Search Results for 'popular' (2847 matches)

Being Present

She looked really pretty, I thought, as I glanced across at the young lady opposite me. Everything from her manicured nails, to her designer sunglasses symbolized that she was the kind of girl who had it all. I stared at the floor, at the large European woman in the seat next to the pretty lady, and back at the floor. I studied the tube map - again - as if I had to check something important, then starred resolutely back at the floor. I had mastered the art of avoiding eye-contact on the Tube as if my very existence depended on it. I was a Pro. But, I couldn't help wonder what the pretty lady was doing. I was acting dumb, but I wasn't dead. Why was she fidgeting so much? She's never going to sleep in that awkward position....is something wrong? She looks like she's drunk, not sleeping. Maybe she has a ... Read Full Story >>

The Crying Baby

Today was dreary day in Seattle.  It is the start of our rainy season. While I was at the supermarket, standing in line, a young mother with a small child was behind me.  The child must have been 3 months or so; and man, she was crying!  And I mean crying. The young mother did absolutely nothing to calm this child; it was almost as if she didn't know what to do. Usually when a child cries like this -- and I know this from experience -- it is either because the child is bored or hungry.  So I turned around and started to talk to this child. And all of a sudden -- she stopped crying!  In fact, she began to smile and laugh. The mother asked me what I did and I said, "Well, I talked to her."  She replied that she never thought of this.  As a single mother working two jobs, she ... Read Full Story >>

Star Wars Valentine

I work in a school and see happy little faces each day. (Kids from age 3-14).  On Valentine's Day last year, Valentine cards and candies were being passed out left and right. I  smiled and said "thank you" to the kids and I gave a Candy Kiss to them.  Later in the day, this new face came to my door.  He was a bigger kid, probably about 10 or 11. He was shy as he walked up to me and handed me a "star wars valentine". He stood there, waiting for me to open the card and of course I did open it to find out his wishes and name. I smiled and said "Thank You Zack". Something told me that I should hang this Valentine on my office door along with my other festive decorations.  Later when classes were dismissed, I got a visit from Zack's Aunt. She said that I really touched Zack ... Read Full Story >>

While Yet There Is Time

Many years ago when I was in college, I came across this very inspirational poem: While Yet There is Time   The hours slip past, Our moments melt into the eternity behind us Time sweeps us onto a destination from which there is no return. While yet there is time, Look out upon the world, Devour it with your eyes, And if your spirit demands more Add at least one stone to the edifice being built Fill your lungs with the smell of flowers, Let the first cool breath of dawn blow through your hair While yet there is time Let us greet the dawn together, While yet there is time, Love and be loved, Let your thoughts throw light in dark places, Let your lips blossom in a smile. While yet there is time, Let the hand of a friend feel the warmth of your hand, How much we have to do, to create, to express. While yet there is time Graft a slender bough to a mighty tree Do not say I love to ... Read Full Story >>

Top Ten Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #10 - 8 Things To Do Every Day That Will Make You Happier

1) Thank someone First thing in the morning, send an email thanking or praising someone. Research shows this can brighten your day.   2) Spend money — on someone else Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, explains how spending money on other people can generate more happiness than spending on yourself: 3) Give 5 hugs People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier than the control group. From Sonja Lyubomirsky’s very interesting book, The How of Happiness: In a one-of-a-kind study, students at Pennsylvania State University were assigned to two groups. The first group was instructed to give or receive a minimum of five hugs per day over the course of four weeks and to record the details. The hugs had to be front-to-front (nonsexual) hugs, using both arms of both participants; however, the length and strength of hug, as well as the placement of hands, were left ... Read Full Story >>

March To Your Own Drummer

A few days ago I was about to begin teaching a class when one of my students came up to me and said she had to talk to me---she seemed quite upset and close to tears so I took her out in the hallway to find out what was wrong.  She started sobbing uncontrollably and told me that she'd been feeling so stressed out and depressed because her mom was pressuring her to go to medical school and she didn't want to--- she felt like she'd be letting her mom down if she went against her wishes and she felt very helpless. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said she wanted to work in the biotechnology industry.  I told her that she would be really good at that (since I have her for a lab class, I know that she's really good)  and that she should try ... Read Full Story >>

Quotes Celebrating Fathers

Father’s Day Quotes (Don’t Forget Father’s Day on Sunday, June 14th!) He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  ~Clarence B. Kelland My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys."  ~Harmon Killebrew When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.  ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874 One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters.  ~George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640 Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.  ~Bill Cosby A father carries pictures where his money used to be.  ~Author Unknown The greatest gift I ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Welcome Home

We just got back from enjoying 10 wonderful days of our vacation in Idaho with our daughter Amy & son-in-law Mark and grandbabies Sarah & Gracie-cakes. Amy, last month had our 4th grand-daughter, Grace Eliza (better known in our family as Gracie-cakes). We came home very late last night to find an area of our front yard under our large orange tree, planted in beautiful flowers and a handmade "Welcome Home" sign that after an almost 500-mile trek home was a welcome sight to see indeed. Denise & I had one of our friends, Pat, make sure that our yard was watered and cared for while we were on vacation. Well, it appears that she or someone else (we still don't know who as of this writing) had taken upon themselves to plant several dozen flowers and liven up our front yard, and we were soooo happy that they did! It looks awesome. This random act of kindness ... Read Full Story >>

A Contest To Feed Hungry Children

I decided to share this story and have been doing this for a very long time. It all started 5 years ago. I was watching a movie and then a comercial came on.  It was a commercial for an organization called The Feed the Children Foundation.  It was a very sad thing because it showed how little kids are suffering, because they had nothing to eat.  When the commercial was over, I asked my father if he could go to my account and take out $150 and send it to that foundation. He wasn't surprised because I did little kind things for people since I was able to walk. He went right after the movie and sent the money. Two weeks later, I got a letter from them telling me that they are very thankful and asking me to send more money. I didn't have a lot of money to give, so I thought of having a contest. ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Lost Dog Find Its Way Home

I saw a beautiful sunset today. It reminded me of a special favor I did not too long ago. I was driving home and noticed a small dog on the side of the road. Oddly, it just didn't seem to belong there. It was a busy route and an 18 wheeler was coming.

I stopped the car and dotted across the street.  The little mutt looked at me and came right over. He had a collar around his neck but no name, nothing. There was nothing but woods on this road, but about 6 homes on the other. So, I put pooch in the car and drove up one of the long driveways.

I knocked on one door and asked, "Do you have a dog?" The lady who opened the door said no, so I showed her the dog and asked if she had an idea whose dog it could be.  She immediately recognized it as the dog from four houses down.  I thanked her and went over. The owner was outside looking for the dog when I pulled up the driveway. She was so happy to see her dog, knowing how dangerous the road is. Well, I missed the sunset that day, but today's was really cool.

What If Everyone Thought About Others Once A Day?

I have had the most amazing two days. Browsing through some threads on my favorite forum, I came across this thread where a guy was asked by his gardener to build a PC for him and his kids. He brought him an old box with some hardware in it but it was not working at all. The guy started looking at it and found out the specs and what he needed to do to fix it. He started a thread explaining the situation and asked if somebody had some cheap memory that he could buy (at his own cost) to fix this person's computer.  Not only did he get the memory for free, but a number of people offered him 2nd hand PC hardware that they were not using for no cost. It looks like he would have been able to build 2 PC's because of all the 'donations' this started as ... Read Full Story >>

Thanking A Veteran

I was headed into Walmart. I grabbed a shopping cart and noticed this older man with a walking cane struggling with his cart, As I approached to help him I noticed his cap with WWII and some decorative pins on it. I was more determined to help him now. :0) 

I asked can I help you? He said his cart wheels seem to be jammed. I took his two bags out and put them in my cart and asked can I help you to your car?  He was a proud man and said "I'm ok now that you've given me your cart".  I said "My pleasure and I patted him on the back of his shoulder and blurted out the words "Thank you for all you did for our Country"... He looked at me and said "WHAT?"  I repeated myself and tapped his hat.  Then he smiled widely and was on his way.  

I grabbed another shopping cart and would have been whistling a tune if I knew how to whistle that good.  I was happy that I made him smile like that.

I used to be afraid of not saying the right thing, but "Thank You" was all I needed to say.

The Gift of Home Cooked Meals for an Old Lady

I sometimes see an elderly woman along the road across from my house. Finally, I have been able to reach out to her with daily meals. At first, I would giver her some money everyday to get some food from a nearby shop but I realised that did not suit her.  I thought that maybe this old lady needed home-cooked food, so now I provide her lunch everyday instead.  Today, I got meet this woman. I sat with her on the road to just check how she was.  The moment she saw me approaching, she wished me well with folded hands and I said "namaste" to her. I introduced myself and she said she knew I was the one giving her food.  We talked for 30 minutes. She told that she came to Delhi in 1974 to work as a domestic helper to an Anglo-Indian family from Bangalore. After some years, the family moved abroad and she continued working in different houses. Seven years ago she met with an accident and used up all ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Act - But A Big Impact

I am the mother of three little ones all under the age of five. One of my children has Celiac Disease, I have Multiple Sclerosis, and other members of our family have various food intolerances. None of these titles or limitations has ever stopped us from finding a balance and being creative in our thoughts towards happiness. We help out bodies to be their strongest, and happiest, through the foods we eat. This means getting creative in the kitchen to make all bellies happy but I have to be especially creative because our food budget is very stretched. My hubby took a brave journey and switched careers about five years back and went to medical school. He graduated this past spring and when he finished the finances, or lack there of, really began to be felt. We have kept on smiling because we know in the end it will all be worth it ... Read Full Story >>

Band-Aid Smiles

This idea is so simple, and I've been doing it for SO many years that I never even gavea thought to posting it here before.

I carry "children's bandages" - you know those fancy printed or brightly colored ones that kids love - in my purse, tucked into an old, small plastic "raincap holder". Over the years, I have seen quite a few parents dealing with a crying child who has fallen and scraped a knee. I immediately reach into my purse and bring out one of those bandages, hand it to the parent and move on. Of course, it won't always make the scrape feel better, but it does usually ease the crying of the child and tension of the parent. I ALWAYS get a smile.

The Insight of Children

I took my children into the city last night to meet up with my husband to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.  We walked through the downtown area while we waited for him to get out of owrk.  In front of one of the subway stops was a woman sitting with a can.  As we walked by, my daughter asked what she was doing and I told her that she was probably homeless and was trying to get some money.  My daughter  looked back and asked if on the way back she could give the woman some money.  I told her that she absolutely could do that, and we continued exploring.   Later on during our walk, we  found a bed of cardboard and blankets.  My daughter knew what it was and wanted to know who it belonged to so she could give them a dollar or two.  We moved on, and she played ... Read Full Story >>

My Turn

Today it was my turn to receive a random act of kindness.

I was visiting relatives in Anchorage, Alaska, and my wife was in the hospital with viral meningitis. It was her first day and she was feeling poorly.

I went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and after looking around, I decided on eggs and sausage. As I went to pay, the clerk said there was no charge because the person in front of me had paid my bill.

I looked up and didn't see anyone at first, but when I went around a corner, she was standing there. I asked if she was the one who had bought me breakfast and she said that she was.

I thanked her and asked if she often "paid it forward". She was surprised that I had recognized her act as a random act of kindness.

She said she did it to welcome me to the hospital and hoped I would enjoy my "day on the planet".

At that moment, I found myself in tears. It gave me a boost to handle the issues that were facing me.

The tiny, mud-free space that meant a lot!

I'm in Boulder, Colorado, and am one of the fortunate ones without much flood impact on my home. Today, I went over to a friend's house to help with the cleanup there. The house is less than a block from one of the creeks, and the flash flood broke a basement window, filled the basement up to eight feet, rushed up the stairs to the ground floor, and flooded that floor as well.  A crew of her friends had been pulling up carpet and moving furniture all morning when I arrived. She asked me to help move damaged items out of a back room where carpet was already pulled out, and start getting the layer of chocolaty mud out. With one other helper, I got busy shoveling and scraping; once we got the heavy layer off, I started running the wet vac. There was a three-foot square of tiled floor in front ... Read Full Story >>

Taking the Extra Step to 'Pay-it-Forward'

I wanted to do a random act of kindness for my friend’s birthday, so on Friday I went to Walmart to carry out my gift to her because I think people who shop there do so to save money and could use a gift. My gift in honor of her birthday is a birthday cake!  I selected a cupcake birthday cake for which the recipient of the gift can pick any design they wish. My plan is for the next person who walks up to the bakery counter to purchase a cake to be told that someone has anonymously paid for their cake, and for them to then receive the receipt along with my handwritten message explaining the gift along with a Smile Card attached. It took some doing/convincing!  I had to speak to 2 members of the management and make 2 trips to the store.  I was turned down the first time ... Read Full Story >>

Making Sure to Thank the Referees

I spent my Saturday at the basketball court watching all three of our kids play their games.  My older two had playoffs as they worked to be in the championship game.  During the third game of the day I commented to my husband that these playoff games were getting a little overly rough and competitive and it was making me nervous. As my son's game continued, the fans around us starting making light-hearted comments about the refs' calls - or lack of.  These were the same ref's my son's team has had all season and I think they are a GREAT pair - which I said often during the game.  The refs had a sense of humor and grinned and nodded as the comments continued to come. It was an intense and physical game and I was cheering loudly!  It was a tight game to the end, but my son's team did end ... Read Full Story >>