Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Henry's Light Garden

Color and sparkle caught my eye while riding my bicycle. Circling back, I founda modest front yard garden with loads of little fun knick knacks, shells, toys and statuettes. While admiring the spectacle, an elderly woman came out the front door and I asked if she was the creator. While we chatted, I noticed the name"Henry" and asked who he was. She replied he was her husband. After learning he had passed, she thanked me for my expression of empathy for her grief. She mentioned that he had also enjoyed the garden and agreed that he probably still enjoyed the garden.

After hearing her surname Luz, I said, "de la Luz," and she said that actually was her full (sur)name.

She was "of the light." Of course!

338 Reads

Unseen Hands Guiding Us

Where the heck did they come from? There must be spirits that somehow direct rescuers to victims of tragedy deep in the wilderness. That’s the only explanation for this near impossible chance meeting. My wife and I set out across a vast wasteland of sandy desert just headed for some mountains and canyons two miles away. There were no trails and we had no destination in mind. After about 4-5 miles, deep in the canyons, we sat down for lunch. We thought we heard our conversation echoing down through the canyon, but the distant echoes didn’t match. After a few minutes, high on the canyon wall we clearly heard someone else talking in the distance. I climbed a little up and saw a man shouting to us. He seemed desperate. We climbed up a few hundred feet to where he was. He was a retired policeman from California. He and his wife ... Read Full Story >>

766 Reads

A Sweet Surprise From My Co-Worker

I love doing random acts of kindness, but lately, I've been pretty busy and have gotten out of the habit. However, I got a completely random act of kindness sprung on me and it totally surprised me! :)

I'm 18 and I work full time so I was sitting at my desk, really bored and tired because it was about 3:00 in the afternoon when my coworker called me (which is weird because she works in the cubicle right next to me). Come out in the parking lot, she said. I thought she had been crushed under a semi or something so I went running out and turns out one of my friends was standing in the parking lot with 2 Starbucks drinks (anyone else loves caramel macchiatos :D) for me and my coworker and a couple of bags of candy including Cadbury Eggs which are my favorite! :)

I was so surprised and happy because I'd had a really bad day that I gave her at least 5 hugs! Goes to show that something simple as taking time out of your day and about 10-15 bucks can really help someone :)
 

726 Reads

A Sweet Ritual Between a Couple

My wife and I have this journal that we share. We write to each other when we are so inspired and leave it for the other person to find.

I have been writing a list in it about what I love about my wife. Today I left it for her on her pillow to find tonight. She's a wonderful woman! I'm a lucky man!

279 Reads

Being Present to Life And Taking It All In

Have we ever noticed that we are so busy doing that we are missing out on a great many things? Sometimes we are given the opportunity to sit in silence and take in our surroundings. It may seem difficult at first, but soon we are able to see, hear and feel what is going on around us. All our senses become engaged. Although our sense of smell is always working, while sitting quietly we may notice that we are able to more fully take in the aromas of the space we are in. Our ears pick up the sounds of the birds singing. As we sip our water we have the time to notice how it tastes and how it quenches our thirst. The contrast in the colors may become more visible as we take the time to see them fully. We also have time to observe the people who are ... Read Full Story >>

948 Reads

Happy To Share

Yet another big carton of oranges and grapefruits gifted to us by our former neighbor who now lives in Florida! They are always appreciated and there are always more than enough to share with neighbors 

When the mailman rang our bell, he left with two oranges.  Hubby dropped some off with our neighbor who rescued a puppy mill dog on his way to the park. I had fun gifting the neighbors on either side of our house, and tomorrow a friend is stopping by to get some. 

I love how one gift given to us enables so many ripples of giving. 

1047 Reads

Finding a Way

It's not that easy to go shopping out here. There are not many stores or options.

So, I put on my thinking cap and made these paper roses with pencils as stems as a thank you for librarians during National Library Week.

A little bit of creativity can go a long way in expressing appreciation 😊.
 

1085 Reads

Cleaning Kindly

My students went on a field trip to the Santa Barbara Watershed Resource Center today. They learned about how plastics affect ocean life, then went on an hour-long beach clean up.


That's definitely an act of kindness. :)
 

1037 Reads

Invisible Love Warriors

While walking with my brother on a hiking trail, we came upon a "smile rock"! I have never encountered one in the "wild" like that! And was so thrilled to see the invisible love warriors who have made these ripples all the way across the country (and world, I know). I am so delighted to have shared this moment with my brother and to feel the LOVE of this wonderful community during my travels! It made me realize how little acts of kindness, whether a smile card, smile rock or anything else, can make such a big impact! ... Read Full Story >>

644 Reads

For the Win!

“Hello! How’d you survive the snowstorm?” greeted Shelly, as she began to ring up my grocery purchases. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we exchanged stories about our winters, the height of snow on our roofs, how we’ve been keeping sane, how MisterM and I should’ve stayed in Texas and Mexico a little longer :)). Usually, I gift the cashiers their favorite bar, but this time… “Could you pick me out a lottery ticket?” I asked Shelly. “Any particular one?” “You decide.” I replied. After I paid for everything, I pushed the lottery ticket towards her, “This is for you, if you are able to receive it.” Shelly got this shocked look on her face (it was one of those $5 tickets) and said, “I didn’t think this was for me!” I smiled and requested, “If you win, how about taking me out for lunch?” That’s the funny thing about kindness, I already feel like a ... Read Full Story >>

1140 Reads

Many Levels of Grace

I have the most magical story ever!!!  It started with the Awakin Call that I was blessed to be a part of in January. Audrey forwarded me an email from a woman named Grace who said she would like to get in contact with me because she had also been sexually assaulted as a girl and perhaps I could help her move forward. Well, I was just blown away that a beautiful sister in Uganda felt like I could help, so I emailed her that day! Since then, we have emailed back and forth almost daily. During one email, she asked me to "kindly come to Uganda because the girls and women there already think of me as their mother." Gut punch, right?! Well, I shared that story with my friends at Service Space, and within a day I received an email saying someone wished to gift me a ticket to go work ... Read Full Story >>

679 Reads

New Directions

I have started to manage an online club to spread "kind acts" in local community.https://cafe.naver.com/etainclub (Korean website)

The motto of the club is "Help it Forward", which is inspired by the 'Pay it Forward" of KindSpring.When 
you help someone you will get help when you need it. This "Help if Forward" is as simple as this.

Thank KindSpring for letting me pursue my life goal.

 

874 Reads

Brothers Keeper

Late in the day my nephew and I were returning from an arduous hike up a narrow desert canyon. We passed a Japanese family with two small children headed up this slippery water tank canyon with no trail. Their apparel was out of place, like maybe they were tourists from a big city. We pointed out they were in for a real adventure. Perhaps they didn’t know what we meant, as they smiled and hurried up the remote canyon. Back at our camper we watched for them, expecting their brief return. A couple hours went by, then the sun set. Alarmed, we grabbed a few flash lights, rope and blankets, and headed back up. It would be so sad if the children were hurt. Pressing on into the night we became more and more frantic for their safety. Finally after a couple miles we were so excited to find them walking towards us. ... Read Full Story >>

1330 Reads

Heart Pillows For Open Heart Patients

This is something that affected me while I was in the hospital for open heart surgery and  made my decision to make things right. Just before my surgery, my doctor's office gave me a video to watch. In that video there were patients and each one had a heart pillow they were using, so of course I figured that I would get one. Right after my surgery, I asked about the heart pillow, and I was told that they took it out of the budget but one could be purchased at the hospital gift shop. My daughter purchased one for me. It was wonderful- it did so much more than for coughing, sneezing or moving wrong. It eventually became my "security blanket" and still is. I even bought and gave out 2 to heart patients I knew- they found it as comforting as I did. Okay, moving ahead- I was upset that ... Read Full Story >>

865 Reads
  • Posted by grammie9909
  • Apr 10, 2019
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My father’s Jade

A former neighbor had hundreds of pounds of jade from a Canadian mine which was partly owned by my dad. She said that she would store it until I got settled. Today I went to tell her that I am moving into a new home and wanted to find a time for picking up the 40 pound slabs. She stammered, “I, uh, donated it.” My heart dropped. I trusted her. She and her husband had returned from a cruise to Hawaii and were planning a riverboat cruise up the Mississippi River. They have a huge home and many material things. “My father ‘s sweat was on those blocks,” I said . Feelings of betrayal were replaced by sadness, but recovering my composure: I hugged her. I guess we can’t “unring that bell,” I said. I have one large block. one small block, and many “cabs.” I just felt tethered to memories by the huge ... Read Full Story >>

400 Reads

Surprises

I got thinking about how to share the Kindspring message. First the “surprise heads-up” - a dollar bill lying face up on the floor of a lonely isle in the local thrift store. Then the "message" sticky posted on the back of the dollar bill - “Yes, somebody loves U". Ok, it's only one little message in a big pond. But the little ripples go out every which way.

Then I drove several twisted streets and miles home through the city and never saw a red light – 20 green lights in a row. That never, ever happened to me! It could have been a Karmic echo of one of those ripples... I don't know how that works but I think it does.
 

570 Reads

My Little Cousin Never Fails To Surprise Me

My cousin is nine years old, a little bit on the chubby side and doesn't do really well at school. As the youngest in the household, she is heavily teased, and thus has developed some resistance and distrust towards adults, who usually don't put high hopes in her. Yesterday we went to an art exhibition together. There were paintings from kids with disabilities. My little girl has a keen eyes , for the paintings she liked most were also the best of the show. She also voluntarily helped to arrange the chairs and table for a sharing session, painted by herself alongside new friends while I attended the sharing, and cheerfully helped me to get my bag from another room, something that doesn't happen often at home as she's usually glued to her iPad. We went to buy books together. I bought a book written by a mom recounting her journey with ... Read Full Story >>

562 Reads

See The Light In Others

Recently, I encouraged a man who had been healing and recovering for the last 32 years from something he did when he was 22. I learned it was after a 10 year childhood addiction to drugs that caused him to make some very poor choices, then, and contributed to the loss of two lives. After reading his private journals and writing that he shared with me, and meeting in person at a public coffee shop, I empathized with what his child self went through and wanted to hug that child part of him and hold him. I let him know I believe in the goodness in him and his following through on his good intentions going forward. He professed wanting to do good and I could see it in his eyes. He had suffered over 3 decades of shame and guilt that haunted him, which led to his transformation and spiritual path. Through ... Read Full Story >>

652 Reads

Doctor Gives Kindness Treatment

Tuesday morning my 5 year old woke up and his eye was extremely swollen and red. Like really bad. I took him to urgent care up the road and after being examined the doctor, she was very concerned. They prescribed antibiotics but said I needed to take him to the ophthalmologist right away. The one in my town didn’t have any same day appointments but they were able to get me into one about 45 min away. I was already holding back tears because I was scared for my son. My gas tank was on E and I don’t get paid until the 3rd. I completely lost it and told the nurse what was going on. I said I had to call some people and ask to borrow some gas money but I would get him there somehow. A minute later the doctor came in and handed me 20$ so we could get ... Read Full Story >>

534 Reads

A Timely Smile Share

 When I went to the door to collect our mail, I shared a smile with a woman who happened to be passing our house. She stopped and thanked me for smiling at her.....seems she needed a smile right then as her morning had been filled with hassles and she was in need of some TLC.

Asked her to wait & ran in for a peace dove, kindness card & some chocolate...she left with a big smile on her face (& I felt happy too). 
 

350 Reads




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