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A Sparkling Heart From A Simple Gesture

This is just a small story but it really warmed my heart.   I'd gone to collect my daughter from her music lesson when I saw this older woman walking around. She looked completely lost.   I had no idea why she would be in that area. It's in a business park and it was at the weekend when there aren't usually many people around. And why would she be in that parking lot which is totally off the beaten path?I guessed she was probably really lost. It turned out she had missed her turning and needed to find her way to the highway. I tired to explain but she seemed too upset and confused for me to just explain how to get there, so I said, "Don't worry. Follow me and I'll take you there."     She looked at me and you could see the worry leave her face. She said, "Bless you," ... Read Full Story >>

Angels All Around

Last week, while traveling, I left generous tips for the maids at each of the hotels I stayed in. I also pulled out little angel tokens that I have collected over the years and left them on top of the money. I am hopeful they found them and will keep them in a place to be reminded that their angels are always with them.

Help in the dead of night

I was in Houston a few weeks ago, and needed to be back home in Austin by midmorning the next day. Though I planned to leave that evening, I'd had a long, tiring ride home, so I decided to leave around 5 the next morning. I was on I-10 in the middle of Houston when I realized I left my inhaler at my MIL's house, and knew I had to return to get it. I took the first exit I could, but when I rounded the corner, an 18-wheeler was stopped dead in the exit lane. I swerved to avoid it, but clipped the curb and my tire blew out. I pulled into a small parking lot and unsurprisingly found the area deserted at 5:15am. I've lived in urban areas most of my life. I'm fairly street-wise and don't spook easily, but I knew I was in a pretty tough neighborhood. There was ... 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 >>

A Shining Star

Recently, I had minor surgery done.  When I woke, post-op, a young nurse was caring for me.  She was bringing me a drink, checking my blood pressure, and generally being very gentle and kind.

We started to talk and she explained she was a trainee nurse, but that she continually struggled wit her confidence and self esteem. She also had a weight issue after comfort eating due to being severely bullied as a child.

She tended to my needs quietly and compassionately. After leaving the hospital, I decided to send her a card of appreciation.  Inside I enclosed a little silver star on a chain that was gifted to me when I achieved good results in my counseling training. I explained this in the card and wrote, "This is being passed to you for your starring role in being a caring and compassionate nurse".

Joy from Joining Helpothers.org

This is my first time so please bear with me. I am VERY new to all of this. I am still learning from HelpOthers.org. I came across this site while doing research for a presentation I did on "Positive Attitude at Work and at Home". I was inspired by the stories I read and enjoyed reading the daily kindness stories. I have been doing this for about 4 months (reading stories but not "participating" in submitting any stories). I am not computer savy so have been a little weary about joining a "group". I don't facebook, twitter, or any of that stuff so you can understand my hesitation. I finally got the courage to join and have not regretted that decision (in fact I know I should have sooner). The very first day I created a profile - I got two welcome messages and karma bucks. I was pleasantly surprised. I am truely ... Read Full Story >>

My Mother Taught Me a Lesson I Needed to Learn

My mom is a volunteer in a public hospital. She and her friends sell things to obtain money for medicines or supplies that may be needed by the hospital. They also bring dinner every Monday to the people waiting for their relatives outside the hospital. One Monday, I stayed after school to make up a class. When my mom picked me up, she asked me to go to the hospital with her and help with dinner. "At least, this one time" she said. At first, I didn't want to, but in the end she convinced me and I went; obviously unhappily. After we arrived and took everything out of the car, we set up the table and started serving dinner. The more food we gave, the more people would come. Looking at people's faces, especially those from children, was amazing! The way they brightened up reflected their gratefulness for receiving this meal,  and ... 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 >>

When Kindness Doesn't Need Any Words

On 'Pay-it-Forward' Day, our family knew we wanted to pick up someones tab at the grocery store but we didn't know what we would say to them.

We took the kids and told our oldest to find someone checking out. I felt drawn to the first man I saw, we all agreed this was the one. It was a family with two small children. They had A LOT of items. Still not knowing what to say I went to the cashier when she rang their last item, gave her my card and told her we were paying.

The mother holding the baby was confused and handed  her welfare card to the cashier, her husband signaled to her to put it away. We didn't have to say anything, the couple was deaf. We hugged and cried and left the store. It was a moment we will never forget.

An Extra Dose of Compassion at the Hospital

Today I met an old lady when I was in hospital. I was done with my check-up and I was standing in medicine counter of the hospital to get my medicinal receipt and medicines.  I saw that the old lady was sitting in a nearby chair and waiting for something. She seemed a little distraught so I asked her if she was okay.

She told me that she was waiting for her son who was tied up with some personal work and he had told her that he could come back in a few hours. She said that she was feeling faint and tired. I rushed to the nearby hospital cafeteria and bought her some breakfast. I then got her prescription for her and paid for her medication along with mine. 

She had the breakfast and she was happy now. She also had the tablet and thanked me.

I was happier for showing kindness to her.

A Note in my Lunch Box

At the beginning of this week I was touched to tears, when I opened my lunch box at work. Somehow I was feeling not so good that day, it was hard for me to get up in the morning, and so on.

When I opened my lunch box at work, I saw a little piece of paper. The piece of paper was a note from my mom saying that she loves me and wished me a blessed day!

My heart was so touched, I am so thankful that God gave me a mother that notices when I am a little down. The next day I had another note! My mom made a difference in my day and I will never forget this special touch of kindness!

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.

Give Kindness To Your Enemy

Today I left a bag of gourmet coffee on a coworkers desk to brighten her day. I attached a Smile card and left is anonymously. Her and I don't see eye to eye all the time, but I felt it was the right thing to do, to pass kindness onto someone you may not realize needs it.  She still doesn't know it was me and our boss encouraged her to pass on the smile card with another act of kindness. :)

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 >>

Common Sense of a 9-Year-Old

My son is only 9 years old and is a pretty small guy for his age.  But he has a heart of gold. Today, he went swimming with some friends and my husband at a local pool.  My husband didn't swim, he was just watching from the side.  At one point, one of the boys cried out to our son, "Help me, my legs and arms are tired and I can't swim!" Upon hear this, my husband set off to jump into the pool with his clothes on.  Before he could do that, our little hero had grabbed his friend around the waist and swam him to safety.   We think his friend's legs were probably cramping from being tired. When I returned home, my son told me the story and acted as if it was just the common sense thing to do.   When I asked him about it, he responded, "I'm not ... Read Full Story >>

Just A Simple Thank You

A Charmed Life

I ride the bus to work everyday. I'm a people-watcher, and I live in a small town, so I see many of the same people get on the bus with me everyday, on their ride to and from work. For many months, I noticed an elderly man get on at one of the stops, and always head to the back of the bus. He wore the same clothes every day, and they were well-worn, but clean. I never spoke with this gentleman, but I could tell he seemed like he led a simple existence. One day, I had decided to drive to/from work, and I noticed the gentleman on a street corner I was passing, with a sign in his hand asking for financial assistance. I went home that day, and wrote him a note, saying I was grateful for what little I had in my life, and that I wanted to ... 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 >>

The Gift of a Smile

This is a story of kindness given to me,its simplicity, yet its depth, and my gratitude for it.

On my way home from work one afternoon, I stopped by the grocery for something to fix for supper. I'd had a trying day and was feeling down and uninspired.

As I started round the corner of an aisle, I encountered an extremely short, elderly lady who burst forth with THE most beautiful smile imaginable,as she looked directly into my eyes!

This gift was so powerful, I found myself spontaneously smiling back; my spirits were lifted! I found inspiration for what to prepare for supper AND, I tracked that little lady down to tell her how she had "made my day".

The gift of a genuine smile is POWERFUL! This happened many years ago; but I'll never forget it and it has made me generous with my smiles as I pay-it-forward.

3,000+ Days of Happiness

(KindSpring Writer Amritha Mandagondi had a chance to sit down and interview Elizabeth Buechele, the Founder of SmileProject. Here's her inspiring interview on how Elizabeth has found happiness every single day, for the past 3,307 days.) They say life happens to those who pause and listen. Listen intently to that voice that’s calling out the boundless possibilities from within. Our friend in New York, Elizabeth Buechele from the age of 17 has set out on a journey to find the true meaning of happiness. There was no mentor or guide reaching out to help her define what qualifies as “happiness” and what doesn’t. She may continue to be on her quest but is confident that happiness lies in things that are not small but simple. Starting as one of her many rewarding accidents, the crusade of The Smile Project began in the late fall of 2011 as Liz drove home from school. “It was unusually warm ... Read Full Story >>