Search Results for 'popular' (2839 matches)

On The Bus Ride To Ithaca

To me, school breaks are opportunities to get away from the mundane routine of college and explore. For the Thanksgiving break of 2015, I decided to visit my cousin in Ithaca. It was a 9 hour journey from State College to Ithaca by bus. The first leg of the journey, to Scranton, spanned about 6 hours. I had to switch buses in Scranton for the last leg of the journey, which spanned 3 hours. Unfortunately, my first bus got delayed by a whopping 2 hours. Consequently, I missed my second bus and had to wait for a couple of hours until I could take the next bus. It was 6 pm in Scranton, while I waited for the bus. I called my cousin to notify him of the delay and mentioned that it might be midnight until I reach home. While I was on call, I did not realize that there was ... Read Full Story >>

A Dollar Can Make a Difference

I was in the lobby of my doctor's office waiting for my appointment. As I was sitting there, an elderly couple came in. The gentleman had trouble breathing and looked as if he was in poor health. As they were checking in at the front desk, I overheard the receptionist say that they were on Medicaid and had an outstanding balance of $1.50. The woman only had 50 cents.

The woman and her husband both looked upset and embarassed. The receptionist said that the balance would need to be paid before they could see the doctor. I was sitting far away from the front desk so I walked up and said that I would pay the remaining  $1.00. They were so thankful and gave me many blesssings.

I always thought $1.00 wasn't enough to help anyone, but I was reminded that day that $1.00 really can make a difference!

Kindness, Happiness and Health

Ever since I finished the 29-Day Giving Challenge, I have felt a lot happier and have a much more optimistic outlook on life.  I think the secret to happiness is always counting your "thank yous," giving, and smiling.  I've done some research lately on the health benefits of kindness, and some say that the kinder you are, the happier you will be.  Is this the secret to happiness? This is new to me, but some of you may know that the actual act of giving results in a small or big rush of what's called "endorphins," aka a "helpers high".  Kindness in general has both physical and mental benefits. For example, in my case prior to starting the challenge, I felt tired, unenthusiastic, and lacking vitality. However, after just a couple days, along with some gifts, my energy started to increase, I felt more alive so to speak, and I was ... Read Full Story >>

A Second Chance To Help

Yesterday I was returning from Boston by bus. My wife was planning to leave work to pick me up from the the bus station. I called her to say not to bother, I would just take the local transit bus to her. This was the first time I had ever ridden the local bus system. While I was sitting on the bus a young woman with a dog got on. She was carrying several bags of heavy books. I noticed the dog was an emergency dog, one that is trained to warn the owner of a possible seizure. I heard the young women mention to someone else that she still had two miles to walk with the heavy books after she got off the bus. I thought maybe I should ask if she wanted a ride but I wasn't sure which stop she was getting off at so I hesitated and  didn't ask. The bus dropped ... Read Full Story >>

Conference Called

This week I received the most astonishing thank you note from a person I helped attend a unique conference. This individual, let's call him Rick (and his wife) were facing a great deal of employment instability in the educational institution where they they worked. They were also raising two sweet and busy preschoolers; the stress of it all was evident. Rick and his wife had been attending the conference for years. It is the kind of event that nourishes teaches and administrators who work with vulnerable children and young people. When it became apparent that their employer was not going to provide enough funding for them to attend, I "pulled some strings" which Rick said made it possible for both to go. I hadn't thought more about it until I received Rick's note Thursday. He said attending the conference was like a lifeline; they were able connect with trusted mentors and friends ... Read Full Story >>

Inspirational Sweet Pea Seeds

Handing out seed packets with inspirational sayings on them were HUGE hit at my health club, so I bought some more to label and bring in on Wednesday.

A customer behind me in line at the store asked me what I was doing with so many seed packets, wondering if I had a big garden. I told him that I was going to give them away and inquired whether he had a place to garden. He said yes, he enjoyed growing vegetables. I was glad I had bought vegetable as well as flower seeds this time. I gave him a package of sweet pea seeds and wished him well!

I love sowing these seeds of kindness :)

Giving my first smile card

Today I received my very first smile cards, and I couldn't wait to share one. I wasn't sure at first what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted my first card to accompany a random act of kindness for a stranger.

Since I was meeting my son for coffee at the conclusion of our work days, I put my first card and a bit of money into an envelope, and wrote on the outside "Have a nice day," thinking I could pass it on to one of the coffee shop's employees.

When we arrived, I ordered our coffees and handed the envelope to the woman who greeted us, telling her as I did so that she was doing a great job. Her face lit up with a big smile and she thanked me, though no thanks were needed. I was just glad to see my smile card blossom into the first of many smiles to come.


 

A Little Girl Remembers A Little Smile

Remembering Not To Hold Back

I was new at church and I knew nobody. I felt lonely the first time.  After heading back home I just said to myself that I was never going there again. Another situation came up and I had to go back to that "unfriendly" church again. I was quite disturbed that night, thinking how it was going to be.

Then I thought, ''Why am I complaining now? Why didn't I make a friendly gesture? Why was I holding back?"  

The next day at the church, I smiled at every possible person I met there. To my surprise, I was showered with smiles and blessings. I gave that wonderful smile and got back too many to take home.

Being Able to Rely on my Community

My mother's coworker relayed a story to us.  Due to some unfortunate circumstances she was left in the snow, far away from her cabin and friends during a trip to the mountains.  She was lucky because a man on his snow plow at 2 AM (!) found her and took her to the hospital. The hospital first pronounced her dead (she had been in the snow for quite a few hours), but miraculously, they were able to revive her. She's been in the hospital since. When she awoke from her coma, the doctor couldn't assure her sister that she would be entirely the same person as before (e.g. personality), but it seems like her sister will be okay and back to normal soon! My mother's coworker was short on money, and she's in a pinch since she needs to pay for her sister's hospital fees. She came by today to ask if my ... Read Full Story >>

Inspired By The Bravery of My Boss

 My boss has cancer. He was diagnosed a few years ago; he went through treatment and chemotherapy. His cancer went into remission but returned recently. He is now currently having chemotherapy 3 times a week and fighting for his life yet a gain. I’m sharing this because never in my life have I ever seen someone so brave. Every day my boss comes to work with a smile on his face. Many times I can look at him and tell he is having a hard time but you could never tell. Every time I see him I make it a point to stop and ask, “How are you doing today?” I don’t ask as a courteous greeting, but rather out of concern. He can hear it in my voice and know what I mean so he looks back at me and tells me how he is doing. Every time I have asked, ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Of An Stranger

This afternoon coming back from seeing my mom; reading stories to her and a few scary moments that looked like this was it, I was driving home. I took the route that was more like a canyon Drive with beautiful sceneries to think and process my feelings. All of a sudden I heard a pop. I knew right away what had happened - a big flat tire! I pulled to the side, but this was a canyon drive with not much shoulder space, and it happened to be around a curve that people couldn't see me. That made it dangerous. Cars were speeding up unconsciously passing me. I couldn't get out. Within minutes, I saw a van stopped at a distance behind me. The gentleman walked out, wearing a mask offering help, and I dared to walk out of the car very carefully. It was so narrow. He moved my ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Give

After many months of illness, the resulting financial troubles and the love and generosity of dear friends, family members and even strangers that helped me and my children through those difficult times, my life regained balance. On a trip to the grocery store I spotted  a young couple hitchhiking with two puppies. They were obviously tired and discouraged and had made a sign, which simply read, "Just Food." Praying that they would stay, I hurried into the grocery store and bought a bag full of  nutritious foods, puppy chow for the dogs along with items I needed. To my relief they were still there when I came out. I drove up beside them and the young man approached at my beckoning him. I handed him the bag full of groceries, saying, "this is for you..." then the bag of chow, "this is for your puppies", and then a ten dollar bill, "And here's ... Read Full Story >>

My Savior Angel

A year ago, I was a mess!    I was going through one of those phases that every teenager goes through in high school. I had made some new friends who were part of the popular gang of our school. Hanging out with them made me overconfident and feel like I could treat other people in whatever way I wanted.   Also, under the influence of these people, I would make up these unbelievably silly lies to cover up for all my mistakes. And, as you probably know, one lie leads to another and then another, and it keeps going on.    Among my new friends there was one girl who was very kind, compassionate and down to earth. She wouldn't judge people on their looks or their crowd. Since we had friends in common and went to the same classes we ended up hanging out a lot.    I remember being extremely surprised at her honesty. And ... Read Full Story >>

On The Subway

Every morning I take the subway to work. Usually I am still tired and would love to sit. No one ever offers their seat, which is okay. I see advertisements for random acts of kindness on the subway and they touch my heart, but on several occasions I have seen pregnant ladies get on and no one offer them their seat.    Today I got on and a seat was available! So, I sat down. At the next stop a gentleman with a walking disability got on and to my surprise no one moved, so I stood up and offered him my seat. He was grateful.    As we approached his station he tried to get off but people would not move, even after he said excuse me. So I pushed my way through the crowd and tried to help him off the train. But people just didn't seem to care and even with my ... Read Full Story >>

Coffee Shop Kindness - With Extra Ripples

The other day I was in a popular coffee shop. I got my order and looked around the crowded cafe for a table to sit at.  I asked a woman sitting at a large table if the seat in front of her was available. She said, "No. I'm waiting for a few people." 'Okay,' I thought. 'Fair enough.'   I went on to the next person, a young man who had his coat covering the chair opposite him. I asked if the seat was available and he happily lifted his coat from the chair. I sat there, sharing his table, eating my sandwich and drinking my tea. Then I noticed another young lady walk up to the woman I had talked to. I watched her looking around for any other available seats.    Next to me was another young lady on her phone with an available spot but no chair. I looked around some more ... Read Full Story >>

Conversation without Language

My friend Jenny from Germany spent some time traveling in India.  She loved the country so much that she always got pulled to it.   While there, she stayed with Leela, her friend who was Indian.  Aside from the gazes that she got as a foreigner, Jenny always had language problems.  It was so difficult for her to communicate and converse in this new environment and culture that had so many subtle differences from her own country. One day, a strange thing happened.  Along with Leela, she went to visit an orphanage.  All the children there were tiny; each one fell somewhere between the ages of fifteen days to one-and-a-half years old.   After some initial hesitation, Jenny slowly went to the kids and sat beside them.  After some time, one of the kids smiled at her. Her mind relaxed a little, and she immediately was drawn towards that child.  She slowly held ... Read Full Story >>

A Little Bit of Kindness Goes a Long Way

En Route to Ubud

I have been living in Ubud in Bali for the last 9 months, and am really loving it. One of the many things I enjoy about it is that I get to travel without going anywhere, because friends regularly fly in from different parts of the world to visit. When I happen to be the one traveling places, I love being welcomed at the airport, and so I try to do the same for friends whenever I can.   Two days ago, I headed to the airport to pick up a friend who was flying in from Paris to visit for three weeks.  I don't own a car so I hired the services of my friend, Wayan Yoga, a really sweet Balinese driver. Wayan is also my informal Indonesian tutor, so I always look forward to riding with him.  We had a wonderful chat on our way to the airport about what ... Read Full Story >>

More than Money at the Bus Stop

A story a friend shared with me: While going to the office, I found an old man lying by the side of the bus stop. He seemed very sick and poor. Instinctively, I gave him some money. After a few minutes, I realized that he was probably too sick to get up and buy something with that money. I was thinking about how to help him when my bus arrived, halting my brainstorm. I quickly got on and rode off. However, that night I couldn't sleep. I felt very angry at my own heartless and selfish behavior. How could I just walk away from that man without a thought for his suffering? I felt restless and very upset.  The next morning, while waiting at the bus stop, I hoped to run into him again. But he wasn't there. I thought he may have gone to the sidewalk to sleep for the night. I ... Read Full Story >>