Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Two Conditions For This Gift

A couple of weeks ago, I heard that a friend had been diagnosed with cancer. It turns out that he doesn't have long to live. They are hardworking people with two young children -- one is only five weeks old.

Clearly they are devastated, as is their family. A major challenge is the debt they owe as a mortgage on their home. He cannot work, has no insurance and they really don't need the worry of a bank asking for repayments. So I have assisted them anonymously, through my friend.

The conditions are two fold -- they are not to be told who put the money in their bank account and they are to watch the movie "Pay it Forward".

I feel good that I am able to assist them. I hope that if they ever can, they will indeed "pay it forward".

Mondays With Mom

I "woke up" about a year ago and realized, at 79, my mother wasn't going to be around forever.

So now, every Monday when I get off work, I drive to her house and we spend the evening together before I drive the 40 minutes home.

We have dinner together, watch TV, knit, I take out her garbage or help her find a misplaced item or whatever she needs. I listen to her tell me the same things she told me last week and the week before or 15 minutes ago, over and over. But, I realize how precious our time together is and I enjoy that she is "chatty" so I try to never discourage her talking by letting on that she is repeating herself (as a couple of my sisters tend to tell her). I hope someone will be as patient and caring with me when I'm her age.

I also call her every morning @ 7:30 to make sure she is up and see how she is feeling.  She lives alone and this gives her a little sense of security knowing someone cares about her and checks on her well-being.  There isn't always a tomorrow for everyone ... let them know you love them TODAY, you won't regret it!

Finding Angels Among Everyday Life

When my friend was driving me into the city for a doctors' appointment on the 15th of Aug. this year, we had the truck break down.  While we were sitting there trying to find someone to give us a pull to another friends' place, a car pulled up behind us. And a mother and her 12 year old son got out and ask if they could help. We said YES and got them to tow our truck to a friends. When we were unhooking the vehicles, the mother asked us how we were going to get home.  As we live north of the city, about an hour away, we told them that we would need to find a ride to the bus depot and catch a bus home.  The mother and her son asked us if they could take us back to my place. We said sure, thinking that we ... Read Full Story >>

Unspoken Contract With A Rickshaw Driver

"Where to?" the rickshaw driver asks me with his mouth full of tobacco. "Vijay Char Rasta," I say. I'm headed to meet a few friends to talk about the purpose of life and things like that. :) After some light conversation, the rickshaw driver and I quickly become friends. "Are you from Ahmedabad?" he asks me. "No, I'm just visiting a friend." "Just a visit?" "Yeah, he's opening a restaurant and he wanted my parents to inaugurate it. I'm helping him launch the café." "Café? You mean, it's like a Barista?" he asks showing his knowledge about the trendy coffee joints in town. "No, not quite like Barista. It's called the Seva Café." "Oh, what's that?" "Well, it's a place where most everyone is a volunteer, and no one gets charged for their food. It's going back to our cultural roots, where each person is treated as a ... Read Full Story >>

John's Biggest Wish

John's biggest wish was that his Mom could come hear him sing.  My ex-partner was an excellent pianist and would play weekly at a local lounge.  He would set out 20 books and encourage the patrons to choose a song to sing as he played.  One regular was this man named John.  At first, he can appear cold and stand-offish, but today, we've become best friends! John has a voice that could easily be recorded on CD and sold.  He's one of those unsung talents.  And because he always wanted his mom to hear him sing, I tracked her down over the Internet and planned a surprise for John! On John's 34th birthday, we went to a nice restaurant for dinner.  I went early to set up the table with Kermit the Frog tablecloth, plates, napkins, balloons and had a version of "Rainbow Connection" -- my favorite song -- playing when he arrived ... Read Full Story >>

Lessons From an Auto-Body Repair Shop

My husband and I have an auto body repair shop behind our home and we both have worked in it for the past 4 years.  He does most of the work and I help him when he needs me.  I must say that I HATE this kind of physical labor and have NEVER had an interest in this, but because it's what my hubby wanted to do, I begrudgingly agreed to it.  By watching him and learning about this type of work, I was able to help out a total stranger today.  I noticed that there was red paint scrapes on her white pickup.  I knew I had to speak with her about how to easily remove those marks off her white paint on her truck.  She finally pulled into a parking lot of a restaurant and I quickly got out of the car.  I told her that I noticed ... Read Full Story >>

When Little Doug Comes Home!

"When Little Doug Comes Home".  For as long as I can remember, that was the statement that my mother, myself and my two sisters shared.  My father was Big Doug, Douglas Senior.  And my brother was Little Doug, Douglas Junior.  My father passed away eight years ago, and my mother had always hoped for times "when Little Doug comes home."  After Little Doug was discharged from the Armed Forces, he was based in California and would always take all his vacation time to come home.  And then, on October 18th, 2006, my one and only brother, Little Doug, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. We were all deeply saddened by  his sudden passing.  I am hoping to one day retire and I will celebrate him and I trust that one day we will all be united together and Little Doug will finally come home. Since my brother passed so suddenly, I now value life and  I ... Read Full Story >>

Model In The Making

I recently gave away some of my most favorite clothes to a young girl who wants to be a model.  She has very little money to the point where she might go a day without eating.

I don't have much I can give but clothing is my gift -- I'm a fashion designer. 

For me, every day that I wake up and have something nice to wear, I feel good.  And if I could give her just a little bit of the self confidence I have every day, I may have gotten her a little closer to her dream. 

Power of a Blue Ribbon

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in High School by telling them the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First, she told each of them how they had made a difference to her, and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon, imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference." Afterwards, the teacher decided to do a class project, to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a Community. She gave each of the students three more blue ribbons, and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were  to follow up on the results, see who honored whom, and report to the class in about a week. One of ... Read Full Story >>

Dinosaur Diner -- Just Because

I promised my children we would stop at the Big Dinosaurs off of  InterState-10 on our way home from a trip to Arizona.  On this trip, we had my children's charity money and a few smile cards. We were sitting at a table in the old run down diner. I admired all the old relics and someone's art on the wall. My son said, "They should not sell that.  It looks good right there."  "Someone might want it in their home," I tell him.  And so our conversations went. Then, I ask my kids if we could leave their charity money as an extra tip for the waitress with a smile card.   My son protested, "NO! They all have homes here ... we need to give some to the homeless or a charity." I sat there and smiled and respected his wishes.  I put their pouch back in my purse.  Then, in ... Read Full Story >>

'Happy Notes' For My Sister

My sister and I live on opposite sides of the US and it is hard for us to visit each other regularly. 

About 10 years ago, while visiting her, I was packing my things and getting ready to fly home when I got the idea to leave her some "happy" notes.  While she was out, I began cutting up little slips of paper and writing things on them like, "You and me, Sis!" , "You rock!",  "You are my best friend." and "I love you so much!".  I began putting the notes in places she where she would eventually find them like under her creamer in the fridge, in a silverware drawer, in her makeup case in the bathroom, in her favorite coffee cup, etc.

Every now and then, she would call me to tell me she found another one and that it seemed like it was when she needed to hear from me.  I know it made her smile, but it made me feel even better to know that even though I could not be there physically, that I WAS there when she needed me (and even when she didn't!).

At 5:20pm ...

Today, I was smile card obsessed. I had my son and friend take a flower arrangement and ding-dong-ditch the neighbor. Then, I realized I had a huge zucchini in my garden and I am leaving town. So I ran it to another neighbor with a smile card ... pounding on the door and running as fast as I could lest I get caught. I know how the grandma living next door loves cooking with fresh veggies, and it warms my heart and makes me smile that this will not be wasted.  Then, I was thinking I want to do more ... but why does it have to be about stuff?  I am feeling more and more materially withdrawn from our consuming nation.  A little voice inside me said, "Just allow it to happen.  Something will inspire you."  And it did. I walked into Trader Joe's and started to pickup some groceries for my family, ... Read Full Story >>

Man In The Rain

It was late one night my hubby picked me up to go out to dinner. It was late and raining. For some reason I asked him to go a different route then usual.

By the 3rd stop sign, we saw this man who walked up to our car wet and shivering. He asked if we had 10 bucks so he can fix his flat. He also told us he was out of town and did not have a spare.

As my husband questioned him, I looked in my purse and saw a $20. With out a second thought, I just gave it to him.

My hubby looked as if I was crazy, and asked if I had anything smaller. I said, " No, I've been saving this for a rainny day. And I guess this is why."

That was the best feeling ever. (And fear not, we also gave the man a ride to the gas statin to dry off.)  

The Day Star Trek Came Alive

When I was about five or so my favorite television show was Star Trek. Dr. Spock was clearly my favorite character and I listened to his advice with great seriousness. When I found out that  he was going to be signing autographs at TSS, I begged my mother to take me. To continue this story, you have to understand a little about my chaotic childhood. With rampant abuse, television, movies, and books were my only escape. I delved into them and  found places, people, and situations  both like my own and not. It gave this little girl hope. It helped to save me from the messiness of growing up in a dysfunctional household. So I hope you can imagine how important meeting "Spock" was to me. When the day came, I couldn't wait to get to the store! I dressed up in my favorite outfit, green of course, and waited, very impatiently, ... Read Full Story >>

A Cold Lime For My Mom

I have been feeling so down lately I have been totally neglecting my mom.  I hardly talk to her these days and don't respond to her worried enquiries about how I feel and stuff.

So the other day, I decided that maybe I should start doing something nice for her.

For starters it's really hot in my city right now, so I began to make cold lime juice for her every day. I left it in the fridge and left a note saying it was there when I went out.

I also made her meal and coffee when she came back home from work.

Helping a Hummingbird

My daughter and I were removing dead blooms off our lilies a few summers ago when we came across an exhausted and "beat up" young hummingbird.  It was so hot outside that we brought it indoors to cool off.  We put some nectar we already had for our feeders into a bright yellow bottle cap and put it near the tiny bird.  It was so hungry and it lapped the red liquid up furiously.  It drank so fast that the nectar was running down its breast.  My daughter made it a "bed" in a tiny box where it rested for about 4 hours.  We periodically gave it more nectar during that time frame.  Innocently, my daughter wanted to know why the other hummingbirds were attacking this one.  I explained to her that just like us, other animals may pick on weaker ones to ensure that the strong get what they ... Read Full Story >>

Clearing Out The Heart

I'll be moving soon so decided to clear out my cupbaords before moving.  I was amazed at how much stuff I had stored away.  I decided, with the rest of the staff at work, to collect for the Red Cross Children's hospital.  We just recently took 4 boxes of goodies to them and what a wonderful feeling.  These children, some of them terminally ill, are from the poorest of the poorest, and did they enjoy all the toys, videos and clothes that we collected. I truly believe that we carry or keep too many material things in our lives.  And that hogs up a lot of energy.  I can't tell you how great it felt to a)  give to those less fortunate and see the joy on their faces and b) to learn that I don't need so many material things in my life, that I don't use.  Its been extremely ... Read Full Story >>

A Simple Card For a Beautician

This week I felt I wanted to treat myself to some ‘beautician treatment’. I am house bound, so knew that I’d have to pay for the beautician to travel to our place, but that was okay by me, after all this was a treat.   That day I had an appointment made, and was expecting at least a 2 week wait, but to my surprise, was told she’d be here at 3:30 that same day. She came by, and spent an hour with me, when she was finished, I handed her $50; $30 for treatment, $20 for petrol and traveling time. She turned to me, and handed me back the $20 and said ‘don’t worry about the travel’.   I am unable to talk, so was left to convey my gratefulness and appreciation with my eyes and a warm smile. She politely left, smiling, but I didn’t feel satisfied. Did she really know how grateful I was ... Read Full Story >>

First Time I Did Something Kind

Many times when I see a needy person on the roadside, I feel like helping them in someway but this always remains in the thoughts and could never turn it into action. Donno what stops me from taking that one step further to extend my helping hand to those people whom I could have surely helped. After signing to Helpothers.org, I have changed a bit :) I made up my mind to utilize any opportunity to do something small but beautiful thing to help someone in need. On a sunday evening, I was out with my kid and wife, spending our time enjoying playing in garden and going to temple and eating ice cream. This is sort of our every week routine as I get little time with my child. There as we parked our car and stopped to have icecream and other stuff, a poor girl comes close to our car ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Man's Can of Oil

Wherever he went, he carried it with him.  If he found a door that was squeaking, he would put a spot of oil on the hinges; if a neighbour's sewing machine wasn't running smoothly, he was always ready with his oil can; and all the boys in the neighbourhood knew where to go if their bikes were needing attention.

As the old man went through life, he and his oil can were always there to make life pleasanter and easier for those with whom he came into contact.

It is only a story I've heard, but perhaps some of the folk we meet have problems that make their life difficult and irritable.  And perhaps, like that old man, we can lubricate it with the oil of kindness, gentleness and thoughtfulness.

If we have our own can of oil ready for such occasions, what a difference it can make!