Search Results for 'popular' (3455 matches)

We All Need Someone Who Understands

 A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about Nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he Felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the Eyes of a little boy.  Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."  "Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."  The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?" "Sure," said the farmer.  And with that he let out a whistle,"Here,Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ... Read Full Story >>

Sunflower Saturday!Hello Friends~Saturday I ...

Hello Friends,

Saturday I did some volunteer work for a non-profit "Friends of Cherry Valley" which is a national wildlife refuge and land sanctuary located in the Poconos.

This was our Spring Fling and I got to enjoy manning the table of sunflower seed planting. So many children had the opportunity to play in the dirt, place it into pots, plant the sunflower seeds, and then mark their names on specially created sunflower tags. I think I had more dirt on me than the kids.

There were many other activities such as bird house building, fishing demonstration by the local Fish & Wildlife agency, salamander and local species educational booth, and so much more! Everything is run by donation only and the attendees were more than generous. Plus we had free food and beverages for everyone!

We're planning a Fall Festival for some time in October. Cannot wait to help out and see all of the children again.

I was 12 again...for the entire day!

Finding The Courage To Wipe The Windows

Here I was, as any other morning, in front of the bread store.  Today, the door was opened. Outside it was cold enough.  I stepped inside and I saw some pieces of cloth on the stairs. The door's window was wet - at a closer look I saw it was sprayed with window cleaning liquid. I stopped. I saw there were two other ladies in the store, waiting to be served.  I looked again at the few pieces of cloth, hanging there, exactly in front of me. I thought about Help Others stories. Suddenly I felt I had the courage to pick one up and wipe the window. "Don't worry about it" I heard. "I'll do it later. There is plenty of time" and she laughed, blushing all over.  I realized I didn't do it for her. Some force inside pushed me to do it just to show me that I can humble myself, ... Read Full Story >>

Parking Lot Samaritan

After running errands with my daughter one day, I walked back to the car reminiscing with her about the nice people we'd had the pleasure to interact with. As I pulled my car keys from my coat pocket, my daughter pointed out, "Something just flew under the car."  Remembering that I had placed my debit card and ID in my pocket so I could access them easily in the checkout line, I knew exactly what had flown under our car. I crouched down to see them. My debit card and ID were wedged behind my tire, almost out of sight. Another woman in the parking lot saw my struggle, walked over to me, and asked if she could help. Without even waiting for me to answer, she said, "I see them!" Then, she got down on her knees and fished my cards from behind the tire of my car. As she handed them to me ... Read Full Story >>

Giving Away Flowers is Addictive

I love to surprise people. I like to start things with a "bang" and finish them with another "bang" usually related with acts of kindness.

This year on my last meeting as a chair of the PTA, I offered each member of the team a rose and a card.

Though they know me by now I guess I can still surprise them with unusual surprises from time to time.

The other day I gave a chocolate and a smile card to a charity worker, who seemed quite puzzled ...

Today I gave a rose and a card to a lady that I know who has been working very hard.

Giving flowers is lovely, the only danger is that it is highly addictive.

;-)

A Kindness "Chain Reaction" in a Traffic Jam

My 17 year old granddaughter is an accomplished flutist.  She recently gave a farewell recital to her friends and family at her high school in Chicago, which was followed by a homemade buffet supper.  After the recital, she had a 3 hour drive home with her mother and sister.  They decided to load up the car with the left-over food from the recital, which included barbequed sandwiches and cream puffs.  They packed the food on plates which they placed in zip-lock bags. On the drive back, they stopped to give the zip-lock bags to homeless people along the way.  At one junction, there was a traffic jam even though the lights were green.  My granddaughter decided to run through the cars to take a plate to a person on the side walk.  As she ran back, some of the other cars started to honk their horns. The lights had already turned red, so my daughter ... Read Full Story >>

This is How She Spends Quality Time With Her Aging Mother

I am feeling blessed to have my mom. I've been going on regular walks with my mom who is 75 years old. Spent most of her life in Vietnam under the rule of the communists whose husband was taken to prison for fighting with the South/American's side. Each walk, she would tell me some great story; one recent story made me teary. When she was pregnant with me and my dad was not around, she was struggling to raise 4 kids on her own, and had no money. She had to go borrow money from a friend when her water broke. She had to get herself to the hospital in a crowded bus. She was abandoned by the nurses because she had no money to bribe them. She was not allowed to see me for days after I was born because I was 3 months premature. Again, she had no family ... Read Full Story >>

When In Trouble ... Give!

Today was the day that I paid my bills. I was feeling a little under the weather financially and worrying myself about it. I was praying and thinking about the problem when, just like that, I got the solution. I’m a firm believer in the concept of “a blessing given is a blessing received.” So I went to the grocery store to do an act of kindness.  Since I wanted to do this act anonymously, I couldn't figure out the right person for a long time.   Finally, I went in line behind the person that I wanted to pay it forward to. When the cashier rang her items up I handed my debit card over and asked the cashier to charge it on me. The lady in line was confused at first, but I explained to her the whole concept of paying it forward and even told her about HelpOthers.org. ... Read Full Story >>

Babies on Planes

The flight that I was on had these two babies less than a year old, probably twins, who were howling loudly. They were probably uncomfortable with their first flight. Everyone in the plane was disturbed with the loud crying. The poor parents were having a really really tough time and didn't know what to do to help the kids calm down. Both the mother and father stayed peaceful with the babies.
 
Even though almost every passenger on the plane was disturbed, no one said anything which to me was a sign of supreme patience and kindness of strangers that goes unnoticed. I want to thank all of you who have a large heart and stay patient and tolerant when facing such issues in public places. When the flight landed, I went and patted the father's arm and told him that I thought that both of them were wonderful parents. He laughed and thanked me for the compliment. His laughter made my day!

 

Balloon On A Kindness Journey

I finally did it! I am so happy! 

I've had this idea for a while but I didn't have the guts to actually go through with it - until today.

I bought 10 helium filled balloons, drew a smiley face and wrote the date they were released on each them. I had set up another e-mail account for the project. I wrote the e-mail address on Smile Card and attached them to the balloons.

Then I took them outside and released them into the air. I hope to get some awesome stories back in return.

Moved by a Meaningful Act of Kindness

Our extended family had spent a beautiful vacation together last summer. I had rented a beach house from a woman and before we left, we all signed the guest book thanking her.   Well, it turned out to be the last time the whole family was together.  My father in law passed away this May rather suddenly.  One of my sisters-in-law asked me some time ago if I could write to the woman whose house we stayed in and ask if she could send us a photocopy of our "guestbook" comments.  She said she had never gotten to read what her father wrote. I wrote a letter to the woman and didn't think about it afterwards. You won't believe it - today a package arrived in the mail and not only did this angel make copies of our comments for all the siblings, she framed the original page with just my father ... Read Full Story >>

Southerly Winds Sweep In Smile Cards

Yesterday, I gave out my first Smile Cards!

There was a very strong, gusty southerly wind in town. While driving, I noticed some empty trash cans in the street. I stopped at the first one I encountered, placed it upside-down beside the curb (hoping it would not blow into the street again) and placed a Smile Card under it.

Then I drove on.

Talk about anonymous-- the recipient probably had no idea what a Smile Card is, who put it there, or even why it was there! I did this twice more on my way home from town, and it felt great! :)

Paying It Forward On The Ski Slopes

My husband and I were excited to take a day off from work to ski Winter Park and then continue on to Grand Lake to snowshoe for the rest of our anniversary weekend this past winter.  We arrived at Winter Park with discount coupon in hand, but to my surprise, the clerk pushed it back my way stating that it was not valid on this particular day.  The discount was to buy two tickets for $50 each.  Being very disappointed I asked how much a regular ticket would cost, and she said $94!  Needless to say, I was very unhappy. As I waited for my husband to return, the universe was lining me up for some wonderful kindness.  A mother and her daughter approached me asking if we needed tickets.  They were on a band trip and found out that the daughter could not ski due to an injury.  As a ... Read Full Story >>

Helping Out In A Phone Call

As a customer rep for a financial account of one of US' supermarket, its a daily shift of hundred phone calls regarding their prepaid debit cards. Calls that are sometimes degrading, calls that make you cringe at how the caller speaks and calls that are just purely racist. what make it different is how my mindset is. Everyday I wake up and declare myself as a helper of my callers. I go beyond our protocols in dealing with my customers. Though phone interaction is only limited to 4 minutes 45 seconds, i strive to make it as meaningful and as uplifting for someone in need. One of my callers is panicking on how she made the wrong insurance payment that will lead to his son in college not receiving any pay outs thereby leaving him without any food for a week or two. The mom said she can live going over ... Read Full Story >>

Be Not A Giver Only

Today I decided to bless June who is 90 years old and part of the Senior Rides program. In the early years I was able to drive many seniors to their appointments and June was one of them. She lives with her family, but is so lonely! It's amazing that you can be surrounded by people and still be lonely.   Often, when calling in her ride requests for the month, she would say, "I want to take you to lunch, dear. When you have the time." I would say, "Okay," but not make an effort to receive the blessing.   For months, she's waited patiently for me to call about lunch plans - and now I have! She is so excited about it!   I have realized that blocking or stoping other people's acts of kindness is unhealthy. Someone said it can turn to pride. Ouch! Don't want that.   One of my goals for this year is ... Read Full Story >>

Two In A Taxi For Four

The "share-taxi" normally wouldn't have left until it had four paying passengers in it. The only other passenger was a lady who seemed to be in quite a hurry, so I agreed to pay the remaining fares and got in.

Her mother had suffered a heart attack and this lady was going to collect her and take her to hospital. She started chatting, telling me how her two elder sisters do not care for her mother. She does all she can for her mother while having a husband and two children to look after. 

She had just pawned her jewels in order to raise money in a hurry.

She was glad to have someone to talk to until we reached her destination. I wished her well and said a silent prayer.

A 72 Year-Old Gem

Today, I was at an ATM that is situated inside a petrol bunk.  The security guard (who was a 72 year-old man) gently reminded me that I cannot use my cell phone inside the ATM.  When I came outside, I had a desire to talk with him. At first, I felt a little sympathetic.  In my initial impression, he seemed like a poor, elderly retired man who was still working at this ATM.  I ended up listening to him.   He spoke to me about his family, and particularly about his son and daughter. He told me that his daughter always cares for him, even though she is married herself. Then he described his son, who "has a heart of stone".  He advised me me to save money for my old age (not that I am all that young :)), and I told him that I give away everything, trusting in the bounty ... Read Full Story >>

A Snack That Turned Into Balloons

Often we do little acts of kindness and can’t really know what happens next… the people who benefit from the act return to their lives and we return to ours!  Our paths may never cross again.  But that’s not the case when a member of HelpOthers does a kind act to another member of HelOthers!  Here we can chart the ripples as we guide the kindness on its way!  Here’s one such story. You may have read Aurelia’s post about making Chex Mix for her family, or Bluebell’s post about receiving a snack from a friend in the US.  Well I sent some Karmabucks to Aurelia to find out more about her amazing snack and she offered to send some to me if I was based in the US.  Unfortunately I’m not, I live in the UK but luck would have it that I was off to America for a company event last ... Read Full Story >>

Green Smiles

I remember that particular Monday morning well. Having signed up for a new website dedicated to random kindness (KindSpring.org), I suddenly received an email which stated that my idea had won. My idea had... won? Wait, were they talking about my idea for 'Green Smiles'? Green Smiles had always seemed more like a wishful daydream, some sort of fantasy which was inspired by the lack of green in my neighborhood. I wanted to make the neighborhood more 'green' in the broadest sense of the word. For example, I wanted to plant pretty flowers and even herbs in the small patches near the trees. Perhaps even transform the larger and often messy plots of 'green' near the parking lots. Put up insect-hotels so that children (and adults too of course ;)) would be able to enjoy the sight of a pretty butterfly more often. Or look in wonder at at a buzzing ... Read Full Story >>

Finding That Positive Note

My step-son is going through an extremely difficult time in his life and is battling many personal issues.   He calls his father several times a day, often consumed by sadness and negativity, sometimes near his breaking point. Trying to be supportive and non-critical takes it's toll on us all, but we keep trying.    This morning on our drive to work I asked my husband to try ending the telephone conversation with his son by simply saying, "Now, tell me something good about today".     Some days that might be an easy thing to do, other days it may be nearly impossible. But even if the only thing he could can up with to say is, "You were there for me again today, Dad," that would at least give him something positive to focus on.    Tonight, I heard my husband say to his son, "Okay, now let's end on a positive note. Tell me ... Read Full Story >>