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Measuring Success with a Smile

  While traveling for my documentary project, HEAR US, I pulled up to a busy Phoenix intersection and stopped at a red light. An obviously homeless man began crossing in front of our paused vehicles. I was first in line and was completely preoccupied with the reality that I couldn't find my 1:00 appointment at the nearby (or so I thought) shelter. He turned toward me, pointing to the corners of his mouth, made a universally understood motion to indicate "SMILE" and stood and stared at me.  With a snicker of someone who had been caught being overly pensive, I flashed a smile, which he recognized as sufficient to trust I'd hold that thought, and he moved on to the vehicle next to me, repeating his motions. They needed a little help, so our Mr. Smiley pointed up to the sky, circling his finger in a "divine" gesture, then stretched out his arms ... Read Full Story >>

Generosity of a Homeless Man

I used to work at a warehouse that was down the street from a homeless shelter. It was right next door to a little gas station where they made breakfast sandwiches daily and I would walk over before my shift started and get a sandwich and a coke every morning. There was always someone or the other standing around outside asking for money to get something to eat. As a single mother I rarely had money to spare but sometimes I would give them my change until I noticed most of them would go inside and buy a beer with the money instead of food. I stopped giving out my change and just told them I didn't have any. One day as I was walking out of the store, I noticed an old black man who was obviously homeless.  However, interestingly, he was always wearing a nice suit and tie ... Read Full Story >>

A Gas Station Gift I Couldn't Afford

Just recently, there was a man standing near the islands in the gas station when I pulled in. I had recognized him from before, when I saw him trying to cross 4 lanes of traffic with crutches. He still had his crutches with him. When I got out of the car he politely asked me if he could pump my gas. I said, no thank you and continued on. I started to notice he asked other people the same question, and I realized he was doing it for money, but he wasn't getting any. As I looked at him, he seemed genuinely worn out and running low on energy. As I passed by him to go inside, he smiled and commented on how hot it was. I agreed, and asked him if he had walked here. He said yes, he is trying to get donations to be able to keep ... Read Full Story >>

The Dusting Lady In My Hospital Room

When I was in hospital and just given birth to my first child a lady use to come in and dust and sweep. I would say 'Hello' and she would never answer. I did this repeatedly and no answer. I thought she may have been deaf. I was told that she was mute and had been because she had been in a concentration camp. She had recovered but some children threw 'crackers' at her window letting off very loud 'bangs', and she never spoke from that day on. On the day I was going home and I asked her if she would be my friend. No answer. I left her some magazines and told the staff to give them to her. I had left the hospital with my husband a new born child. Then I realized I had forgotten to ask the doctor something. I went back with my baby ... Read Full Story >>

A Double Dose of Kindness at the Grocery Store

I was at the grocery store one evening. I had finished shopping and was looking for a line to get in to. I chose a line that had one woman who just about through and ready to pay, and another woman behind her who didn’t have very much.   As I was standing there waiting for my turn, I noticed the woman directly in front of me. She looked as if she had just had some kind of medical treatment. She was wearing a bandana along with a hat. Her face looked as if she had known a lot of pain and was tired of everything. She had a back pack to carry her groceries in and she had bought everything that one would need to care for one’s self at home. She kept glancing at her groceries and kept counting the money in her hand. I kept thinking to myself, I wish I had money to pay for ... Read Full Story >>

Written in Dust

I have a black car and I live off a dirt road in a rural area.  And you have no idea how frustrating it is to try to keep it clean!  In fact, I have given up and now I enjoy the dust. On my car, I have 2 bumper stickers.  One says:  "Strive to be Extraordinary"  and the other says, "Caution I Break for Elves, Fairies, Gnomes, Leprechauns, Unicorns, Dragons & Other invisible creatures that only I can see." While taking my Dad to the doctors in Baltimore, I sat in a lot of traffic.  Through my rear view mirror, I noticed a lady smiling in her car behind me.  In fact, not just smiling -- laughing!   Then she tapped her passenger and pointed at the bumper sticker on my car.  It was the passengers time to laugh.  Since then, I noticed it happen a number of times.  And it's a ... Read Full Story >>

Inspired by the Courage of an Intern

In August, an intern came to work at  my company. As I began to get to know her I was inspired by her story. In addition to coming from the inner city and having suffered many abuses as a child, her story was one of courage. At age 20 she went to bed with a headache and woke up paralyzed and unable to speak. She had a brain virus that caused the brain to swell. She had to relearn to talk, walk, write and lost much of her vision and balance. Despite all that she continued with her education and graduated in December with a bachelor's degree.   Her family was not supportive, her mother did not even wish to attend the graduation. The last week she was here I told her to show up early and dress up as we were taking someone else to lunch.  Instead, I had a surprise. When ... Read Full Story >>

Are You a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as if as soon as one problem was solved a new one arose.  Her mother took her to the kitchen. The mother filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots. In the second she placed eggs. And the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.  About twenty minutes later, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she said, "Tell me what you ... Read Full Story >>

Side By Side With A Young Man

I was shopping at the local department store and noticed this young man in his late 20's looking carefully for children's clothing and putting together really cute outfits to buy. This is a small store and when I went to the checkout counters, they were closed and the courtesy desk called me over there to check out. Wouldn't you know the young man was checking out there too. We were Side by Side and I could see and hear his conversation with the cashier.  When the total appeared on the cash register he looked down and said I don't have enough money. He put back a shirt, and he was still short for money. Now, I myself, am not overflowing with money because my hubby is unemployed, but when I saw this guy putting back underwear and socks, I was heartbroken.  Here he was trying to buy some nice clothing and needed items for ... Read Full Story >>

Compassion in Action at a Nursing Home

A few years ago, I was working "on loan" to a company grocery store, as they were short-handed during the Christmas Holidays. I was not used to the management nor the clientele at this unit.  As I was checking groceries that morning, an elderly man in a wheelchair came through my checkstand with a basket filled with candy, cigars, and a few trinkets. As I finished ringing up his purchases, I told the man the dollar amount and he presented an out-of-state check from his son. He explained to me that his son had sent him the check for his Christmas present and he wanted to use it to purchase gifts for the friends and wonderful staff at the nursing home located a few blocks behind the store where he resided. Since this was not my "home" store, I needed to have the check approved prior to accepting it. When ... Read Full Story >>

A Spirit Guide To Lean On

A few months ago an elderly lady from our meditation group dropped and broke her favorite cane. She was quite upset because it was her favorite cane and she could not afford to buy a new one. Being a wood carver I decided I would make her one.   This lady is from a Native American background and I asked her what her spirit animal was. Some Native Americans believe they are guided on their journey through life by the spirit of an animal. Her spirit animal was a crow.   This week I presented her with the finished cane. The top of the cane has a hand carved, highly detailed, painted and realistic  looking crow head, actual size with glass eyes.  Below that is a black suede braid around the shaft of the cane tied in a fancy knot called a Turk's Head knot, From the knot hung two black feathers with wooden ... Read Full Story >>

I Bow to the Paint on my Walls

Wow! I got seriously tagged with an act of anonymous kindness last week. Actually, its more like seriously pummeled with kindness. I spent 26 days at a meditation retreat, mainly to begin the process of self purification through self discovery...I guess you could call it a renovation of the interior walls of my mind. As I walked back into my studio home on Sunday, WOW, a few folks had decided that they would self-purify my home and renovate its interior walls as well. The place has been tiled, every corner has been painted, fridge has been stocked, light switches have been replaced, new furniture has been added, and an infinite amount of love has been poured into every inch of that space. On the table in the middle of my room was a flower pot with one smile card attached to the stem. The coolest thing I found was one ... Read Full Story >>

A Priceless Smile From An Old Lady

I was at a busy traffic junction waiting to walk over to the other side when the green lights come on.  There was a family, a man, his wife and an elderly lady, waiting to cross with me. Both the man and his wife were chatting endlessly while the elderly lady was engrossed in staring at a banner with a picture of a child and a mother, which brought tears to her eyes.  Then, the lights finally turned green and all of us rushed to cross the road.  The signal was very short, so the lights changed to red in no time.  I noticed that both the man and his wife had crossed along with me and the elderly lady was left behind.  She seemed to panic as the other two had already crossed and were continuing on without looking back.  I quickly realized what was happening and signaled the ... Read Full Story >>

Feeding Stomach and Soul

Over this past weekend, I walked to the local gas station to pick up a couple of things. On my walk home, an older gentleman came up to me and asked if I had any money for him to get something to eat. I told him that I don't carry cash, but if he wanted to follow me, I can get him some food. We walked to my apartment and talked the whole way. He was a veteran from the Vietnam War and recently lost his banking job that he held for over 20 years in banking. He had recently become homeless, and he shared that he has no living relatives left in the area. He felt all alone, with no idea where he was going to sleep tonight. Struck by our conversation, I took a chance and invited him to my apartment.  I introduced him to my roommate and set about ... Read Full Story >>

From Suicidal To Motivational

A very wonderful thing happened on my radio show! A young man who had called the show a week before was sitting across from me in the studio telling listeners not to give up!    This was particularly moving since he had call me on air to say he was about to kill himself.   The very day he called my wife and I went to see him after he had promised me on air not to commit suicide. We invited him into the car and offered him some donuts which he took with trembling hands. He was hungry, penniless, frustrated and hurt. Just last November his mother had been gunned down in a drive-by shooting. He had just finished talking with her on the phone when it happened.   On the day he called the show he had turned the radio down so it would not distract him from cutting his wrists. As he was about ... Read Full Story >>

A Gesture of Generosity that Healed a Life

I was in church one Sunday when my husband’s ex-wife requested the pastor and the church to pray for her.  She said that she was a drug addict and she wanted to stop using drugs.  She was crying and said that she needed God’s help because she knew that she couldn't do it alone. She was a beautiful woman with four children and they were all crying with her. After church I went to her and introduced myself. She said that she had heard about my marriage to her ex-husband. We talked for a little while and she told me that she did not have a car and that they were going to catch the bus home. I offered to give them a ride and we continued to talk in the car. She began to open up about how bad things really were in her life. I had heard rumours from ... Read Full Story >>

Birthday Party In A Box

Annie, a neighbor's daughter, was away for her first semester at college this past school year. She is a very sweet girl but just a bit shy. When her birthday month came around I found out she was feeling a bit blue and lonely.   Her family is quite small and finances are tight so there wouldn't be any birthday visitors.     I wanted to send her a card and maybe a small gift to brighten her day a bit. I got her school address from her Mom and planned to simply pick something up and send it. Then I got an idea!     I thought perhaps a bit more birthday cheer was needed here. I bought some balloons, streamers, birthday hats, and other small novelties at a dollar store.    I took a small recorder and asked three other people in my area at work to sing Happy Birthday and send some birthday wishes ... Read Full Story >>

On Passing Around Smiles...

One of my intentions for 2011 was to continue surrounding myself with a community of individuals that helped bring the best out in me. By the end of 2011, naturally and serendipitously, I was introduced to group of individuals that gets together one Wednesday per month to meditate and discuss a passage. After my second month of joining this great group of individuals, I sat down with a couple of the organizers, to get to know one and other better. What I assumed would be a lighthearted getting to know one and other session, became an a heartfelt discussion with presence. It felt like a therapy session. I poured my heart and soul into my confusions and challenges with figuring out my next steps with life and they listened and communicated so openly. They felt like long lost elder brothers giving me guidance. While one of them was leaving, he gave me a bag ... Read Full Story >>

Snail Mail Surprises

I keep scissors handy on my sofa side table to clip interesting articles and coupons that my friends & family may like. Once a week, I sort them into different piles and send it thru the mail to distribute. I received many thank you's for the interesting articles, so I started to clip out funny cartoons, inspirational stories, share poems and pick up stick-um's and other surprise goodies too!  I stuff them into the letters especially if I know the person needs a pick-me-up ... it's fun and not expensive at all ... and everyone loves the "snail mail surprises." Lastly, when I sort thru the mail, I pull  out the Two for One coupon restaurant deals, additional savings coupon or certificates from department stores, etc. I keep them in a envelope and if I don't need it, I make sure to pass out to other friends and co-workers for their use before expiration dates. I recently snail-mail ... Read Full Story >>

How Heavy Is Your Bag?

One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes.  For every person we’d refuse to forgive in our life, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag.  Some of our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.

We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.

Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime.  This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity!

Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person, and while that’s true, it clearly is also a gift for ourselves!

So the next time you decide you can’t forgive someone, ask yourself… Isn’t MY bag heavy enough?

 - from www.pravsworld.com