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 >>
- Posted by bob.gelinas
- Dec 13, 2010
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A Little Girl Remembers A Little Smile
- Posted by erinvictoria
- Apr 27, 2011
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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.
- Posted by aprilannie
- May 9, 2011
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Inspired To Kindness
I was looking through the "wanted" section of an online advertising website hoping to find someone I could help or send a Smile Card to.
I found a single mom with five children asking if someone could drop off some firewood so she could keep her children warm through the snow storms we have been having.
I couldn't drop off firewood but I e-mailed and asked for her mailing address. I mailed her a gift card to a supermarket in our area and of course enclosed a Smile Card. I hope it helps!
- Posted by success
- May 18, 2011
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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 >>
- Posted by AnnieJ
- Jun 20, 2011
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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 >>
- Posted by hasifa
- Jun 21, 2011
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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 >>
- Posted by Sajha
- Dec 13, 2011
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The Best Tea-Time Ever With An Unlikely Friend
I wanted to have tea with Nirad, in a tea break during an Inclusion retreat. Nirad is a person with a disability (a paraplegic in a wheelchair). I was holding the cup so he could sip tea. I was being careful and poured a small quantity in his mouth. I enjoyed concentrating on each moment and listening deeply to do a good job with serving tea. We were immediately connected and befriended each other during this time. Two other retreat participants joined and then there were four us, people talking about a variety of topics which ranged from how Nirad progressed in his education with grit to cool ones like how he maintains his weight, etc. These conversations brought smiles and it seemed we all knew each other from a long time ago. In subtle ways, we quietly felt the connection. When we finished tea, I felt like tying a wrist thread for Nirad. The wrist-band had the letters ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by mkhanna
- Dec 15, 2016
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When Graciousness Meets Gratitude
My friend was in a very long McDonald's drive-thru line and although she had six small children in her car she wasn't in a hurry. So, she let a woman who seemed pressed for time cut in front of her.
- Posted by jumbles15
- Feb 20, 2012
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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 >>
- Posted by Nice
- Feb 23, 2012
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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 :)
- Posted by mindyjourney
- Apr 30, 2015
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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 >>
- Posted by Karver
- Mar 21, 2012
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Two Rugs For The Price Of One
I recently sold a rug and when the lady came to collect it we helped her load it into the car. She had two small children with her and had just moved house. From what she said I understood it was quite a job getting the place into shape! She was delighted with the rug as it would cover "a multitude of sins." I felt I would like to have given her the rug but, as I was selling it for my daughter, I could not. But I did have another rug of my own which I was able to let her have free of charge! She was very appreciative and went off with both rugs as happy as she could be. That week we had had several problems of our. By giving our rug to this lady it lifted our spirits and probably made us feel even better than she did. I had ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by pluto178
- May 16, 2012
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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 >>
- Posted by lovelightbug
- Jun 4, 2012
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A Little Bit of Kindness Goes a Long Way
They had a ton of stuff so I happily picked through the piles. I ended up with a huge bag of items; a toaster, some books, some great shower gel, and a sleeping bag. I asked what I owed and the woman said, "How about $3?"
- Posted by whitby98
- Jun 27, 2012
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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 >>
- Posted by gipsysoul
- Jul 24, 2013
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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 >>
- Posted by prsw
- Jun 10, 2013
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Rescue in the frozen section
When my son was a toddler, he didn't tolerate the grocery store well. The bright lights, tons of products and people would usually result in a meltdown of epic proportions. I didn't know it at that time, but he has sensory processing disorder and retail stores can be very hard for kids like mine. One day, I had to pick up a few things. There were no options, I had to go. As soon as he's in the cart he begins to wail. I was at the back of the store, walking down the long end towards the frozen section. My son was in one of those "race car" carts that have a steering wheel. At the other end of the market was a woman, waving her arms frantically. I looked behind us but we were the only people there. I kept walking towards her and when we got close she lightly ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by juliegfoxx
- Mar 31, 2015
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The Mumbai Bus Conductor
I use to travel from one crowded part of Mumbai city to another bus in the peak travel hours. During the forty-five minute journey I couldn't help but notice the conductor doing his job. I saw that he was very diligent and dedicated to his work. After a few days of regular travel on his bus we started sharing smiles. Its very strange to have any interactions with conductors in Mumbai local buses apart from the transaction of buying a travel ticket. But, something about his way of working always intrigued me. The more I observed him the more I felt I could learn from him; how he did this seemingly boring job so gracefully. I observed how he controlled annoying passengers on super-crowded buses, young naughty kids traveling on half ticket, and cheats who didn't want to buy tickets. On the last day of my journeys on this bus I wrote him ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by hinashah4
- Oct 25, 2012
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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 >>
- Posted by neetis19691
- Dec 8, 2012
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