Search Results for 'popular' (3455 matches)

My Heart Was Tugged

It was a really chilly evening when I left the office to go to my P.O. Box.  When I arrived in the little shopping center, it was alive with folks bundled up in warm coats going about their busy lives.  To the side of the post office sat a woman on a cement wall, dressed only in sweatpants, a hoodie, and tennis shoes. Beside her were a few plastic bags of belongings.  She looked down when anyone came near her, and shyly looked up to glance when they went by.  She clearly was homeless. She clearly touched my heart.  She had to be so cold. I got into my car to leave, but just couldn't.  My heart was so tugged.  Then, I remembered that I had a brand new down hiking coat in my trunk.  I also had some blankets that I was going to give to the homeless.  This was ... Read Full Story >>

Hope, Joy and a Little Bit of Ice-Cream

Earlier this year, I submitted an idea to the Helpothers.org Kindness Contest.  I was lucky enough to be selected a winner for my idea and received a $100 to throw an ice-cream party for the children in the ART (Acute Residential Treatment Center) at the Walker Home & School in Massachusetts.  This institution serves the complex needs of a diverse group of children, from those with severe mental illnesses to those who have experienced abuse, neglect or other catastrophic challenges in their young lives. The simple joy of knowing that even children who struggle with daily living can find pleasure in an ice cream party really meant the world to the staff who support them.  It was also important to me becausse it reminded me of how The Walker Home saved my son Evan's life when no other organization could understand him. In saving our son's life, they saved our family from crumbling as well. Walker ... Read Full Story >>

Sixth Graders and the Smile Deck

I teach a sixth grade religion class, and today I played the Smile Deck game with my students.  They each left with two kind acts to complete and were very enthusiastic as I handed them regular Smile Cards to go along with the Smile Deck Cards.

One student was able to complete one of her acts that day itself, when class ended.  She held the door for those leaving the building, handing out Smile Cards to those who would take them.  It was uncomfortable for her at first (12 years old is an awkward age, at best), but she got the hang of it and started to enjoy her 15 minutes as 'Door Woman'!

I am excited to hear about how the other children's acts of kindness go.

I hope that my take on the ways we can “take care of God's creation” will sink into these kids, and they will carry forward the idea of embracing kindness as a meaningful part of life.

This is just the beginning for me!!  Thanks for the forum of inspiration!

I Can Never Repay You...

When I was younger, my children and I went to live in a shelter. The day we arrived, we had five dollars and nothing more. I worried about what I was going to buy with that five dollars for my children to eat. I decided on boxed Mac and Cheese and lunch meat …the shelter was like an apartment and had a kitchen. I bundled my children up and got ready to walk to the supermarket. When I opened the door, someone had placed a food basket in front of it. There was pasta, a ham, and other assorted canned foods. There were toys for my children, pajamas, and bubble bath and slippers for me. I took the basket inside, cried and thanked whoever left me the basket, and made dinner for my babies. I found out after that a group of students from the high school up the block (Aquinas, in ... Read Full Story >>

A Moment of Calm

My husband and I were cleaning windows together yesterday. We  have the double-hung windows that you can pull forward and flip, allowing us to clean the inside and the outside surfaces. My husband was washing one window - and it popped out of its frame!  Well, our house is for sale and the last thing we needed was for something to break. He was so upset and tried with all his might to get it back together, using a few less than pleasant words (I am sorry to say). After twenty minutes he still could not get it fixed. That's when my 23 year old son told his dad to walk away for a minute and he would try to fix it with me. It's amazing how you can see things more clearly and do things more easily when you are calm. He and I fixed the window in three minutes! I called ... Read Full Story >>

Delving into Difficulty

The head librarian seemed sort of distracted and as we talked, it became apparent that she was grieving for her mother that had recently transitioned.

I stopped the setting out of materials and my busyness in getting our coloring meet organized to stop and listen: to really open my heart and hear the pain and love that she was willing to share.

Although her mother had been in hospice, still that final farewell (from this physical existence) is always a challenge.

We hugged for a good while.

Remember to take the time, my friends, to delve into those "difficult" parts when someone needs to share, is a privilege, their confidence.

Sending blessings of comfort and strength for all those facing such recent challenges.

Paying Forward With a Pocket of Coins

Today, during the busy lunch rush, an elderly gentleman came up to the counter with his items. As I rang them up he pulled out his wallet and I could hear what sounded like a ton of change jingling around. When I told him the total he nodded and started to count out the bills needed. I noticed that his hands shook forcefully when he did this. When I saw him having trouble trying to get his change out I told him not to worry, that I could cover it. Even though he clearly had the change I used my own to spare him the difficulty. He was so moved by this that when I handed him the receipt he had managed to get a handful of coins and asked me to take what I had given him.  When I said that I was just going to give it to the ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Card Revolution at School

I am currently in grade twelve at my school and have been working on a project by creating a group of eight girls, ranging from grades five to six, to stop bullying.  I introduced these girls to the Smile Card idea, and it was a huge hit.  We have been meeting every week since then.  Next thing I know, one girl came up to me with over 100 Smile Cards that she had printed out from this website and colored in herself!

This shows me that kindness can reach all different ages.  Now, the girls are continuously spreading the cards and making journals of their experiences.  I plan to get our whole school involved in this Smile Card revolution. 

My next theme is "We are all the same yet so different."  These girls gave me hope that people in this world do care.

A Banana Bread Thank You

We live in a circle of giving in my neighbourhoood; neighbours sharing and looking out for each other.

So, the other day when a plate of banana bread appeared on our doorstep without a note I didn't know who to thank.

Was it Leslie? We often exchange fruits and vegetables from the garden and swap baked goods. I called her. She said it wasn't her.

Was it Carol? She loves our garden veggies! Nope.

Was it Helen? I had stopped by her house with a bag of freshly picked tomatoes and although her daughter had just given us some apple cake a few days earlier she said it wasn't her either.

I was scratching my head in confusion when Helen started talking about how nice it was that my husband and two other neighbourhood men had helped her neighbour move a big mattress into their house the other day.

Then her eyes sparkled and she said, "I know who baked a lot of banana bread! It was Ellen! She wanted to thank your husband for his help with moving the mattress!" 

Mystery solved - and more friends to bake for!

Stories for an Extra Special Listener

 This isn't so much a kindness story as a lovely moment. Every once in a while I go along to a local radio station to record some stories that go out as a 'Thought For The Day'. Usually the sound engineer is very fussy about background noise when we are recording. Sometimes there are other people in the studio and he makes sure they know silence is the order of the moment. Today there were two people in the studio. One was teenage boy working at a computer keyboard. The other was a woman who might have been his mother or his helper. We exchanged some pleasantries and she asked if I was doing 'Thought For The Day'. I said, "Yeah," but joked I was self-conscious. "So, nobody listen," I said in a mock raised voice. Then we began to record. While I spoke into the microphone I noticed the woman talking to the boy - ... 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 >>

A Little Library...

I started a small neighborhood book exchange. My husband put the shelves together for me and we supplied the "seed" books to get things rolling. I also designed and printed free bookmarks for patrons to take with them. My hope is that people will choose a book, enjoy it and return it for another...along with contributing a few books of their own to share with their neighbors and friends.

Aren't Smiles The Best Instant Gifts?

I have recently developed this habit of waiting an extra few seconds to look out for others who may want to take the elevator up. Today there was a person who appeared just when the doors were closing and I hit the "Door Open" button on the elevator and greeted him with a smile. He was overwhelmed and said - "Its not often that you see smiles & kindness like this around here". It was both disheartening as well as fulfilling to hear those words. I hope this inspires him pass on his smile to the people he runs into today.

After all aren't our smiles the easiest & most instance gifts we have to share at any moment?

A Mile Of Trash

Today I walked the mile to the end of the main road by our house, to the beautiful corn-fields and farm-land.

As I prepared to walk the mile back I pulled out a big clear trash-bag. Then I started filling it with the beer cans, cigarette packs, lottery tickets and other trash that people throw out their car windows. 

Along the way a couple of friends and strangers stopped to thank me for doing it. But I also hope that many more people noticed what I was doing and perhaps they will think twice before throwing things "away" next time. As we know there is no "away." 

I now have a giant bag of trash and recyclables to sort out to keep the kindness going. I love doing this for my neighborhood and for our community.

Kindness To Grand Mother 🙏

There are 2 glasses of tea for me. I told grand Mother that we both drink cup of tea each. But grand Mother said you drink one now and one later. Finally, I said let us drink one cup each. I put some biscuits for Grand Mother. People here are doing big big kind acts. I am just kind to Grand Mother 🙏 My small kind act is cup of tea and biscuits to Grand Mother 🙏

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 >>

A Heartfelt Way to End the Year

There is a family in our neighborhood that moved here from Sri Lanka. Their daughter goes to the same school as my children so we see her at the bus stop often. They have had a tough time since they came to America. They had some medical bills last week that made Christmas gifts not possible.

I told my wife that we needed to help her. We got the family a gift card and two toys for each of her two children. When my wife called her mom and told her what we were going to do, she wanted to help too. She bought a few gifts for each child as well.

We took over the gifts, some cookies and wrapping paper for the gifts. The woman was so happy and excited that the kids would have some things to open for Christmas. We couldn't be happier ourselves that we had spread a few smiles.

Some friends and I are doing 10 kind acts for the last 10 days of the year starting today. I thought this was a great way to start it off! It was six years ago today that I joined HelpOthers. It has changed my life in the BEST way, causing me to do more things like this than I ever have! Day one down, nine to go! :)

MSS

"Mom, Can We Give It All?"

Last night, my eighteen year-old son and I were leaving a store. At the end of the parking lot, there stood a man. He was older many--most likely in his sixties-- clean, but looked very sad. He was holding a sign which read: "Looking for work. Trying to get enough money to buy a bus ticket to Wyoming."  I drove by him and something in my heart said: You need to help him. I rarely have cash on me, but today I actually had cash in my wallet.  I looped around, stopped my car, and asked my son to get my wallet. I had a $5 and a $10 dollar bill. I said get the $5 and we will go drive by and hand it to the man. My son said, "Mom, I think that man is really down on his luck. Can we give it all to him?" "That's all the cash I have," I ... Read Full Story >>

The Old Folks At The Station

I had gone to the city railway station to pick my relatives. On the platform I saw a couple who looked to be in their 70s. They seemed restless, stressed and searching for something. I couldn't ignore them and asked if they were okay.    They said they had come from a village and were searching for their son who was supposed to pick them up. They asked if there was a telephone booth nearby so they could call him. I took the number, called him on my cell-phone, and let them speak to him. Then I told him exactly where his parents were standing.    I can still feel the shivers I got when the old lady smiled and said, "Let God keep you well, wherever you are."    That random and very small act gave me such a feeling of inner peace and happiness!   I couldn't wait for their son to arrive. I had to ... Read Full Story >>

Simple Loving Kindness Wherever You Are

  A good friend came to visit yesterday and really helped me appreciate a lot of things we take for granted.   She is French and lived here in the U.K. for several years. But recently, because of work commitments, she moved to a third country. She said it was such a culture shock and she cried for the first six weeks she was there.    What upset her was the lack of personal freedom and the lack of almost any expression of humanity in the government organisations. The people always felt they were being watched and the only way to get decent food and equipment was by taking part in a frightening black market economy.   But! Even in the midst of such darkness it is still possible to find some beautiful people; like her landlady, who visited her every day, helped with the three children - and even cooked for her! And the Head Teacher ... Read Full Story >>