Search Results for 'popular' (3616 matches)

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.

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 >>

Her Kindness Saved My Girlfriend's Life

Kindness returned to me. This happened last Saturday, at 6:00 pm. I was having a picnic day with my girlfriend. We both like to ride her motorcycle (she likes that I drive) and that day we drove to the nearest park. We bought some coffees and smoothies, then we were enjoying our food. Within a few hours, sky was menacing and looked ready to drop a heavy rain. We packed everything again and we were ready to go. My girlfriend, who was sitting on a bench, suddenly was very still and she couldn't talk to me. She didn't move. Her eyes were rolling and she was about to loose consciousness. I held her in my arms and asked if she wanted to rest. She didn't answer and only said "Sorry..." It started to rain and I didn't know what to do. She was fighting to stay alert but her skin was pale and her ... Read Full Story >>

Melvin Off The Streets

[This post is dedicated to my mother, whose birthday it is today, Jan 15th. She has held a lifelong practice of feeding needy people on her parents & children’s birthdays. What’s more inspiring to me is that she did it with so much humility that I never even learned that she was doing this until I was in my early 30s. I love you Mummy, and honor you by practicing the values you have lived by-- which have become my values.] I heard fervent mumbling beneath the blankets when I approached. “Melvin, are you under there?” He pops his head out and let’s out a slightly hysterical laugh. “Yah- yeah… I was just praying. Praying that somebody would bring me dinner.” That alone was enough to bring a knot to my throat. “Well, I have your dinner,” I say quietly, “and its warm.” Melvin had reason to be praying. For most of the last 6 months, ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Is A Love Song

My husband's entire life is kindness. If I made a list of all he's done and is day-by-day in the 16 years I've known him, it would take me days to type. He's not a praying kind of guy but his life is a prayer.

He doesn't use flowery words, but his language of love is compassion, hard work, and just so many thoughtful things he does. He just handed me a big green shake.

Earlier he cleaned out the fridge joking the entire time about various, er, science projects. I'm constantly astonished that this gorgeous guy loves me enough to stick around so long. Trust has never been easy for me, but he has shown me why trust is the best path, and kindness is a love song.

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 >>

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. 

The Power of 'Thank You'

 I am moving out of my university and city, which has led me to look over the last few years, wrapping up my stuff and thanking people. One such is Mr. Rob Holland. He is the graduate housing coordinator.  At any time of the week, day or night, you can expect an email from him saying that an apartment has become vacant, typically at least twice or thrice a week. I needed him to remove my name from the mailing list, but I thought it could become a fun kindness exercise. I sent him a little note, thanking him for such an efficient way of keeping us updated. I looked at his blog profile out of curiosity and got my hunch confirmed that he was just like any of us.  He loved his dog, wife, etc and likes to paint, sing, and so on. So, I decided to spice up my business-like, one-line email with ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Ripples In Front of My Eyes

I was going to post about the wonderful time we had "clowning" at the hospital today, but that will wait a day or two because I had a truly magical day full of unexpected kindness. A few weeks ago while wearing my magical hat and returning from clowning, a gentleman struck up a conversation and now we've become friends. He's a homeopathic doctor and asked me to come to the hospital where he practices to meet the chief doctor of the place to talk about possibly clowning at other hospitals. It ends up they started talking about various Muslim charitable organizations who they think would be interested in the Planet Earthlings project and Acting Kindly game. I felt so lucky to be able to interact with them and confirm we have so much in common. Then on the way home on the bus, I gave up my seat to an older woman. ... Read Full Story >>

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.

The Power of a Simple Smile

I work in a pharmacy, on the main cash, full time. I love it, it's the perfect job for where I am in life, I feel like I'm learning so much from people. I always tell everyone who I serve to "have a great day" as they leave, and I always add a smile. A few weeks ago a lady was in the pharmacy.  She wallked by me close to the end of the night, looking concentrated, but calm. I told her to have a great day, and as usual, smiled at her.  To my surprise, she broke down in tears. I don't know why she was crying, but it was pretty obvious that she must have been having a horrible day. She quickly said:  "Thank you, that means more right now then you can imagine." And managed a smile, even though she was still crying. I wanted to go over and hug ... Read Full Story >>

Two Sides of Wisdom

I was 16 years old, getting out of the train station with my father, and a woman came to him and said that her money had been stolen.  She asked if he could  lend her some money to go back home. My father gave her what she asked and told her not to worry about sending it back. I was shocked. How could my own father be so gullible? It was obvious to me that she was lying, staying in the station all day long to get the next patsy.  "She was lying!" I exclaimed. "Why did you give her anything at all?" My father looked at me and I could see he was a bit angry. "And what would you like me to do," he said, "Should I tell her that I am a college professor and I can see through her scam?" I did not understand him at all, so he told ... Read Full Story >>

A Bus Ride That Touched My Heart

Last night after work, I took the bus home.  Now this bus ride was different then usual. The difference was that people seemed to be helping others at every chance they could!  The bus was filled with people as usual and we took the usual route home.  There is a blind lady who always gets on the same bus as me. We were just about to leave the bus station when a lady on the bus suddenly noticed that the blind lady wasn't on the bus that day and told the driver.  When we looked out the window, we saw her sitting over in the corner all by herself. One lady passenger jumped off the bus and ran to help and guide this blind lady onto the bus.  As we were driving along each stop and picking up passengers, a girl in her 20's got on at one stop and asked the bus driver how much the bus ride ... Read Full Story >>

Bowl Of Twisted Goodies

When my students came in from recess today, they all had a treat on their desks, a small bowl of pretzels, and a RAoK card to pass on and Pay It Forward. #AprilRAoK

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 >>

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 >>

A Lesson From My Childhood

I wanted to share a story from a time in my childhood when I was living with my step mother.  She worked all day so I was responsible for doing the household chores and taking care of my younger half brother. During that time in our life, my dad was not present much, but I didn’t mind, my step mother took great care of my little brother and I in any way that she could. I loved her and always wished she could spend more time with us but she worked Monday through Saturday between the hours of 8:00 am and 10:00 pm.   At that time my little brother was about 4 years old and he missed her so much all the time. He would always wait up for her but would fall asleep many times before she returned and when she left for work he would be asleep. One day, ... Read Full Story >>

Kind Words That Touched a Young Mother

I was on the bus with two of my young children this morning. My daughter was chatting away to me.

When the bus came to its next stop an older lady was getting off. As she passed me, she smiled and said, "You're a good mum."  I thanked her and was a little bit embarassed.

Then, after she got off, tears came into my eyes. It meant so much to me because no one ever really says that -- probably most mum's don't hear that very much!  I'm really grateful to her for taking the time to say it.  Having said all that, I don't know what I was doing that made her want to say it!!

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 >>