Search Results for 'popular' (3612 matches)

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 >>

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 >>

Running On Empty

The other night I almost ran my car out of petrol so I took the next exit off the highway to pull into the nearest petrol station.  I only had $20 cash on me.  As I pulled in, hadn't even turned the car off, there was a young man walking towards the car next to me.  He spoke with the driver of the car and the driver shook her head "No" and then he approached my car.  Usually I would be cautious and let my "He looks shady and possibly a con" opinions control my actions - but not tonight.  I put aside my opinions and listened to him openly.  It turns out that he was traveling to a funeral, another 100kms away, and needed some money for petrol. He was in a sort of a stunned silence, when I said, "Sure."  Then I added, "But there's one condition."   With a ... Read Full Story >>

True Compassion in the Midst of Fear

Instead of being a day I would like to forget as soon as possible, somehow, today became a day where I experienced the most incredible gesture of compassion that I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to remember for a long time... I live in London and I was on my way to visit my cousins in Wales. I was driving on the motorway at around 70 mph when somehow (probably black ice on the road), I lost control of my car. I was involved in a scary collision with a delivery lorry and then a smaller car. The smaller car had a family in it with three young children.   Through some incredible good luck no one was hurt but the experience was very frightening. There was so much smoke that my first thought was to just get out of my car as fast as I could. I could hear the children from the car behind me screaming and ... 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 >>

An Unexpected Light

"As I waited at a busy intersection in our city  for the red light to change to green,  I glanced left; seeing an elderly man groping about on the curb. He had fallen off of his motorized cart which had lurched a few yards ahead of him, and was crawling off the sidewalk onto the road to pick up his front basket ( which was now in the path of oncoming traffic). Without a second thought, I rushed over to help him to his feet, and although unsteady and shaken, I was able to walk him to his cart, and help him back onto the seat and reattach his basket. As he glanced up at me, he smiled and said, “Thank you.” I made sure that he was OK to continue on and then I returned to my car, which I had left at the intersection. Nobody was honking. They just stared at me. ... 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 >>

Next Generation of Kindness

I was with my kids at the grocery store.  They are 3 and 5.

We were doing our grocery shopping, when we saw a 75-80 year old lady in one of those motorized scooters, doing her shopping.  We saw that she was unable to reach something, so I reached it for her and she said, "Thank you."

The old lady also mentioned there were other things she was unable to get because she was confined to her scooter.   So my 5 year old son spontaneously tells her, "Oh, we can help you get the rest of your groceries." 

And we did.  We went through the whole store with her, until she had all that she needed.  When we finished, the woman blessed us and told me that it was nice to see that little ones still have manners. 

As we finished our own grocery shopping, I felt so very proud to know my children will not be selfish people.

Power Of A Trashed Pencil

She was a janitor at a school in India.   Her husband died soon after her marriage, she didn't have any family in the area.  She struggled with the responsibility of raising her kids.  For the last twenty years, she's continued to sweep classrooms at local schools. One day, though, she had a radical idea:  I want to give.  It was followed-up by a reasonable yet confusing thought:  But what can I possibly give? When she narrated her desire to a friend, he told her a story.  "Gandhi used to write many letters.  One day, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, a famous Indian author, saw him writing with a tiny pencil and immediately offered Gandhi a bigger pencil from his pocket.  Gandhi politely said that he didn't need it.  The next day, he saw Gandhi scrambling to find his pencil and Kakasaheb again offered him a pencil saying, 'Your pencil was so small anyway.'  Gandhi gently ... Read Full Story >>

On a Kindness Mission with my Smile Cards

My second lot of Smile Cards arrived last week, and I have been trying to think of uses for them. Today, before I headed into town for a job interview, I decided to grab a handful and try to use as many as I could throughout the day.  The weather was awful, it was pouring with rain, and I would've loved to buy umbrellas for people.  But being unemployed, I didn't have the money to spare.  So instead, I decided to think of free or really cheap ways to make people smile -- after all, even the little things count.  I knew I'd also have to deal with my shyness, or just create anonymous acts of kindness, but it was a challenge I was willing to accept! Before leaving my house, I filled a bag with some items that I no longer use and prepared to drop it off at a charity shop in town.  ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile Card Class On The El Train

Yesterday evening I was on the EL train in Chicago. Two men in their early twenties got on and one took the seat next to me. His friend was going to sit in another set of seats. I got up and said, "Oh, here. Take my seat so you can sit with your friend."  When I sat down he said to his friend, "She deserves a hospitality award."    I smiled, turned around and said, "Thank you, but not necessary." To which he replied, "It was cool a thing to do." He seemed so delighted by what to me seemed a rather small gesture.    I sat quietly for a minute and then had a 'BING!" moment. I reached in my wallet and pulled out a Smile card. I turned towards the young man and said, "Here, please pay it forward." He took the card. I turned to face forward in my seat and behind ... 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 >>

Encounter with an Albino Blind Man

Strolling down the streets of New York can be jarring reflection about the state of humanity -- a business man in suit and tie tries to optimize his time by walking and reading newspapers at the time, a thirty-something waitress zips by with her restaurant apron half off and is intently looking at that handheld blackberry; a high school girl is on her cell phone cussing at someone in her Brooklyn accent. Trying to catch my subway train to Penn Station, I felt the New York Minute rush also. Until I notice an albino man ahead of me, walking very purposefully, taking very small, slow, intentional steps. He was blind. For every step he took, he would swing his stick couple of times to get the lay of the land in front of him. I passed him in no time, like everyone else. But then, ... Read Full Story >>

A True Story From Kolkata

Every day a lady passes my home on the way to the park. Over each arm she carries a large bag which contains many packets. Each packet has a name written on it in pencil. As she enters the gate of the park she is greeted by a number of stray dogs. 

Each one pushes the other away in order to be nearer to her. She puts down each bag on a park bench and takes the packets out, one at a time. Every dog sits an orderly semi-circle, waiting to be called. When each dog hears his name called by the lady it steps forward for its packet. When every dog has eaten, the lady goes away without a word. 

One Candle at a Time

I've got this friend, Rachel. She's a bit older than me, with a sort of shy, but radiant smile. She's usually tan, as she loves the outdoors and spends as much time outside as possible. No matter the weather. In the winter, she'll often go for walks outside. In the summer, she'll sit in public parks strumming her guitar, reading, or napping on the grass.  She has the leisure to do these things because, suffering from multiple psychological traumas, she is unable to work. Well, unable to work in a "normal" workplace, that is. Because she does work. Her vocation is 'making' candles. She buys ready-made candles, usually the slightly translucent kind where the body of the candle will radiate the light, too. Then she puts designs on them by hand, working for hours at a time in her kitchen. She literally makes hundreds--if not a thousand--of these in a year. And then, ... 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 >>

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 >>

Turning Kindness Into A Habit

Last winter I was going through a rough patch in my life.  I had a bunch of terrible things going on around me. I felt very distant and became quite selfish. I hated the way I was feeling and one day I woke up and told myself, “You are above this, stop feeling sorry for yourself.”   Then, I tried out an experiment, and it has DEFINITELY changed me for the better. Every day I would do at least one act of kindness - It could be anything… Bringing the trash down to the trash compactor for my 80 year old neighbor, Going into the store to buy something for myself (like a bit of makeup) and coming out with something for someone else (like candy for my boyfriend) Sitting down with my sister or a friend and just simply listening. And I can ... Read Full Story >>

Buying a Miracle

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes, carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson In Kindness From My Mom

When I was about twelve, I was headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family. It was winter, and on that particular night, the wind was really blowing. As my mom and I headed towards the restaurant from our car, a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change. My mom immediately asked where they kept their things. They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car, which was the same size as my own family. My mom said she had something to do, and after handing the people a few dollars, we said good-bye. Then, my mother sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings. But she didn't come. Later, I found out that she had gone home and practically emptied ... Read Full Story >>