleased and thanked me many times. I SMILED and said pay it forward someday. He said "I sure will , I sure will" THANKS.

That was so easy and felt so good to do. I wasn't in a hurry so it was the perfect opportunity.

~Aurelia

Ex-husbands

As far as ex-husbands go, I can put up with the father of my kids to a point.  About 4 years ago, he had been diagnosed with throat cancer.  I don't usually say much about things because I don't want it to sound like I'm bragging,  Throughout his treatment and hospitalizations, I was there for him.  I even took off work to take the kids to see him in the hospital.  I didn't think anything of it, I just did what needed to be done.  The point of my story is this.  Today, I had to have surgery on my right hand, of course I'm right handed.  When I spoke with my ex-husband one day, he said he could pick me up and take me home.  He had to open and close the car door for me.  I live in a community where the mail boxes are all together, with locks.  He got ... Read Full Story >>

The Begger By The Masjid

The saint, Shaykh Sa'eed ibn Musfir tells the following account... I was walking out of the Haram (the Ka'bah in Makkah) when I saw a man begging from everyone that passed by him. Just then a man who had parked his tinted Mercedes excessively close to the Haram in a designated VIP parking walked passed the beggar on his way to his car. As he pulled the keys out and the alarm did the 'whup whup', the beggar raised his finger to the sky and said, "Please, for the sake of Allah!" Trying to end the moment and avoid a dip into the pocket, the Mercedes man said back, "Allah will provide!" The beggar said back, "What! Did you at any moment think that I thought YOU were my provider! I'm not asking for your provision, I KNOW Allah will provide for me." Shaykh Misfir continues. The two stood there staring at one another ... Read Full Story >>

Gentleman at the Terra Linda Jamba Juice

Life has been stressful lately due to recent financial constraints among other things, so I decided to treat myself at Jamba Juice near Northgate on my lunch hour. Ahead of me was a 30-something, tall, good looking chap who, after putting in his order, turned to me and said to the cashier "and put this lady's order on my tab." Talk about knocking me over with a feather! I was speechless and open-mouthed for a moment but quickly revived, thanked him and put my order in. He said that he just felt it was the right thing to do and every once in a while you have do something nice for a stranger. No, he wasn't flirting or trying to pick me up. He was just a nice person who was feeling good and wanted to pass on his good energy ... Read Full Story >>

Flame Of Love & Kindess

"I can master it", said the Ax.
His blows fell heavy on the hard, strong steel.
But each blow only made his edge
more blunt until he ceased to strike.

"Leave it to me", said the Saw.
With his relentless teeth, he worked back & forth.
But to his dismay, all of his teeth
were worn out or broken off.

"Ha!" said the Hammer. "I knew you could not do this.
Let me show you how."
But with the very first blow, his head flew off, and the steel was unchanged.

"Shall I try?" asked the Flame.
And it curled itself gently around the strong, hard steel, and embraced it, and would not let it go.
And the tough steel melted.

There are hearts that are
hard enough to resist:
The forces of wrath,
The fury of pride.
But hard is the heart that
can resist the warm "Flame of Love & Kindness".

Unknown author

Walking the walk

I  was taking a walk yesterday and was angry because of all the garbage beside the road. And after about 5 miles I thought, "I can stay angry or I can do something".  I went to a local pub and asked for a garbage bag. They asked me what I needed it for and we had a very inspiring conversation. 

I walked back the same way and collected all the junk I saw. Very positive reactions from the people passing by and a nice talk with a nice man who offered his garbage container to collect my bag.

I had a wonderful afternoon, filed with kindness for me (walking), my environment (collecting the garbage) and all the people I encountered (by smiling).

Thanks for reading this story and sharing your energy with me !

Warm greetings Ynco, Holland

Following The Eyes

Its not difficult to help people. I realised this today. Its not necessary to make a vey big donation or publicity to help people. 

Today while coming back from shopping with my Cook,  I took a taxi. The taxi driver was a young little boy. He was driving us back home. On our way I saw my taxi driver stairing at another taxi driver who was eating a mango. I realised that this poor child wants to eat mango.

Luckily, I happened to have a few mangoes with me, so when he dropped us off I gave him a mango. By taking that mango dat 16 year old was soo happy that I could see him smiling and his eyes filled with tears.

So today I learned that its not that difficult to help others. It only takes a few momemts and a few coins to gain the happiness of others . {kindly ZAKAT}

Why I Admire My Grandma

My Grandfather has Alzheimers disease, and my Grandmother is still caring for him at home even though he is now at a point where he hardly recognises her. 

When we visited the other day, Grandad thought he could go fishing on the carpet, and then he wanted to paint it.  Instead of getting angry with having to tell him over and over again that NO, he cannot paint the carpet, Grandma kept her cool and told him very nicely that it was to late to paint the carpet today.  She was then able to have a laugh about it which to me was amazing.  After having to put up with all the stupid things he does everyday, she still was able to laugh when he said something funny (although she had heard it about 10 times that day already!).

To me, that is true Love and Kindness, and I admire her for her commitment through this tough time.

Ten Things God Won't Ask

1.  God won't ask what kind of car you drove; he'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.   2.  God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.   3.  God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.   4. God won't ask what your highest salary was, He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.   5.  God won't ask what your job title was, He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.   6. God won't ask how many friends you had, He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.   7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.   8. God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character. 9.  God ... Read Full Story >>

Super Act Of Kindness

Just read this story in our evening paper.

A local volunteer and mum is selling her £375,000 ($750,000) house to build a help centre in Northern Uganda. Over the past six years she has made several trips to the impovrished country and worked at the Kasana Childrens Centre in Luweero, now she plans to stay out there indefinitely.

She says "I have a vision to build a help centre for people who are in times of trouble there, those who have lost members of their families through Aids and other ways. For example, I met one woman who had gone looking for her eldest daughter who had gone missing.  When she got back, her house had burned down and her two babies had died in the fire."

"She had nothing.  I want to be able to help people like this and provide them shelter".

What a wonderful kind woman and  a pure shining light in this  sometimes murky world. Also we realize how fortunate we are compared to the people she is trying to help.

God bless her and her cause.

Afriendlysmile :)

Making Room for One More

My daughter has a former classmate that is a special needs child. He has lots of issues and is being raised w/ his grandma along w/ several other siblings. The grandma doesn't drive and rarely gets out. I have kinda adopted this little boy as one of my own. Whenever we take our kids out for fun activities I always call and invite him. The grandma is on a fixed income and she states because these are considered "kinship placements" with the grandkids she is not eligible to receive any state assistance. Therefore leaving her w/ money for the necessities only each month. Now, I, myself do good to get by w/ little fun stuff each month and I always utilize free first! But, no matter what I give them a call and include him along with us. One time I even invited all of the kids there at her house ... Read Full Story >>

Running In The Rain

"A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside, the kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. Memories of running, splashing so caref ree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked. "Lets run through the rain!" ... Read Full Story >>

Little ways to help

I have a co-worker who lives just down the road from me and her car broke down so she's had to depend on the city transportation to get to and from where ever she goes and it has not been easy for her. I guess you could say that her car is her life line to life. Any way we all have been trying to help her out as she goes through this time and since I ride the bus I've been giving her advice on the stops and the best time to catch the bus. This morning she had to go in early and of course I'm scheduled to go in later so she was going to be left alone , but I told her last night that I would meet her at the bus stop and make sure that she got to where she needed to go on time, so ... Read Full Story >>