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A Helping Hand from a Hitchhiker

Three times a week we have to drive to physical therapy for my husband's hand that was reattached two months ago after a horrible work accident.  It's a 150 mile round trip. Today we were running 30 minutes late but just a few miles into the trip we saw a young man huddled against the strong, cold winds that were almost pushing our car off the road  We stopped and asked if he needed a ride.  He gladly accepted and jumped into the back seat.  His name was Dan and he wasn't going far.  As we dropped him off we noticed he had many large piles of cut wood stacked in his yard so we inquired if he was interested in selling any.  He said, "Oh, you can just come by anytime, even if I'm not here and load up all you want ."  We asked how much it would cost for ... Read Full Story >>

Random Acts of Kindness On The Menu

Today I had lunch with Cynthia, a former student of mine. The go-to restaurant I use for events like this is Merit Vegetarian. it's a good introduction to vegan food and everyone I've brought there has loved it.   As I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I overheard someone saying they needed to go to their car to retrieve cash in order to pay for something. When they stepped outside, I spoke to the staff and offered to pay their bill.  As it turned out it was just for a piece of cake and I asked them to just add it to my bill. I handed the cashier a Smile Card, asking them to give it to the man. When he came back with his money the man was pleasantly surprised.    I thought I had done a good deed, but there were more surprises to come.  Cynthia and I were sitting enjoying a ... 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.

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 >>

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! :)

One Teen's Creative Mission on Behalf of School Kids

Teen Creates App So Bullied Kids Never Have To Eat Alone

School lunch can be intensely lonely when you don't have anyone to sit with. A new app aims to help change that.

Isn't this a great idea?!

The way that it works is it's a free lunch-planning app where kids can find lunch tables if they feel like they have nowhere to go. Pretty much, kids can sign up as ambassadors for a Sit With Us club and agree to post open lunches so that anyone who has the app and has nowhere to go can find a table and, hopefully, make some new friends.

Click on link to read more:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/09/15/494074992/teen-creates-app-so-bullied-kids-never-have-to-eat-alone

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 >>

'A Young Lady' Called Charlotte

I have seen Charlotte waiting for a bus many times. She is in her 80's. She is petite and thin. She lives in a little Fold for the elderly near my home. I have got to know her as I stop and give her a lift any time I see her. Even if I am going the opposite direction or I have just nipped out for a pint of milk, I still give her a lift. She is circumspect though and would be careful who she would take a lift from. When I changed my car she was used to seeing my silver car pull up beside her but was wary the first time I pulled up in my new white car. Charlotte looks elderly and frail but last time I gave her a lift she told me she'd been on a helicopter ride, photos even shown  to prove it! She ... Read Full Story >>

Gifting Knotted Bag

When our daughter and partner meet up with us in Durham they are coming with Jack's parents. His mum is called Helen as well and I've briefly met her before. We are taking them to Durham Cathedral because they've never visited and there's also a special exhibition on. I knitted a bag for my daughter last year so I've knitted one for Jack's mum.

Parents Are Precious

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents. My parents left for our native land on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to ensure he experienced his first flight. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways.  The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself for that day. We all went to the airport and eagerly enjoyed the ... Read Full Story >>

Giving And Receiving In Return - in Kathmandu, Nepal

Dear KindSpring Friends, Yesterday I returned from my kindness challenge in Nepal a better person for having participated in a medical mission to help the earthquake victims with free medical care in the devastated areas around Kathmandu. Even though it was a trip to give medical care to those in need I gained so much from these wonderful loving, humble souls that I feel I came away with more than I gave. As we all know Nepal was rocked by two powerful earthquakes recently and many of the rural villages were all but destroyed. Many villagers sustained injuries that did not receive proper medical care. Working with the BICOL Clinic Foundation I was able to volunteer to go to Nepal with a medical team of approximately 20 doctors, nurses and students to set up free medical clinics in the most devastated villages. Working with the local teaching hospital we were able to ... Read Full Story >>

Welcome To The Kindness Game

I am a member of a blogging site and through sharing my stories and commenting on other people's I have made a few good on-line friends. 

One of my friends wrote a blog about an unexpected electricity bill she was struggling to pay. She said her kind-hearted daughter was prepared to give up most of her wages from her summer job to help pay it off. 

I decided that this deserved a reward! 

I sent my friend an email asking her to trust me with her address. She did and I sent a little gift box filled with goodies for her daughter, and a card to let her know that she was being rewarded for being awesome! 

Today I found out that she received it and wants to join in the game of random acts of kindness - even though she's been doing it already!

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 >>

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 >>

"School Ambassador" decides to become an Electrician

Today I was recruiting for a business administration class. Recruitment was slow and at the end of the day I telephoned students who were given a conditional offer in May. I telephoned Blaine's mother. She was very interested in him doing my course. Quite often when a student doesn't come back to us in Further Education it means they did really well and are going to continue on at school, complete their A Levels and go to university. I remembered Blaine didn't want to go to university. When I telephoned, his mum was able to confirm that Blaine had indeed done really well. He had decided to do a course to become an electrician. I could tell his mum was anxious about this. I asked how she felt about this. She really wanted him to do my course and 'doing a trade' was very much out of her comfort zone. 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 >>

An Extra Special Holiday Gift

Many years ago, I was a struggling single mom starting up a new business. It was the holiday season, and my boyfriend and I had decided that we would splurge for just one evening, and go out to dinner. We went to the Red Lobster and it got me thinking about my college waitressing days and how much I enjoyed working during that time: people shopping, feeling joyful, and tipping big. I was in the holiday spirit and wanted to give the waitress a big tip, though I knew it wasn't going to be a big Christmas for us that year.  When we had picked what we wanted, I did a quick calculation in my head to make sure that I had enough money before we placed the order. At the end of the meal, when we asked for the check, the waitress replied "It's already taken care of." I didn't understand? She ... Read Full Story >>

Parking Lot Surprise!

My mom was recently hospitalized at a local inner city hospital that requires visitors to pay for parking. I cannot fault the organization for accepting revenue for parking when it is difficutl to find addequate spaces to park at many hospitals.

As I was leaving I was reflecting on how very fortunate I am that she is improving daily and that I have a job and can afford to pay for parking.

Having a family member or someone you care about to be in a hospital is difficult enough, many folks are grieving or afraid so to extend a small favor like a parking fee, maybe would help just a bit.

So as I left, I gave the parking lot attendant double the parking fee each time I visited and asked her to use the extra money to pay for the next person in line's parking. I have no idea if the person behind me felt any better about the "free parking" but I did!

A Moment Etched In Her Heart She'll Never Forget

Yesterday I followed my heart to do an act of kindness for someone in need. A family who comes to our weekly homeless meal and ministry has been struggling. The mom was very upset on Tuesday, as she has not been able to get some help that she needed. She tries very hard to support her family but has not been able to get many hours for work. I stopped by her house on my way home from the office. I talked to her and her kids for a few minutes and then gave her an envelope with a note and a little help, apologizing it couldn't be more. She took it and went inside as I talked to her kids for another minute. As I said goodbye and opened the door to get into my car, she came out the door calling my name. I turned around as she came ... Read Full Story >>