Search Results for 'popular' (3614 matches)

An Antique Coke Bottle

Some 20 years ago, I went to a huge antique show at the local fairgrounds. After perhaps an hour of shopping, I found a nice collectible Coke bottle and since it bore no price tag, I asked the older gentleman behind the table how much he wanted for it.  He told me it was $5.00, and since that was a good price, I bought it, and put it in my bag with my other purchases. This antique show was the largest in the state, boasting thousands of dealers, and 7.2 miles of tables. Perhaps 45 minutes later, I had shopped most of my way through the next exposition hall, and spotted another item which caught my interest.  I wanted to ask the seller about it, but he was talking with another customer, so I stood and waited for him to finish. He was speaking with a young lady who sounded quite upset.   "I ... Read Full Story >>

A Young Man and the Starfish

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day he was walking along the shore.  As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.  As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.  As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, ... Read Full Story >>

The Girl Student Sitting at the Back of the Classroom

I still will never forget a girl student sitting at the back of the classroom. Having failed the college entrance exams and changed schools two times, she couldn’t smile naturally. Every day she would sit at the desk, staring into textbooks and exercises, motionless and heavy-hearted. The desperate loneliness she radiated almost stopped me from teaching. Of course, she had no friends in this fiercely competitive class. Every time I stepped into the classroom, I welcomed everyone. Of course, when I said something to her casually, she reluctantly answered with a stiff, shaky, and sheepish smile. Life is harder for senior students. Hardly does a day go by without endless exercises or tests. Every time when the scores came out, her score wouldn't be the first or second but last. Dark clouds always flashed in her eyes. When I invited her to the teacher's office, we never talked about studies or ... Read Full Story >>

Shine Brighter

Dealing with the gal at the front desk at the doctor's office is sometimes less than pleasant. She can be quite off-putting and not at all welcoming. It can make a stressful time even more stressful. 

So, today, when we walked in the office, we were determined not to allow our light to be dimmed by her energy. We smiled at her and complimented her about the flowers on her desk. She smiled and chatted back.

We just need to shine brighter instead of being "reactive". Perhaps she's doing the best she can. We needed to be less reactive to her and more compassionate. We give away our power when we allow ourselves to be reactive.

Getting Out What We Put Into The World

Since I have come to any kind of spiritual maturity I have believed we get out of this world what we put into it (... and then some!) Usually, the rewards are indirect and sometimes hard to recognise, but every once in a while what you give comes back to you there and then! A couple of days back my step-son, Josh, was preparing for a big event. Children from his primary school were going for their first trial day at the secondary school, so they would know what to expect when they started after the summer holidays. A big day for an eleven year old lad! I was in the middle of some stuff when I noticed him searching in a clay pot where we keep pens and pencils. In primary school they use pencils, but secondary kids get to write with pens. And Josh was looking for a pen. He came out with ... Read Full Story >>

God's Insurance Agent

I own an insurance company and every once in a while I will help out
my customers with their payments, both the ones that I have been in business with for over twenty years and the ones who simply need it more than I do. 
 
They come to me with their struggles and life problems, some of which make my problems seem like nothing in comparison. They call me their angel from God and I am very thankful that I am able to do that for them.
 

A 5K Run Becomes An Exercise In Compassion

Sometimes the people who are noticed the least can do the most to lift us up... On Thanksgiving morning I got up early to run in the local 5K run. I figured it might give me the motivation to get back into running.  It was nearly freezing that morning so everyone getting ready to run was hopping around trying to stay warm.   On the side of the road, sitting in the grass, was a man wrapped in a blanket.  It was pretty obvious he was homeless and as usual, most people pretended not to see him.  I went over and talked with him for a few minutes before the race.  In the midst of the idle chit-chat, he told me that he was a veteran and had hoped he might be able to earn a few dollars that morning to be able to go buy a Thanksgiving dinner.  He had a glimmer of ... Read Full Story >>

The Invisible Woman

When I had breast cancer I had to have a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation (the works). The hardest part of that entire experience was losing my hair. I have strawberry blonde wavy hair down to the middle of my back which I have always considered one of my most attractive features. What was hard about losing my hair, though, was that I lost my anonymity with it. After I lost my hair it was like having a tattoo across my forehead that said "chemo patient." I am a very active, athletic person so to have people looking at me with pity as if I was an invalid or a leper was very hard to take. Of course they never said anything, but if I got in an elevator everyone looked away because they didn't know what to say. I didn't blame them, God knows I've done the same thing myself, but ... Read Full Story >>

The Karma Effect

Some of you know about my marvelous Mom who had a stroke seven years ago. She is unable to walk, talk or move her left hand. But she is an absolute inspiration. Every Tuesday night we go out together. I take her to a mall and out for dinner (she loves a glass of pinot grigio). Anyway tonight was a bit miserable due to a big snowstorm. So we just stayed in town. Off we went to Wal Mart and as we were in line I noticed a fairly disheveled man a bit ahead of us in line. He was looking at us as people often do when someone is in a wheelchair. I gave him a big smile and started to chat with my Mom. A minute later he came up to us and gave my Mom these two lady bugs. He paints them and gives them to people. He said when you "See a ... Read Full Story >>

Reflections from a Giver

While driving, today I passed a man holding a sign, begging for donations. I had two dollars in my wallet. I decided I wasn't going to give because money is so tight right now. Then, it felt wrong of me not to give, so I decided to give him half of what I had. I rolled down my window and handed him one dollar. He said, "God Bless You!" and I said, "You too." It was not a full exchange. As I drove away, I wished I spoken more to him, and I wished I had given him all that I had, but instead I was too afraid to give more of myself. Driving home I wondered if I had neglected a powerful universal law, the law of giving from my heart instead of my head, a law that perhaps creates boomerangs of abundance?! By not giving it all from my heart, perhaps ... Read Full Story >>

I See You

She sat in my class. A teenage girl. All the girls had grouped their desks but hers sat in isolation. I reformed groups and ensured that she never sat alone. I encouraged group ethos and it worked well. In this country, girls love to bring flowers and gifts for each other. Not Amani though. She had no friends to either give to or receive from. She has special needs and her communication level is low especially in English (I am teaching in the Middle East). Watching her face and it's lack of emotion pulled so hard at my heartstrings. Seeing her walk about alone during recreation was painful for me. What could I do? I couldn't be her classmate, I was her teacher. Despite this, I had to reach out. On the last day before school broke up at the end of term I brought a gift for Amani. It was a very generous gift ... Read Full Story >>

A Tale of The Missing Flowers

I allowed myself to receive. These flowers were gifted to me by our local florist. I had placed an order with him for flowers to be delivered to a dear friend overseas. For reasons unknown to both my florist and myself, the flowers were never delivered and after multiple contacts with the overseas supplier, who kept saying "tomorrow" for days on end (with no explanation!) we canceled the order. My florist called to apologize and said he wanted to send me a bouquet of flowers to make up for the mishap. Even tho I assured him it wasn't his fault & that he didn't have any control over the mishandling of my order, he insisted he wanted to send me flowers. We went back and forth on this & finally I realized this was something that would make him feel better and that I should just say thank you and let him ... Read Full Story >>

Trees DO grow in Brooklyn!

Almost forty years ago, back on 12th Street between 8th Ave and Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, a group of people decided to hold a block party.  The money raised was for planting trees on each side of the street. 

And so we planted some trees.  The trees were so small, they were almost comical!  Still, they meant a lot to a small group of teenagers who lived on the block.  Teenagers like me.

Fast forward some years, and the last time I went back to Brooklyn, I actually saw those little saplings turn into beautiful, full grown, majestic trees! 

I looked up to the sky and thanked God for such a creation, for giving life to such a small seed planted in the hearts of a few people so many years ago!

A Charity Shop Pram

  A few weeks ago an anonymous Smile Groups friend gifted me £100 to do good deeds with. Since then I have used the money in the U.K. and the U.S. It has helped family and strangers, and generally raised a lot of smiles.   They have warmed my heart, but none so much as the gift I was able to give just an hour ago.   I was in a charity (goodwill) shop looking at the second hand books. It just so happened that the book shelves were next to the toy section.   After a few minutes I became aware of a group of women standing behind me. They were poorly dressed and spoke in what sounded like an eastern European language.   As they looked through the clothes rails a little girl, about three years old, came over to the toy section. Imediately her attention was caught by a toy pram.   What is it about little girls ... Read Full Story >>

Secret Santa with a Difference

This will be the second year at our company when we do a Secret Santa exchange that makes a difference.

As with the usual gift exchange we all pull a name out of a hat and purchase a gift for that individual. The difference is that we envision our recipient as a child & choose a gift the child would enjoy. After we have all opened our gifts & gotten a good laugh, we collect up the toys and take them to one of the many Christmas toy drives in our city.

This is such a great way to have some fun together & make a difference in the lives of needy children during Christmas.

Hand in Hand on a Stormy Night

The train was not working that night as I was heading home.  I had to catch a bus and 2 hours later was dropped off in the middle of the town I was staying in.  The ice storm froze the ground and it was very difficult to walk.  I asked three people for directions, but they were too hurried to help.

Then I saw an old lady holding onto the corner post with her packages, afraid to move.  I asked her where she was going and it was at least 3  miles away.  I tried to find a cab or police car but I was told they do not stop in this neighborhood.

So, we proceeded to walk along, holding onto each other for dear life.  The roads were layered with a sheet of ice.  Then and there I decided that I could not leave this old lady alone like this.  So, I decided to walk her home, hand in hand, for a good 2 hours.  Later that evening, I finally reached my destination  wet and exhausted but filled with joy and love for life.

Kindness of a little girl

Tonight at work a little girl at dinner started chatting to me excitingly. She showed me her new shoes, dress, and her most favourite ... two big shiny sparkling dress rings.

I told her much I loved them and how beautiful she looked. Later during my shift she called me over to her table and begun pulling off one of her rings. Once she had it off she then placed it into my hand and said, "Here, this is for you. It's my favorite but I want you to have it. I know you will take very good care of it for me and will love it as much as me".

I just about cried. Is that not one of the sweetest things! Mostly so because it was her favorite, and only an hour earlier she was telling me how much she loved it and had only just received it.

Children. They really do live from their hearts and it's something to be admired and cherished. And the world is a better place because of them. Blessed we all are for the daily reminders of love that our children give us ♡

"You Look Nice Today!"

About seven years ago, whenever I would notice that someone looked nice, I started telling them that they looked nice. Shorty afterwards, I came up with an observation: If you tell five people during the day that they look nice, at the end of the day, six peole (you have to count yourself!) feel great. Over the years, I've had many fruitful experiences with this. Here are a few: One day, I was riding around town with a friend when we rolled to a stop at a traffic light. As we waited for the light to turn green, a man walked across the crosswalk. He looked very together, so I called out, "Hey, you look sharp today!" Pointing towards a building, he said, "Thanks, but I was more sharp in there." His comment puzzled me. But before I could ask about it, the light turned green, and we drove on.  I ask my friend who was driving, ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Act of Kindness Makes it all Worthwhile

Today I went to my daughter's school and spoke about kindness to 60 kids plus teachers and teacher assistants. After a small talk about the meaning of kindness, I gave a challenge to the children - I told them to  write a small story about an act of kindness that they had done and how that made them feel. Or if they had received of an act of kindness how did that make them feel? In what way had that act changed them? Then I and the Deputy Head and the Head Teacher will choose the best ones, the one that will stand out for their feelings of compassion and love toward others. When I was waiting for my daughter I saw some teachers that were at the assembly passing by and I was hoping that they would tell me if they liked the talk or not, but they didn't say anything. Then this little boy came to me and said: "You know, I enjoyed the ... Read Full Story >>

A Helping Hand For A Brother and Sister

One day, I  went to Safeway a little late at night. There were only 2 cash registers open at 12 AM, and a woman and her younger brother were ahead of me. They had a bag full of food and were using their food stamps to pay it off. Unfortunately, there was not enough in their budget to afford the food they had bought. The woman and her brother had already held up the line by asking the cashier if there may have been an error. The cashier called someone, who then pulled them to the side to explain everything. Then the cashier started to check my stuff out, I asked the cashier what the price was for the food they had bought. It totaled around 45$ and I told her I would pay for it. After paying for the groceries, I left Safeway before they were told by the cashier that ... Read Full Story >>