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Giving my first smile card

Today I received my very first smile cards, and I couldn't wait to share one. I wasn't sure at first what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted my first card to accompany a random act of kindness for a stranger.

Since I was meeting my son for coffee at the conclusion of our work days, I put my first card and a bit of money into an envelope, and wrote on the outside "Have a nice day," thinking I could pass it on to one of the coffee shop's employees.

When we arrived, I ordered our coffees and handed the envelope to the woman who greeted us, telling her as I did so that she was doing a great job. Her face lit up with a big smile and she thanked me, though no thanks were needed. I was just glad to see my smile card blossom into the first of many smiles to come.


 

The Gift of Love, Strength and Endurance from an Amazing Sister

From the Soul Curry Column in the Times of India (April 9, 2010) My mom was nearing 40, my dad a few years older and there were their three lovely children just getting out of their teens — it was picture-perfect, that is, until I decided to come along. She was just 20 when I arrived, but from the moment she put her finger into my little palm, I cottoned on to it and knew I had found a friend. She smothered me with love, sang sweet lullabies, soothed a fevered brow, gently scolded and cajoled me out of the cradle and into the walkie-talkie world. My first words were little songs and bits of nursery rhymes. School was a bit hard, because my parents were always mistaken to be my ‘grandparents’, much to my dismay. But she was there and told me that I was not to worry about what the ... Read Full Story >>

Casual Kindness

Colleague mentioned how she and her husband had recently celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary, which prompted her to research the meaning of "4." In doing so, discovered that "4" was the number associated with perseverance, which of course is indeed needed to be married 44 years!

Brought her this book that I happened to have about that very quality :). Is one of my favorite books and have given many copies away over the years. Happy to revisit it again myself in the giving.

A Lost Kindness Opportunity

So today was a monday Morning and like millions of others,  I left home to get to work. The slight difference today from most Mondays was that I was running half hour late and I was feeling stressed about it. 

Just near a major bridge, a car in front of me broke down and I panicked and shifted gear and went ahead, as I was driving past the car, I noticed it was a lady in the driver's seat and the look in her face was quite helpless. I saw her and yet I did NOT stop.

The 'being late' thing was on mind and the fear that my boss will have a comment or two was in my mind and that made me decide to not help the lady. Now I have reached office and feel so miserable.

I am a person who always helps others and this time I did not.

Should I have stopped to help the lady? While I knew the right thing to do was to help that lady at that time, why did the being late to work created such a havoc for me. 

What should one do when faced with a similar situation next time?

The More I Help, The Lighter My Heart Feels

This morning I got up early and went for a walk at 5 a.m. to the teashop. I was wondering whether I could do an act of kindness and immediately an opportunity was presented. An old, poor gentleman arrived at the teashop on his bicycle and I seized the moment to offer him a cup of tea. He was happy and that act made me feel happy. As  I was walking back, I helped a family to reach the right bus stop so that they can reach the main bus stand at Koyambedu. They too were thankful. And then I was off to go help a family of four to pay the rent. The family consists of  a widow, her daughter (18 years old), son (19), and her husband's brother. Yesterday I heard my inner voice asking me to help them pay the rent. By the way this family lives in a slum.   In order to help ... Read Full Story >>

A Dollar Can Make a Difference

I was in the lobby of my doctor's office waiting for my appointment. As I was sitting there, an elderly couple came in. The gentleman had trouble breathing and looked as if he was in poor health. As they were checking in at the front desk, I overheard the receptionist say that they were on Medicaid and had an outstanding balance of $1.50. The woman only had 50 cents.

The woman and her husband both looked upset and embarassed. The receptionist said that the balance would need to be paid before they could see the doctor. I was sitting far away from the front desk so I walked up and said that I would pay the remaining  $1.00. They were so thankful and gave me many blesssings.

I always thought $1.00 wasn't enough to help anyone, but I was reminded that day that $1.00 really can make a difference!

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 >>

An Unexpected Gift of Spices from Grenada

Our office's cleaning lady went through a lot of difficulties last year.  At one point, she had even been hospitalized two times.  So prior to Christmas, I bought her a box of cookies covered with chocolate, which I left on my desk with a note for her.  The next day, I got a thank you note from her.  A couple weeks later, I left her some specialty candies with a little note, and the next day, I got another thank you note from her.  Afterward, we continued to go through these routines a few times.  Over the past month, she took vacation to go back home to Grenada.  Two weeks ago, I took my own vacation and just returned to work yesterday.  As I was walking up the stairs feeling kind of sleepy and stressed because I knew I was going to be swamped with work, I walked to my desk and ... Read Full Story >>

Salvation Army Snail Mail

I recently got some smile cards and was looking forward to doing something great for someone, but I wasn't quite sure what to do.

Then, the other day, I received a random letter in the mail. It was from the Salvation Army.

Inside, there was a blank card. Attached was an invitation to write a note for a homeless or lonely person inside the card. There was a free post envelope to mail it back, as well, and this could all be done anonymously!

It was the perfect opportunity-- I absolutely jumped at the chance to do this! As I wrote the card, I smiled at the thought of its future recipient--whoever he or she is. I thought about how that person might feel when they receive it. I hope they know that someone out there cares about him or her!

I also included a Smile Card before mailing it off! :)

Valerie From Home Depot and My Son's Police Car in His Wheelchair

Submitted on LoveWhatMatters website by Aimee Boyle Mcilroy I’d like to send a huge shout out to Valerie, a manager at Home Depot. I came in tonight to pick up a refrigerator box that she was holding for me. We’re using the box to make my son’s wheelchair into a police car for Halloween. I first knew Valerie was awesome when she got down on the floor to cut the box down for me. She had beautiful nails and I told her that they weren’t meant for a box cutter, and she said that her vest meant that she was made for whatever I needed! After getting the box loaded, Valerie helped us brainstorm and find the other items we would need. We trekked all over that store with our Creative Genius. Then, she took us to the checkout and PAID FOR EVERYTHING HERSELF! I tried to refuse, but she just said that it ... Read Full Story >>

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 >>

A Little Girl Remembers A Little Smile

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.

A Party and an Opportunity to be Generous

We usually have a Christmas get together right before the holidays for our friends, family and neighbors.  Instead of folks bringing gifts or food for us we usually ask for some item for someone in need.  Usually something like hats/gloves/scarves for senior citizens, food donations for a family in hard times, toys/stuffed animals for local charity.  It always is fun and everyone has a good time sharing.  This past Christmas, on the day of my party I was very sick and ended up in the hospital so sadly I had to cancel the party.  Since everyone was disappointed I decided to have it around Valentine's day instead.  We asked for adult socks for a non-profit which helps families in need, they said they have lots of children's socks but people forget the teenagers and adults.  I also asked for reading glasses for our local library so those who need glasses or forget ... Read Full Story >>

💧 Offer Water On A Hot Day

🥵 Hot and very humid day here in NYC today….offered cold drink of water to gal who delivered our mail 💧 ….I saw her a few doors down when I happened to look out &.called out to her….she came back to our door 👍

Told her how her new hairdo was so pretty & how good she looked too ….I’m not shy about letting someone know 😉

She walked away with a smile on her face 😊

He Received A Caring Note and Was Touched Beyond Words

This past Christmas I dropped a little note to a co-worker who was going through his first holiday since the deaths of t
wo family members. I just wanted him to know I was thinking about him. The first anniversaries of a death are always the hardest. They make you feel alone and cut off from everyone and everything. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

He wrote back and said that I touched him more than I could ever know. It's good to remember that sometimes it's the smallest of gestures that have a big impact. Blessings on everyone on this site, all of you who have come together to make the world a better place. I hold all of you in my heart tonight. 

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 >>

A Kind Gesture, Two Smiles And A Hello

Last night I traveled by train. The rampant xenophobia surfacing after the terror attacks has really been on my mind. Shunning the very victims and refugees of horrible aggression has weighed deeply on my heart. How could we turn on people because of their religion, culture or skin color? How could we turn on people who are undergoing such suffering? Are we so narrow? I have been contemplating about what I can do. Could I take in a refugee? I want to somehow reach out to these disaffected people. I boarded the train yesterday. The train was empty so I took the prime group seating at the end of the car so I would be facing forward. Shortly thereafter a mother and her three children squeezed into the row of seats in front of me. I asked the mother if she would like my group seating for her family and she gratefully accepted. ... Read Full Story >>

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 >>

A Craving For Ice Cream

This morning I was running errands and had a sudden urge for an ice cream from McDonald's.   I tried talking myself out of it; I hadn't had lunch yet; I really didn't need it; I already passed McDonald's! But I gave into my craving and turned around.   A homeless man was begging for change at the traffic lights. He looked so tired and defeated. I pulled a couple of dollars out of my wallet and gave them to him. I asked him if he was hungry and he said yes, but that the money I had given him would buy something to eat.   I pulled up to the drive-thru to get my ice cream and decided to go ahead and order him a burger, fries and a coke.    When I handed him the bag I told him I had gotten him some lunch and he stared at me in disbelief. He immediately started ... Read Full Story >>