Search Results for 'popular' (3616 matches)

Walking Each Other Home

Last night, my partner and I went to the levees where I am relearning how to run (he supports on his bike and I go as fast or as slow as my old legs want to take me, heart is strong so that helps :)) Ahead of us was a very tall man with a plastic bag who seemed to be unable to walk a straight line. John said "you keep running, I will check on him." I tried to continue on but then turned around only to find that the man had fallen and was lying on his back with John at his side. I watched quietly. John was holding his hand. I saw the man's stomach go from quick breaths to one of ease. John told the man, "we are going to come back this way, if you are still here, we will check on you." The man said ... Read Full Story >>

Picking Up the Tab for Breakfast

After church this Sunday morning, my daughter and I went to a local restaurant for late breakfast.. An older woman was seated next to us at an adjoining booth. What drew my attention is that when she came in and seated herself , she walked straight toward us with a smile, as though she was going to sit with us and knew us, but then turned to her table and took a seat by herself. I thought to myself that I should have invited her to sit with us. When we were done with our food, my daughter and I left our booth (the woman was still seated at her table) and whispered to the waitress to put the woman's breakfast on our tab.   The waitress seemed surprised at what I was doing for a stranger. So I told her of a card I had received the previous day from a complete stranger, ... Read Full Story >>

Scouts On A Train To Scotland

Traveling back to Scotland from a holiday in England, my family was to board a busy intercity train in the middle of its run.   We thought we would be okay as we had booked seats, but the train was just chaos. The booking system had broken down and everyone just sat anywhere. Our family were scattered throughout the carriage.  The next stop was a busy one and a whole lot more folks got on. It soon became apparent there wouldn't be seats for everyone -- actually nowhere near enough seats. I had noticed we were traveling with a Scottish Scouts troop (neckerchiefs, brown shirts and kilts), and the boys were engrossed in the usual games and chat.  Then, all of a sudden, the leader stood up in the middle of the carriage. "Boys!" he shouted. "Let's be gentlemen!"  Without a scowl or a grumble, twenty young lads stood up and ... Read Full Story >>

Turning Unwanted Items into Unexpected Gifts

Somebody had a LOT of samples of Dove soap and body wash, Eucerin Cream and lotion to get rid of so I said I'd take it.

I suggested to a group that I belong to that maybe we can make gift bags for the nursing home for Valentine's Day. It will cost me only about $13 for the tiny gift bags at the local dollar store (3/$1). The group said they'd repay for the bags and will add combs and things to make the bags nicer.

I think there will be many smiles at the nursing home from this unexpected gift. This just goes to show how unwanted items can turn into a treat for so many.

When I First Came ...

When I first came to Kindspring I was recovering from depression and anxiety attacks. KS helped me to see beyond my immediate field of vision, and the inspirational stories of kindness renewed my outlook on life and the world in general. I had come from a period in my life which was pretty much summed up by these words from Tolkien which I read almost daily and often clung onto, Frodo: “I can’t do this, Sam” Sam: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this ... Read Full Story >>

An Uneven Exchange Late-night

I worked as a waitress for a few months. I was not a great waitress and I worked in a restaurant that served mostly older people who, bless them, haven't learned that 10% is no longer a tip waitresses can live from--let alone a college student packing on 20 hours!

One night, when I was still working two hours after my shift was supposed to finish, all I wanted was for my last table to clear out so I could clean and go home.  My last customer caught me on her way out and asked if I had change for a twenty.  I dug through my apron and turned out my night's earnings... a measly $14.

She smiled at me and said, "That's enough."

My eyes welled up as I made the uneven exchange. "Thank you," I whispered.

I heard her little boy ask why she did that and she explained that I'd had a hard night and she just wanted to help me out.  Not only did her kindness touch my hurried, hassled life, but she also taught her son an important lesson that night.

I don't know her name, but I will always remember her.

New Sneakers and a Milkshake

My  15 year-old daughter needed new sneakers. She wears them every single day to school and they seem to wear out quickly.  So, we went to the mall to a place called Journeys to look for her shoes.  The guy behind the counter looked a little "scary" to me. Dark hair, piercings, but smiling :) thank goodness. (Never judge, I remind myself!)

He helped my daughter find the 'perfect' sneakers and she was happy. When I saw they weren't laced, I commented. The sales guy (about 18years old) says, I can 'bar lace' them for her, no problem!!! I can even lace them in 2 colors if she wants!  She was thrilled and it took him about 5 minutes to do it (would have taken me 5 hours to do and not in 2 colors either!).  

The salesman was so helpful that we walked over to McDonalds and got him a milkshake.  When we returned with it, he couldn't thank us enough.  We were all smiles -- a good trip with my teenager.

Best Servers

Recently I was on a retreat in a foreign country with some friends, some strangers, and many strangers who became friends!    We were all given duties to perform, such as cleaning and cooking. I was in the team serving meals.   On the first day I tried hard to please everyone, but it was hard to know how. Some people liked it when you were fast and just gave them their food, some people preferred it slow and steady so that they could choose exactly how much they wanted, some wanted, for example, stew without the carrots in it, some didn't know what I was serving and didn't speak English. If they weren't served in the way they wanted some grew irritable. As you can imagine, after an hour of this it started to get old.   So the next day, we tried a different tactic.   I learnt how to say "Would you like ..." in ... Read Full Story >>

"What is Your Wish List?"

I currently work as the internal human resources manager for a large home improvement store. One of our core values is to give back to the community, and to make an emotional connection with our customers. One afternoon, a lady stopped by my store and dropped off a letter.  It was a very busy week for me so I did not get to the letter until a few days later. When I finally did, I noticed that it was from a nearby day care center. The director had written that they were low on funds, but needed certain things for the day care. I ran her letter by my store manager, and he agreed to a meeting with the day care director. When we arrived at the center, the director gave us a tour. The facility was really in bad shape. The walls needed to be repainted, the ceiling tiles needed to ... Read Full Story >>

Three Hours and Three Beaming Smiles

It was a hot weekday afternoon and I was on my way to volunteer at a reading session with visually impaired girls. I got in to a rickshaw and immediately struck up a conversation with the rickshaw driver.  The rickshaw driver started telling me the story of his life.  He related that he had grown up very poor and he and his siblings didn’t have much. He said he worked very hard so that he could make sure that his children had the opportunity to attend a decent school.  He said that there were many nights when he would skip dinner to make sure that they would have enough money to send the daughter on a class trip or to pay for his son to attend the computer lab.  I was profoundly moved by the simple and matter of fact way in which this man was relating this heart-melting story. When we ... Read Full Story >>

An unfortunate bird gets the help it needs

Kite flying has unintended cruelty, to the the hapless birds who get entangled in the deadly string, attached to the kites.These days in India we have a religious kite flying festival. Last evening, just before dusk, I spotted a pigeon badly entangled in the razor sharp string, hitting the wall and the tree branches, to free itself the kite string. Fortunately, the same string was entangled on the building terrace. Immediately I sent my helper, Narain, to get to the terrace and try to pull up the hapless bird, gently. With a great patience, he pulled up the injured bird. With the help of scissors, we tried to disentangle the bird, by cutting the deadly thread.  We brought him to our flat, cleaned his badly bruised wings, applied the turmeric powder (Considered to to have medicinal values.) gave him the boiled rice and water. Placed the bird in a safe place hoping ... Read Full Story >>

Buddha Doodle Rug for Two

I love how much this place has changed me. As many may know I love Molly and her Buddha doodles and have wanted to purchase a throw rug for sometime.
However the shipping is more than the rug to get it to me in Australia.

So I've asked my sister in law who is currently in the US if she would mind me shipping it to her to bring when she visits in December. She said she would and mentioned her favorite is 'tree of life' when I said I couldn't decide which to get.

So I've decided to buy it for her along with mine. What a nice surprise it will be for her when she receives two, not knowing one is for her ♥

A Home Without Books

I was talking to one of my students yesterday who is the eldest with three younger siblings, she was telling me that the younger two girls now have a repurposed bookshelf in their bedroom.

Their Mum set out their books so that they could easily access them. Through a charity funded scheme in our school each child chooses a book to take home 4x a year, so the girls now had 6 books on their shelf.

I grew up in a book driven home. Some of my best friends were not in the playground, but on a page. The thought of not having that pleasure of the company of a book, mourn and celebrate along with the characters, cry or dance at the end... Or reading the last pages slowly because I dont want the book to end...

My best friend said she will have a look through the abundant bookshelves of her children and donate. Im going to do the same, and keep vigilant at charity shops. Im sure those girls will soon have more than 6 books between them :-)

An Surprise Gift

Last week I went to a different grocery store than usual, just to check it out.  The person in front of me at the checkout was pregnant and purchasing a couple of containers of milk.  No big deal, she would be done quickly and I could be on my way.  Her method of payment was a WIC card and it kept telling her that it wasn't working.  A manager came over and told her to come to a different register, maybe this one was the problem.  After I checked out, I noticed she was still there, trying to get her card to work.  It was obvious that the young woman was getting anxious about the purchase so I offered to pay for her purchase.  She was shocked that I had even offered and very humbly accepted.  She thanked me and I went on my way with a smile from her. Everyone needs ... Read Full Story >>

The Sweetness of Siblings

My sister and I are forever borrowing and giving money back to each other whenever either of us is in need.  Just last week, she asked me to pick up her medicine at the pharmacy and she said she would subsequently pay me back soon... Her response suggested to me that she was struggling financially. So, I thought I would step it up and instead of doing just one favor for her, I decided to throw in a few more while I was out shopping. I realized all of her furry living creatures would be delighted to receive some yummy treats so I picked up edible biscuits, chewable toys, and bird seeds for all of her respective pets (which included the dog, the kitty, and the new parrakeet). I got her a new sketch book  to encourage her to explore her budding artistic talent more deeply.  I found her favorite cream filled cadbury chocolate egg at the candy store and tucked that along with $40 into one of her pill bottles, so that she could discover the sweet surprise later. A kindness offer was to made her ... Read Full Story >>

Karmically Rich

I just can't get over the fact that there really are so many caring people in this world....Sometimes we wake up and think about all of the world's tragedies and begin to believe we are doomed as a planet. I don't even like watching the news in the morning because the deaths and car accidents and flames that flash across the screen in loud red and orange colors are the first visual images of my day that set a somber tone to my newly awakened eyes. To shift my perspective on the world, what I do instead is, clutch the remote, and push the "off" button so that version of what the world we live in today is shut off.  Ready to reset my day, I make my way to the HelpOthers site on my computer, with my steaming cup of coffee in my hand. Here, I discover a world that doesn't appear on television screens. I find wonderful stories that uplift ... Read Full Story >>

Ripples From A Smile Card Gesture

I went into a local cafe for breakfast one quiet morning with a friend of mine.  I grabbed a smile card as I left my car, not knowing quite what I was going to do with it.  During the meal, I noticed a woman sat by herself, absorbed in a book,  at the table next to us.  I walked over to the waitress, asked how much the woman's check was, and handed her the money and a smile card with the instructions to give the woman the card, with the paid check, but to make sure not to tell her who had done this. When the woman left, the waitress came to the table and told me that the woman was shocked and very happy, said she really needed someone to do this for her, and couldn't wait to pass it on.  But what really touched me was that the waitress said the owner of the cafe had ... Read Full Story >>

There is Life in Just a Smile

It was only a sunny smile,

And little it cost in the giving,

But like morning light,

it scattered the night,

And made the day worth living.

-Unknown

Thank you for all of your smiles as they have made my days worth living. 

Tears And Cheers

I am a high school teacher in a small school in a very rural area.  My personal "goal" each year is to greet each student in the hallway by their name at least twice every week.  Graduation is coming up so people are becoming very sentimental. 

Today a senior student zoomed over to me in the hall and handed me an envelope.  In it was a Thank You note which read, in part, "Thank you for talking to me when no else would. Thank you for saying hello to me in the hall.  No one else says hello to me. Thank you for visiting with me about what books I've read and how my cats are."  This student is a shy person and not too socially fluent.  School is tough for her because "there are so many people in one building". 

Her note meant so much to me and of course, I started crying.  Inside I also cheered because she took the time and energy to "connect" which is what I hope all students will be able to do.  I love teaching and am so lucky to be able to go to work at a job I love.  What a lovely gift I received from this student.

Heroes At The Beach

What an incredible day at the beach! Not because it was the most fabulous weather. Not because we were with fabulous friends. No, it was the best day because a group of men and a young boy took the time to notice a little boy with different abilities, waving his arms in the air saying, "my turn, me, me" as the football was being tossed around over his head. Honestly, my first thought was,  'oh man they are playing football, I'm going to have to go move Micah.' I called Micah from my chair 50 ft away and he was refusing to come! He just continued to watch the ball being tossed, listening to the fun laughter of the guys, and watching the high fives they were swapping. These are the moments that I dread. These are the moments I have to make choices to choose good thoughts, not bad ones! ... Read Full Story >>