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Changing the world one snack at a time

I recently burned my left arm pretty badly and had to go to the hospital. I didn't stop to take something to drink or a snack since I was in so much pain. After they took care of me I went to the cafeteria and was counting my little change to see what I could get. I settled with a cup of ice water and decided to wait till I got home to eat anything. A lady was in line as I was getting my ice water. I was depressed and in pain but was thankful I was going to be okay. She noticed I was a little shaky and asked if she could get me a snack. I was very thankful and thanked her. I told her maybe one day I can return the favor. All she said was just help someone else who was in the same situation ... Read Full Story >>

What Makes a Grumpy Bus Driver Laugh?

I often take the bus for my daily commutes, and one of the drivers on the route to my house isn't known to be very nice. In fact, not many people like him at all. It doesn't take much for him to turn up his nose, or to ignore members of the community who are stranded when he drives by. That didn't bother me, though.  I decided that, no matter what his mood is on a given day, I would continue to greet and smile at him. Unconditionally.  Now, after awhile of doing this, I've noticed that his overall demeanor towards me has changed.  He not only smiles at me, but he cracks jokes, too!  One time, I fell asleep on his bus, and when I woke, I said, jokingly, "Why didn't you wake me? You know where I live!" We both laughed hard, and since then it has been an on-going joke ... Read Full Story >>

It Is In Giving That You Get

It was one of those unexpected moments of generosity that just takes your breath away - I called up my favorite sandwich shop, ordered two veggie hoagies, and arranged to pick them up in ten minutes. Parking places are hard to find around there so my wife dropped me off, saying she would pick me up again in a few minutes.  I walk in and mention my order. "Ah yes! Here you go. That'll be $14.87," the burly man behind the counter said.  I gave him the cash and he handed me my change. As I picked up the napkins he handed me a giant empty glass. "Here you go," he said. "That's for your drink."  I took it, not really sure why he had given it to me. "Um, I actually didn't order a drink," I said and tried to hand him the glass back.  "Oh, I know. Go ahead, help yourself to a ... Read Full Story >>

Final Resting Place

As I left my home this morning, I found three small feathers on my windshield, which I kept in the car.

As I was heading into work, outside in the parking lot, I noticed that there was a dead sparrow on the pavement. She must have been less than a day old since she passed. I know that the ultimate act of kindness would have been to nurse her wounds had it been alive, but at this point, there was only once choice for me.

I put my laptop bag down on the ground and made room by an adjacent flower bed, in between the mound junipers, for her to have her final resting place... It felt right.

I gathered all twigs and leaves that I could find and covered her body.

Thank you little sparrow for your journey in this reality..

To Live with an Open Heart

The changing point in my life came when I was in London. I had to stay the weekend in the city centre for a professional exam. It's an expensive place to stay and I barely had enough money. Walking away from the city centre into a residential area, I was approached by a young Irish woman. She promised she wasn't a beggar, insisted she had a baby in one the nearby flats but she had no food for him. Could I please help? In my cynicism I just assumed she WAS a beggar. In my pocket I had one pound eighty pence in change and a twenty pound note. This was all I had for the rest of the weekend.  I gave her the change and went to walk on past. Then I heard her muttering something and I turned back. "Sorry, for being ungrateful and all, but this isn't going to buy much in ... Read Full Story >>

Sharing a Gift with Someone in Need

There is a charity called Oxfam Unwrapped through which you can buy gifts for Christmas, birthdays or any other occasion. The idea is that you log onto the website and make a selection from a range of gifts. The gifts include mosquito nets, fertiliser,  school books, or training for a student to become a teacher and there's a gift in every price range.

You make your selection, pay for the gift and then they donate your gift to someone in need around the world and send you (or whoever you are buying the gift for) a fridge magnet and card.

I've been selecting gifts from Oxfam Unwrapped for my own birthdays and Christmas for the past couple of years.  Its a great feeling!   This year my daughters were asking me how it works so that they can send Oxfam Unwrapped gifts as well.  It has taken a while for people to get the hang of it, but I think its catching on!

One Of My Japanese Guest

One of my Japanese guests kindly helped me plant a few flowers that I'd bought a few days ago. He heard me talk about it and said he loves gardening so I suggested he'd do it. I'm not very strong at the moment, though getting there :-) and I was worried they might die. He seemed truly happy to plant them and see them there. I was very grateful. It does get frustrating sometimes, after such a long time in and out of hospital, painful procedures, operations, etc. So many challenges people go through at times...but no matter how strong we are there's days, as you all know, when it's the kindness of others that gets you through.
I'll get you a photo later. In the meantime, wanted to be here with you all and send you a kind and loving hug

The Gift of Each Day

I am grateful for the gift of each new day. The opportunities to share kindness and love with others. Grateful for the lessons learned and truths shared.

I was able to share several large salads and a big pot of soup that I made with friends and neighbors . I received the gift of friendship and warm hospitality. I learned more about how to communicate with authenticity when dealing with "uncomfortable" situations. Loving resolution was afforded by speaking my truth with kindness.

Painted Rock Treasure Hunt

My sister-in-law just sent me an invitation to participate in this fun activity that is taking place in our community. It sounds like fun and is something that any community or group could do! You can change the "rules" to suit your group or situation.

Here's how it works: Just paint a rock with art inspirational quotes of your choosing, write "Go to PNW Rocks on Facebook" on the bottom, and be sure to seal it so it holds up in our wonderful rainy weather. Then, hide it around town where people can come across it in their daily activities. If you would like, post a picture of your rock art. Give a hint as to where people can find it.

If you find a PNW ROCKS painted rock, post a picture of your find on the Facebook page. You can choose to keep the rock or re-hide it. The whole point is to use art to brighten someone's day! Please note that there is no guarantee your painted rocks will be found, and they are given freely.

A Driveway Full Of Snow

Last winter, my family & I headed up north for a long weekend as the kids had a day off school. We made it up before a big storm hit on Friday. Driving home Sunday afternoon I was dreading the foot of wet snow & the wall of snow that we would find at the front of the driveway when we got home.  I envisioned hours of heavy shoveling before getting into the house. 

Much to our surprise, as we pulled around the corner, we caught sight of the house and what did we see but our neighbor just finishing plowing our driveway. It’s so wonderful to have such kind & generous neighbors.

A Gift for My Aunt

My aunt was the first in our family to be diagnosed with thyroid cancer last September. When a loved one gets cancer, the whole family goes along for the ride. I am so grateful that my aunt is stable and still fighting this disease. A friend introduced me to website, where you can help alleviate hunger, simply by clicking a button. For each click, the site sponsors will donate a cup of rice on your behalf. One day while I was on this website, I discovered that you can buy Indian head scarves at a discounted price for chemo patients. They had really good reviews, so I decided to buy eight. I picked out a red one to mail to my aunt. Then I dropped the remaining seven scarves off at the local cancer center. When I got there and explained my gift, the lady at the desk was surprised. She thought that ... Read Full Story >>

The Gift of a Hot Coffee

I work in a place were small random acts of kindness seem to be easily found, if one is looking.  In a place where "regulars" are the norm, a new face came in. He fixed himself a coffee and picked up a few small grocery items.  When he came to checkout, he handed me a food stamp card.  I don't understand the logic behind it, but hot foods can't go on the card.   I lowered my voice as I told him the coffee couldn't be paid for with his card, hoping he would have a small amount of cash to cover the coffee.   But he responded, "I didn't know.  I don't have any money and I've already made the coffee, so would you throw it away for me?"   I pulled a dollar out of my pocket discreetly and told him I had it covered.  The only person that overheard us was the next person in line, who seemed strangely put off and said in a loud voice "you can't be from around here." 

 I found it sad that being kind, can sometimes set one apart.

A Good Deed in My Time of Need

One of the trials of being left behind at the closure of a relationship is all the things that are Left Behind.  Things that must be taken care of  by one or the other of the parties.  In my case,  I would be the one who has to take care of all the things that must be taken care of.  There was no diplomatic division of responsibility -- only me by myself suddenly. I have a  few acres of land a couple of counties away on which I have a minature horse, which Rob so sweetly purchased for my daughter a couple of years ago and which he has now left for me to tend to by myself.    The snow was very bad last week.  Very bad.  And the neighbors' fullsize horses had torn down my little horse's pen and he was running with them.  I couldn't get my vehicle up ... Read Full Story >>

Flooded with Praise

During my days as a fast-food worker, someone who came through my drive through called our corporate offices to praise me for being so cheerful and having such a pleasant tone and manner with the customers. Not only did that give me the motivation to  continue being kind, the manager also gave me a much-needed $20 as a reward. Not so unrelated, recently I went to a store to order wedding invitations, without any real clue of what I was doing. Two stellar employees answered all my questions patiently, explained everything without being condescending, and made sure everything went through correctly. A week later, when an unexpected date change had me worried I'd have to order (and pay for!) the invitations all over again, those same employees called the company that made the invitations to ensure everything would be right. Remembering how rewarded I felt when customers sang my praises to the corporate headquarters, I ... Read Full Story >>

Lonesome Boy At A Gas Station

I have been fortunate enough to come from a family that has always been there for me, no matter what. Like all other families we have our differences of opinions, our fall-outs, our arguments, but we always make up and all is well again. Even in my high school and college days – misbehaving in abundance – I had supportive parents who would discipline me, but always left the door open. I was at the gas station filling up one day when I saw a boy in his teens. (I was a college student then.) I noticed there was something not quite right about the situation. He sat on the corner with his head hanging low. Then he saw a guy walking by and proceeded to ask him for change. The guy mocked him and laughed at him.    I was so saddened by this. I walked over to the boy and asked ... Read Full Story >>

From I to You

I am free, like an angel

that opens her wings

I take on many forms

I laugh and listen

I am never far away

I am never gone at all

I am a friend, a good book

or a pink and golden sunset

I am a Mother's touch

And  a Father's helping hand

You know Me,

Because I am You

You are Me through and through

I am unconditional love

And You are too!

A Little Sister's Love for Her Brother

It was several years ago when my brother was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis). The message was hard to grasp for my parents as well as myself.   At the time , he could barely walk or stand -- he either used a cane or was in his bed.  He didn't want to do anything for himself: he didn't want to get out of bed and he ate all the wrong foods for his body (junkfood). He was basically  giving up and letting go.  It was hard to understand why he is doing this. Our parents wake up every day to go to work and help my brother who I think, thinks nothing of their very kind and very strenuous efforts to help him.  You may have heard of the term, "God helps those who help themselves," but he wasn't helping himself. I then decided to take matters into my own hands. I walked to his apartment and told him ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Rewarded With a Book

I've been handing out smile cards for quite a while now with the singular objective of seeing the person smile and today because of that I won a contest which was very cool!

My daily newspaper ran an article about 'spreading joy', and had a contest at the end of an article asking how people spread joy.  I entered and told them all about 'HelpOthers.org' so people could check it out.  In today's newspaper I saw my name in print, I was one of 4 winners.  I won a book about Joy and Happiness!!

How about that??

Unexpected Roses During Challenging Times

I live in a small friendly town. Due to the current challenging times the number of charity shops is almost the same as the number of  " normal" shops.

I am a regular costumer at the local charity shops, lately looking for teddy bears. There are people that I see working there on a regular basis and I think how lovely it is that they always have volunteers to run the shops.

Today I decided to visit each of the charity shops and leave a rose, a 29gifts and a smile card to each of the volunteers working there. Most of them were surprised, one asked if I was selling the roses ( meaning, I hope, they looked good enough to be sold ) and a lady commented that it was a lovely idea.

My next project is to do the same on the villages around my town. One village at a time.

A Generous Gesture That Made A Dream Come True

I had a dream for over a year, to attend the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. I had even reserved a hostel room a year in advance  because I so wanted to be there. I had worked very hard to arrange things, but was having trouble raising money for the trip. I asked one of my MBA professors who is connected in investing circles to ask, if I were to write an appeal letter, would he please send it to his contacts? He apologized, because he said there is not much money available right now because of the economy. Then he paused, and asked me where I was flying from. When I told him, he asked me if he could help me out with flight miles to Copenhagen for the trip. I was awestruck by the offer. I hurried to tell him that I had not mentioned this to ask ... Read Full Story >>