Search Results for 'popular' (3456 matches)

The More I Understand, The Less I Know

After a couple of decades on this planet, many years of soul searching, and studying the "self," I feel that I am finally closer to knowing myself which ironically seems to be a journey which tells me that the more I understand myself, the less it is that I know. I now can say I have truly felt the difference between the deepest agony of the human condition and the highest state of joy. I know from my own experience that the main difference that lies between "you" and "me" is just a feeling, a feeling of being separate, isolated, lonely, lost, versus a feeling of being whole, connected, at home, and loved. I think most people, if not all, live with a kind of homesickness, a sweet nostalgia which they can't quite put their finger on as if they were once in a place that they can't quite remember but desperately, somehow, want to get back to. The mystics have said for over a millennia that in existence there ... Read Full Story >>

Ever Been Nudged?

My husband and I were shopping in a local grocery store one day and as we were ready to leave, I had a nudge to go into the coffee shop they had added a few months before.  "Are you hungry?" Gene asked.   "No, but I just have a feeling we should go in for a cup of coffee or something".  As we neared the back corner table, I smiled at a lady sitting alone at the table next to ours and asked her how she was today.  She turned and began to tell me.  She talked for about 10 minutes of all that was going on in her life with very few words of encouragement from me.  She then smiled and thanked me for listening but she had to go.  I asked her if she needed a hug and I was immediately enveloped in the strongest yet tenderest hug I had ... Read Full Story >>

A Gift, 15 Years Later

Twenty years ago my eldest daughter celebrated her thirteenth birthday. I worked hard at the deli the week before and got a paycheck of about $125.  I went to the bank to cash my check and asked for one hundred one dollar bills, nice and clean and crispy if possible, please. I went home and grabbed a nice branch from a tree in my backyard and proceeded to use (almost) all of my paycheck to make my daughter a beautiful money tree with one hundred ones placed as carefully as I would have placed ornaments on the Christmas tree.  It was a joy to behold! My daughter was thrilled.  I wanted to take a picture of it, but all my money was gone and could not even afford a roll of film or a disposable camera.  I asked the birthday girl, Jess, if she would buy some film so we could get a picture.  ... Read Full Story >>

French Kindness on Valentine's Day

France is a very special place.  It is the favorite tourist destination for people from all over the world.  As an American who has lived here for over 20 years it's been for me "a hard nut to crack."  In New York City it was easy to just strike up a conversation with people I'd never met and would never meet again.  Many French consider this type of interaction "superficial" or "invasive." Inspired by this website I decided to find my way to create openings on Valentine's Day.  The key is "when in France do like the French,"  or learn to respect their ways and their limits.  I went to Paris and searched for hours, a woman on a mission, to find just the right chocolate hearts.  The last "maison du chocolat" or chocolate store on my list had them.  Small chocolate hearts, a beautiful deep red color, filled with dark chocolate, ... Read Full Story >>

World Kindness Week Day 4 - Smoothies On Campus

I was walking around a college campus today (not my own) and I picked up two smoothies with the intention of giving them away.

Honoring an Old Friend

One of the women in my spirituality group will not be coming to our retreat next month. She has participated for about 15 years but cannot this year. She has dementia and finds it hard to be away from her home. My friend is turning 90 the end of August. She still lives in the home she built herself more than 50 years ago. She loves to paddle the canoe she made, out on the sound. She plays a piano beautifully and has not lost the music in her mind. She wants to stay in her own home for the rest of her life. Because she now needs much more help, the cost has gotten pretty high. One of her closest friends sent an email to our group telling us what's going on and asking for help. There is a woman who lives nearby who has been coordinating the various services ... Read Full Story >>

The Challenges of Travelling with Children

For my birthday, Julie booked a coach trip to Liverpool. It's where I went to college thirty years ago and I hadn't been back since. We had a great time!   Watching the passengers embark on the coach as we got ready to head to Liverpool, I was a little dismayed to see a couple get on with two boys, both under five. We were gonna be on the coach for four hours. Would they act up? Or be sick? Or would it just be too boring for them?  It turned out they were great!  No doubt about it. Travelling like that with two lively little boys would take both parents full attention. And they did seem to work well together. In the hotel (a hotel that was once the pride of the city, now a bit dowdy, but still spectacular!) the parents got through the meals by working as a tag-team and never leaving ... Read Full Story >>

A Pocketful Of Peanuts And A Heart Full Of Smiles

As I write it’s 11.00 a.m. in the morning with a winter weather forecast of possibly minus 35 degrees wind chill temperature. I’m staying cosy inside and keeping busy by baking experimental vegan items to take to my daughter-in-law when we visit. I’m also making a variety of craft kindnesses to share as we journey. I venture out only to replenish my bird feeding stations with extra seeds and suet, and refill the heated bird bath by lugging buckets of water from inside. Every scrap of food that isn’t eaten, even those saved toast crusts from breakfast at a local diner, goes on the platform feeder for the crows and squirrels, or in the compost, which all the creatures root through for something edible. A few seeds, and sometimes a sliced carrot or apple, may fall to the ground for hungry deer or wild turkey.  Bundled in layers of long underwear and clothes, fleece hood ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Received-Kindness Given

Kindness Received-Kindness Given. Sunday, the gentleman who donated our Sanctuary flowers gifted me with one of the arrangements as he said he appreciates all that I do. I was so touched and gladly thanked him and took them home. Today I took them up to my Dad. He loves flowers and he was so glad to have these in his room. Thought they were lovely, too, and I was so glad to share them with him!

The traffic that made me smile

Today, I was late for work. All because I got stuck behind a mini bus on the narrow streets of my neighborhood. As I sat there fuming, I looked up to see a crooked little man, wearing a uniform and carrying a lunch box, coming out of a house. I could tell by the slow way he walked and the crooked bend of his body that he had special needs and that the bus blocking my way was for him. He turned around and waved good bye to his very elderly mother who was watching him from the porch of the house. Then, as he was about to board the bus, he turned, smiled, and waved at me. My anger left and the tears were rolling as I smiled and waved back. That smile made me late for work and I had the best day ever! I smiled at everyone I saw. 

Grandpa's Investment Pays Off

When I was a student my family went through a few rough financial years. We got by, but only with much effort and many worries. I had a pick-up truck that was forever breaking down and the thought of the 600km drive to school in it was a worrisome one. As I drove away from home my uncle walked up. I stopped and he threw something onto my dashboard. He leaned in the window, speaking softly. "Years ago," he said, "when I was a poor student myself your grandfather once did this to me. I swore one day I would return the gift. And now I have."  Then he walked away without looking back, and I sensed he did so in order to hide his emotions.   A few miles later I opened the envelope. It contained a few bank notes. It was a gift returned more than two decades later to a second ... Read Full Story >>

I Choose Kindness!

I can't stand the thought of people being forced to beg for money, even though a good number of them may be swindlers. That won't stop my kindness. One Sunday afternoon, I was on my way to a bus stop. When I walked on the sidewalk, someone blocked my way. It was a man. His face was dirty and his hair was not very neat. His clothes were rather grungy. I was terribly frightened by this man. In a low voice, he said to me, "I have run out of all my money, and now I can't go back home. Could you please give me some money?" I wondered if he was telling the truth. But despite my doubts, I just couldn't stop my heart from going out to him. From the looks of his face, I guessed that he had been refused by others many times. So I gave him some money ... Read Full Story >>

What I Am Grateful For

I learned to count my blessings a long the time ago. I believe that if any one stops for a minute he/she will find something to be grateful for.   I am grateful for a great number of things but I am especially grateful for NOW, for this moment in time.   I am grateful for the lovely town where I live.  In this town the number of charity shops almost equals the number of “normal” shops.  There are charities for almost everything you can imagine. Even the primary schools are charity orientated, with the Parents and Teachers Association taking responsibility for raising money through parties, discos, fairs and other events in order to be able to buy things like interactive white boards or sports gear for the school football team.  I think my town is very kind and it is very easy to live here.  People smile at you a lot, ... Read Full Story >>

Witnessing Kindness during the Holidays

"Where do you see kindness? No matter who we are or where we come from, when we take a moment to look around, we can see kindness everywhere" -Shelley Frost Yesterday morning I was feeling stressed because I needed to go shopping for some of the organizations I volunteer with. I really don't like big crowds and tend to stay away from large department stores and shopping malls at Christmas time. However, I was determined to make the best of it and have a good day. So I decided to play a game with myself. I would actively look for and count the number of times and ways I saw people being kind. With this mindset, I witnessed so many, many acts of kindness: Drivers letting other cars into traffic; people taking shopping carts back inside; customers waiting patiently in a long line at the cash register; kind words spoken to cashier who ... Read Full Story >>

Nightshift at the Marriott

It had been a long, hot August day. We'd driven over six hundred miles and it was nearing 11 pm as we entered Kingman, Arizona. We pulled off and picked a motel. Much to my surprise, it being mid-week, the deskman informed me they were full. Next place, same story. This time, I asked the clerk for suggestions.      "Try the Hampton Inn."      At the Hampton we were greeted with, "We're booked. Sorry."     "What's going on?" I asked. "Is there some kind of convention in town?"     "A tour bus just pulled in with 60 people," he said. "Plus lots of people are heading up to the Grand Canyon. It's an unusual evening. You might try the Best Western. I think they had one room left about an hour ago."      We tried the Best Western. No luck.      By that time, we'd traveled to the west end of ... Read Full Story >>

Money Flows - Let It

After a sick-day on the couch I was walking around the block to get some fresh air.  Just as I was turning back towards home I heard someone bawling. A kid, I thought at first. Then I saw it was an adult, a woman, looking lost, crying and calling out, walking on and off the sidewalk.   The woman who first crossed her path didn't stop or ask what was wrong. I guess that stopped me and made me turn around.    I took her arm and gently pulled her back from the road, asking her what had happened.   There was spit all around her mouth and tear streaks down her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Sobbing, she told me she'd been on the bus with a friend. She'd given her "friend" the last of her money and then the friend had disappeared. She couldn't get the bus home now since she didn't want ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Gesture To Make Some Children Smile

A few years ago my family and I  decided to go to Kentucky Friced Chicken and grab a bite to eat.  In the line, in front of us, were three kids that looked to be in middle school.  I noticed they were scraping their purses and pockets to pay for their meals.  They managed to pay for it and I was glad.

However, I took it to an extra level. While they were quietly waiting for their food, I told the cashier that I wanted  three gift cards in the increments of $5.00 each. She handed me the gift cards and I went to the children and said: "You have been blessed today and your next lunch meal is on me."   I gave them each a $5 gift card.  They were so happy and thanked me. The girl that was in the group said,  "I have to tell my mom this about this one, I really do."  I just smiled and told them to enjoy their day.

They were so happy they were bursting with joy. You can tell they appreciated a stranger showing an act of kindness that day. Even a small gesture like this can make an impact in children's lives.

Persistance Pays Off!

On my hands and knees on the floor of the airplane, searching for an old lady’s missing hearing aid during the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, it occurred to me that this may not be the most dignified posture for a Buddhist nun. (With shaven head & long flowing orange robes, I stand out.) I had seen the old lady from the seat in front of me as she tottered up and down the aisle with a flashlight. I asked a few times what was wrong, but she didn’t answer at first — she couldn’t hear me. She spoke with a thick eastern European accent, wearing a vintage plaid tweed woolen coat.  Do you know what hearing aids cost? Thousands, especially for the new tiny hidden-in-the ear type she described. It takes a long time for an appointment to make a new one, and many doctor visits to get the thing ... Read Full Story >>

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story # 6 Learning Kindness From My Father

When I was 12 years old, I went with my dad to his work - a car showroom.  I was wondering around and I saw a poor woman with a child in her lap standing outside the showroom.  I saw that she was crying a lot and went inside and told my father.  My father went out and asked the woman to come in to the showroom.  He offered her some water and then asked her what was wrong?   The woman said that her husband had died some months ago and that she doesn’t have anyone else in her family who can help her.  She does some manual labor to earn some money to take care of her daughter but she was sick for the last three days and was unable to go to work.  Now she doesn’t have a grain of food to eat.  While she was relating this ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson In Kindness From My Mother

I was at the drugstore getting ready to leave when I saw an old lady standing at the main entrance. She looked like she might be lost, so I asked if she needed any help. She said, "Yes, please. Where is the drugstore window? I need the get some medication but I don't see very well."  
 
I took her by the hand and led her into the store. I helped her get her medicine and helped her get the money from her purse to pay for it.
 
I asked her how she had managed to get to the  drugstore and she told me she had walked from her house, which was four blocks away. I offered to take her home and she agreed to let me. She told me she was a widow. She had no children and lived by herself. She was 95 years old. 
 
I helped her to her door and she told that she was so blessed to find people like me who would help her. In truth it was all down to my mother who had passed away five months before. The time I spent caring for mom taught me a lot about compassion. She taught me the real love and kindness aren't just reserved for family, but are meant to be shared with everyone.