Search Results for 'popular' (3456 matches)

A Moment That Changed My Life

My wife and I were on our weekly Wal-Mart trip when I noticed a young man standing at the traffic light holding a handwritten cardboard sign that read, "Hungry, Please Help." My heart started to hurt -- I have seen people in need before holding hand-made signs all over town asking for a job, food, money, etc. I guess I just never paid any attention before, shame on me. We got through the checkout lane, and I walked over to the McDonalds's inside the store. My wife said to me, "You want McDonald's, I thought we were going to eat at Wendy's?" since we usually stop at Wendy's or Arby's for a quick bite to eat during our weekly trips. I replied, "It's not for me." I bought some food, and a bottle of cold water (it was really hot and humid out), and I noticed that this young man looked very ... Read Full Story >>

Blankets And Warm Clothes For The Homeless

Years ago, a local man (vancouver BC (canada) named Gregory Ould encountered a homeless man, and approached asked him if there was something he could do to help him.

Greg was expecting the man may want something like cigarettes, but the man in need said he could use a blanket to make it through the night on the cold streets.

Greg went and got a blanket for him, and since then, Greg and his young son started an organization called Blanket BC, which collects blankets and warm clothes to be distributed to shelters that help the homeless.

An annual Drive on the Line event was held this past Friday and Saturday, with “Blanketeers” collecting the donations at select Canada Line stations (our local version of a subway) .

I have been a Blanketeer in years past, and dropped off 2 warm jackets on Friday.

Info: www.blanketbc.org
 

Freeing a Trolley for an Elderly Woman

       Walking through town yesterday I spotted an elderly woman having a spot of bother. She was trying to release a supermarket trolley from the trolley park and not managing.  You need to slip a pound coin into the release slot and this disengages a little length of chain enabling you to use the trolley. But, try as she might, this lady couldn't loosen that chain.     "You all right?" I asked. "Yes, thanks," she smiled back. But I didn't take the hint. I stood a few seconds longer and still that chain wouldn't loosen. "Let me," I said, reaching over. And I pushed her coin just a little further into the mechanism. The chain released and that was that.      "Oh, thank you," she said. "I'm not as strong as I used to be."      And THAT is really what this is about!  I hadn't even noticed the strength it ... Read Full Story >>

New Furry Friends

We have neighbors whose adult son has been living with them since losing his job over 5 years ago. He is the 5th child of 6 and he has struggled throughout his life. His dog died in early July and the loss has affected him deeply, understandably. He built his daily life around the dog walks and made relationships in the neighborhood with other dog walkers and owners. His parents do not want him to get another dog because they want his schedule to be more flexible to find work and not worry about walking the dog. It is a hard situation, I can see he is depressed and lonely without his dog. I also see he helps his parents a lot with chores and cleaning. All I could think to help by including him with my family for walks with our dogs, for a BBQ, and to go get a coffee. Then ... Read Full Story >>

Bagged by an Anonymous Act of Kindness

I was at the grocery store last Friday buying some milk, bread, and juice for my family of 3. At the check out the total came to about $25. I swiped my card but it didnt work. I tried again. No luck. I was quickly becoming embarassed as my 18 month old became fidgety and I scrambled through my purse looking for another way to pay.

I only had 6 one dollar bills in my purse. I asked the cashier to move on to the next person while I tried the ATM. That didnt work either. I finally resolved to write a check but when I came back to the checkout the cashier told me that my groceries had already been paid for!

Tears instantly came to my eyes. I have no idea who the person was that paid for my groceries.  They have no idea how much their act of kindness meant to me. Things like that give me hope and faith to carry on through the day.

Thankful for a Mother-In-Law's Advice 9 Years Later

When my husband and I became engaged some nine years ago, I felt slightly perplexed when my mother-in-law  offered us the following advice: "Be kind to each other."

I thought that was so obvious at the time, but over the years it has stuck with me and I have realised that it is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received.

It is all too easy to take our nearest and dearest for granted and not show them the appreciation that they deserve.

I recently thanked my mother-in-law (mummy 2, as she prefers to be called) for those words.  It was nine years late, but I always think: better late than never. I told her just how much I still appreciate her words of wisdom that she shared with us all those years ago. I could see that I made her day too! :)

Beauty Tips for Your Soul

Here are a few primping tips to increase the beauty of your soul: A dear old lady was ... Read Full Story >>

Live As Though Everything Is A Miracle

The following passage is a healthy prescription of how we can approach life. It is not about being famous or being wealthy or about our good looks. Truly, it is all about love. There are times when we feel as if we are separated from the rest. This illusion creates a mental prison. Hence, we should strive to internally liberate ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living things. "Open your heart to others and try to understand, When someone reaches for you, hold out to them your hand, Follow your heart, no matter what other people say, Do things that make you able to smile throughout your day, Treat other people, the way you would like them to treat you, Do what you know is right and to your heart and self stay true, Remember what life is all about, it is how you make people feel, What you do, where you go, and making dreams become real, Helping people through, in hard times of ... Read Full Story >>

How A Wedding Reception Fed The Homeless

The Fowler family turned a disappointment into an act of tremendous generosity: when their daughter's wedding was cancelled 40 days before the event, the reception had already been paid for. Instead of cancelling the event and losing their deposit money, the family decided to invite an entirely different set of guests: 200 homeless women, children, and families. Willie and Carol Fowler, the bride's parents, contacted Hosea Feed the Hungry, an organization their daughter has volunteered for in the past, and offered to host 200 guests at Villa Christina, an upscale venue in Atlanta. "When they first called, the administration thought it was a prank call because it was too good to be true," Quisa Foster of Hosea Feed the Hungry told ABC News. "It's a very creme de la creme wedding venue, so to say that you're going to host 200 homeless individuals at Villa Christina - it sounds like a prank ... Read Full Story >>

Caring Enough to Help a Stranger

I remember an incident from when I was visiting the USA. I was in Los Angeles in a big store. Everyone was busily buzzing around like bees doing their errands and no one really paid attention to the other people around them. As I was going around this big shop, I saw a woman standing. She seemed to be in real pain. She was holding on to her belly and everyone around her passed her by without even noticing. I walked up to her and asked her what was wrong but she didn't know. I tried to spot a chair or anything she could sit on and helped her walk to it. Trying to get someone from the shop so we could call for some help was not easy thing to do as no one seemed to care. Finally, I got mad and demanded that someone called an ambulance and finally they did it. All along this woman was thanking me. ... Read Full Story >>

The Simplest Act of Kindness Can Be Priceless

I was 12 years old and sewing my graduation dress by hand.  In those days, you didn't make an appointment with the doctor -- you just sat in the waiting room (her living room) until it was your turn, and it could be a long wait.  So, I brought my dress to sew while waiting. 

I was having trouble making a knot, and a young woman with a foreign accent offered to help me.  The reason this simple act has stayed with me all these 62 years (I'm 74 years old now) is because I came from a very unhappy family situation.  Although I excelled at school, the teachers didn't like me because I talked too much!  I had no loving relatives.  Only my dog loved me, I thought. 

It may seem odd that this event impressed me and its memory has stayed with me all these years...but it exemplifies how the simplest acts of kindness can be priceless!

Love Letters Around Town

A few months ago I watched a KarmaTube video about a mother who takes her children out in their community. They joyfully run around and distribute love notes in different neighborhoods. Loved the video!

About an hour later I had to go out and I left my car parked in a parking lot. When I returned there was a note that said "I love you!" on my windshield. It was written in red crayon by a young child. I just couldn't believe the coincidence. I am a teacher for grades one and two, so I thought of a way to pay it forward.

My class watched the love letter video and then made wonderful notes. The children scurried around the school hiding their love notes. They were so joyful. I still find these notes throughout our school and it brings a smile to my face. Our next job is to send love letters to the world! Love you xo

Take this umbrella, she said...

A decade ago, we were recent transplants from India & living in two separate cities. My husband, here in Pittsburgh while I was in a small town NJ.

Anyone who has lived in Pittsburgh knows that it canrain in summer more than many other places. Being a newbie, he didn't. One day as he left the clinic building to walk to hospital about four blocks away, a thunderstorm rolled & it started to pour down. He had no umbrella, so started to walk briskly & noticed a car pull over.
A woman bending over from driver's seat reached out with an umbrella in her hand. When he refused to take, she said, "one day someone gave me this umbrella when I was getting drenched. Take it from me today & give it to someone else tomorrow ". That woman made me fall in love with this city & it's kind people. Sometimes, it takes very little....

 

In My Late Twenties ...

In my late twenties I taught aqua-fitness for three years (three times a week). I was also teaching swimming to people afraid of the water. I had an amazing lady of 77 years old, that just began to love water at that age. It was beautiful to see her new love story with water as she was so scared of it for so many years before. I was also finishing my bachelor in psychology at that time and thought about the incredible positive psychological impact all that had in her life. It was beautiful to see her evolve in the water.... playing and having fun! She felt so good about her swimming,that she started to become more active. She used to run on the her roof top, begun to do yoga again and she fell in love with a new neighbor.... her eyes were twinkling! she told me it was like ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Knocks on the Front Door

Two years ago an African man from Malawi, Elias, arrived at my sister’s home in the rough, bush country of South Africa with nothing but the shirt on his back. He was hoping to come to South Africa to find employment in order to support his family in Malawi. Little did he realize my sister at that time was struggling to keep her body and soul together. Nevertheless, Elias was given permission to stay on the property with the understanding that she was unable to help him financially and he would have to find “piece work” employment to support himself. As unemployment is rife, Elias was unable to find work immediately, so my sister taught him how to grow organic vegetables, sew and bake. Elias is keen to learn whatever he can to take the knowledge back to Malawi with him once he goes home. Elias finally found employment but my sister hit ... Read Full Story >>

Surprise Graduation Party!

My close childhood friend spent the last eight years attending night school to get his bachelor's degree while working a full-time job. Last month, after years of late nights and weekends of doing course work and studying, he finally graduated. He remained in our hometown after high school, but most of his friends, myself included, left our hometown long ago to other states for university and employment. Over time, newfound responsibilities, families, and other engagements have made it rare that we're back in our hometown at the same time. One of our mutual friends hatched a wonderful idea of kindness: plan a weekend that we'd all be free to have us fly back to our hometown to surprise him and celebrate his accomplishment. It was so much fun planning the behind-the-scenes! The bait: his mom told him that he was going to have dinner with just his grandparents to celebrate. Little did he ... Read Full Story >>

Where Does Kindness Start? With Us...

Recently at the gas station...I was walking in to Pre-Pay before being able to pump gas into my car. As I approached the door to go in to pay, there was a woman coming out.   I was about 15 feet away and she stood there, waiting and holding the door for me to enter. Usually people are in such a hurry that they dash out and sometimes even to the point of being rude and mowing me down.  I smiled and said "Thank You, you didn't have to do that"  and her reply was "No problem, take your time." Next we are both at our vehicles filling gas and she finished first. She hopped in her van and was getting ready to leave. I noticed her gas compartment was still open and the cap was dangling down.  I quickly scooted to her van and tapped  on it as she was starting ... Read Full Story >>

Feeding Two Teens From The Dollar Menu

I picked my daughter up from school today. She was hungry and asked if we could stop at McDonald's so she could have a quick bite to eat. I said I didn't have much money, but she could order from the dollar menu.    As we pulled up to the drive-thru window. A young man, about 16-18 years old, approached my car. He had a sad story about his mom being hospital and him having no money or food.    I asked him, "What is it you want? Food?" He said he didn't care, anything would be good.     So, I told him to go ahead of me and wait, that I would order something and bring it to him.   My daughter asked, "Mom, do you believe him?" I said, "I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, but I know he must be hungry or he wouldn't be begging at McDonald's."    So I ... Read Full Story >>

A Five Rupee Formula for Joy

On my way out the building in the morning, I search my pockets for 5 rupee coins. If I have one, I go to the shop downstairs and buy 5 packets of Gems-- an Indian version of M&Ms. There are 3 Gems per packet, giving me 14 chances to make someone smile (there would be 15 but invariably the first Gem ends up in my own mouth!). On the first day, I gave one each to the two youngs sons of my dhobi (washerman), and to the boy who lives in the makeshift shack in front of my building. Their hands were really dirty so I put them straight into their mouths. I thought for a second about giving them an impromptu lesson in hand-washing, but they are too young to understand Hindi and I haven't learned enough Kannada to explain properly. Next time I'll pick up the basics, and use ... Read Full Story >>

My First Smile Card :)

After a short vacation with my parents, I returned to the country where I'm volunteering and I was missing my parents terribly. The next day, I was back at my desk and what a surprise awaited me! The smile cards I had placed an order for had arrived while I was away and were waiting for me on my desk! My day instantly lit up, I was at peace! Thoughts of how to go about sprinkling the world with kind acts began dancing in my head. The next day I took  a small purse and a smile card with me with the intention of giving it to someone who really needed a surprise. Martha is a lady who cleans our office, gives us tea, food, etc. I found her in the office that morning touching her head in exhaustion as she ended a phone call. Turned out, one of her children ... Read Full Story >>