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Let Your Voice Of Kindness Be Heard!

Have you seen the news off to the side on this website here about the extra $100 to spread kindness in the community?

We have the chance to use some resources to spread kindness further! If you haven't yet, please take a moment to read the ideas and add smiles to the ones you like. This is a great opportunity to pay it forward, with no cost to you, thanks to one of the members. I know I voted for some and even added an idea myself! I think there are some great ideas there that would be fantastic to do. You can also add your own idea if you feel the urge!

We can all make a difference. Let your kindness voice be heard! It ALL matters. As the wise Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." A special friend of mine calls me her Kindness Guru so I'm trying to live up to that. I am not affiliated with the site, but I consider it a privilege to be part  of this site and what it stands for and would love to see this opportunity used by all.

Please take a moment to be heard!

Your friend in kindness,

MakeSomeoneSmile

2200 Reads

A Few Cups of Tea That Touched Many Souls

Last week, I witnessed a beautiful act of kindness.  Actually, I witnessed a million over the ten days spent in the Kutch region of Gujarat, India and chose to share this one with you as a testament of the powerful vibration of giving.  I traveled to Kutch with Jayesh-bhai, the founder of Manav Sadhna NGO, two Manav Sadhna staff – Jagat and Bhaskar – and some friends.  On our return to Ahmedabad, we stopped for 'chai' (Indian Tea) at a truck stop.  The chai was absolutely delicious and we reordered more two times, with regular exclamations of its quality to the servers and cashier.  When it came time to pay, the cashier would not take our money.  After some forced attempts to pay, Jagat accepted the gift of the chai, took back the money, thanked him and asked the cashier for his phone number.  Jagat promised to call the cashier ... Read Full Story >>

2037 Reads
  • Posted by mariette
  • Nov 28, 2009
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Togetherness: A Life After Life

I attended a funeral a week ago of a management friend who’s husband passed away of a heart attack very unexpectedly at age 50. He was survived by his wife and 12 year old child. It has been a difficult time for the family. On the back of their funeral announcement was this three paragraph poem that I thought was worth passing on to you. Hope you find it as valuable as I did:   Death is nothing at alI. I have only slipped away into the next room. Whatever we were to each other, we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the same easy way you always have. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Life means all that it ever means. It is the same as it always was. This is absolute ... Read Full Story >>

2143 Reads

A Community "Food Fight"

My workplace, as do many others in our town, support local services and the needy.  One of the main services we support and donate to, besides the Red Cross and United Way, is our local food bank. This year, the food bank is challenged more than in the past.  We cannot let the shelves become depleted or the food run out.  Others, especially children, depend on it.  With the country's economic situation stalled and more people out of work, more people are hungry and need supplements to feed their families. This year, all the companies in our area got together and decided to sponsor a Community "Food Fight Contest".  The contest will include 3 categories or areas to win:  a) supply the most food, b) donate the most money, and c) provide the most volunteers.  A company can win in all 3 areas or 3 different companies can win in each different ... Read Full Story >>

4328 Reads

A Creative Way to Teach My Children an Important Lesson

I have two sons who are 5 and 3 years old.  They love to take walks outside and one of the walks we often do is along a cycle path through some fields. This path eventually leads to the local high school, so  there is always some litter scattered on the sides, even though the city's cleaning squad sometimes tidies it up.   One day an idea occurred to me, I decided to show my children that we could do something to make a difference.  The next day, we took a plastic bag and some rubber gloves with us and the children and I collected whatever litter we found on our way. My sons had so much fun, since at that age they love picking up things from the ground (and with the rubber gloves I did not need to be scared they would catch something) and it was a creative ... Read Full Story >>

2062 Reads

An Unforgettable Birthday Bracelet

Well, well, well, it's that time of the year again....ITS MY BIRTHDAY! Just like last year something extraordinary happened this year. Last year, I helped a homeless man in Fordham. This year I started going to a  nursing home to visit different people and I came upon a new comer. Usually when a new person arrives at a nursing home, they feel like all hope is gone and they are ready to die.  I try to convince them to keep going. This new comer was a lady... a strong and nice lady. She was very cheerful, and when her daughter brought her to the nursing home she became very unhappy. Everytime I would see her, she would frown at me and say, "Don't even waste your time on me, for I will die pretty soon." That scared and devasted me, but I never gave up on her. She finally got tired of me pushing her to talk to me, and started ... Read Full Story >>

2435 Reads

Get Well Wishes With A Sweet Treat

Last week, where I live, the property manager, Holly and the fix it man (of sorts), Bill  both went in for surgery. 

I found some get well soon cards and purchased them.  They were on clearance!  I also had a sweet treat for each of them.  Of course I included a SMILE card in each one!!!  = )

I tied Holly's up with a red string and tried to drop it on the counter with no one noticing but I got caught.

Bill's, I tried to slip into the mail while his wife was collecting it from the office.  I accidentally put it in her discard pile.  Thank goodness the cashier caught it and saved it from going in the garbage!!!!

I got "busted" on both but that's ok.  It's not always about being anonymous. 

Smiles...

2101 Reads

An Untold Story of Gratitude for an Everyday Hero

I live in India and this incident is just a small example of my day-to-day interactions with ordinary people, which leave behind unforgettable gratitude about the greatness of such people thoughout our lives.

It was the day that I was getting out of the hospital after winning a battle with a failed surgery. To make matters worse, when I left the hospital they told me that I was not supposed to climb any stairs to reach my house and I lived on the Ist floor (now I had to be carried like a corpse!).

We took a rickshaw from the hospital to our home and when we arrived, my brother and the rickshaw driver, who drove us home, carried me to the Ist floor and into our home.  My mother paid the rickshaw driver some extra money in addition to the actual charge for his kind gesture.

He left, but then came back and returned the extra money to my mother.  He said, "I don't need this extra money, she is like my sister."   My heart cried with tears of gratitude and till this date I still vividly remember that rickshaw driver.

2375 Reads
  • Posted by meguarchana
  • May 16, 2010
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A Life Lesson From A Farmer

My dad sent me a nice story forward, and here's an attempt to paraphrase the gist..

A certain farmer with the best crop yield was known to give away his seeds to other farmers in the area. When asked why he would give away his assets, he responded, "Well, you see, the wind blows seeds from all over into my land. If my neighbors have inferior seeds, then I will get an inferior crop. Therefore, to ensure that the wind brings me the best seeds, I must share my best seeds with others.

This is true about farming, and true about life. If we have an exquisite seed of happiness, why not give it away, so the wind blows it back to us.

2190 Reads

My First Thanksgiving

At 47 years old who would have thought I would have been wearing a "Baby's First Thanksgiving" bib? Although I didn't actually wear a bib, last year was my first "real" Thanksgiving. I came from a broken home and when I married 25 years ago, I sought to make my family everything I didn't have growing up. I'm afraid I had that "white picket fence" mentality. Every holiday needed to be picture perfect. The food, the dishes, the house decorations, even down to the cozy sweater I had purchased especially for the occasion. I was so wrapped up in how things were suppose to be, losing sight of what meant most. So many of my years wasted on being decieved. That was then this is now. Being alone now, separated from my husband, and our son serving in the military, I was blessed to have the opportunity to truly serve. A small group of friends and ... Read Full Story >>

4081 Reads

An Unexpected Flower and a Lasting Smile

I had this strong desire to buy a flower.  So at lunchtime I went to the flower shop and bought a long single flower with my last £1.  I took it back to work and put it in my colleague's drawer as a suprise.  I knew at some point he would open his drawer and see it.

Later in the day, I got a phone call asking me if I had put the flower in his drawer.  I said "yes".  My colleague was very suprised and touched. He said, "it was a beautiful flower".

On Monday, when my colleague came to work he was still talking and telling me how nice the flower looked in his home.

I felt so happy that I had done that for him, to see him smile was well worth it.

2985 Reads
  • Posted by smileamile
  • Aug 8, 2010
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Two Little Kindness Moments

The first moment came when I was in the local dollar store. There was an older woman in front of me just wrapping up her purchases. When she came to pay for them she discovered that she was seventeen cents short. Before I could even offer to help the young cashier gave her a big smile. She said, "Oh, don't worry about it,"' and sent the woman on her way. As I came up she said, "It's only a few cents. I can't make a big deal out of it." I responded, "Here's the seventeen cents. You did a really nice thing. This way your cash won't be short."   The second moment came when I was walking along with my young son in a big, busy mall. We passed a young man whose arms and face were covered in tattoos. He wore raggedy clothes and sat on the sidewalk with a sign that said "Homeless - Hungry ... Read Full Story >>

2240 Reads
  • Posted by harvester
  • Oct 1, 2010
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A Small Message Of Appreciation

Today I am pleased to be able to say I sent an email to my aunt!

Why is that such a big deal? Well, there is some bitterness in the extended family because of her  (she is my uncle's wife) but today was their son's movie launch. My cousin had invited me to the event.

I was there in time to share the happiness and it moved me to tears as I remembered my dad who was the inspiration for all my cousins who forayed into the film industry. 

I just sent her the email appreciating her for standing by her family and doing her best to help them achieve their dreams.

And here comes the best part! I feel at peace and all the bitterness has disappeared. I know she will smile when she reads the message!

Thank you all for being so supportive and inspiring me to change for the better - always!

9739 Reads
  • Posted by sabrina
  • Dec 22, 2010
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Feeding the Soul by Helping People

Hi all, I would just like to say what a FAB site this is, and I feel blessed to be in this with soooo many beautiful people. At the tail end of 2007, my wife at the time told me that our marriage was over.  It hit me extremely hard emotionally, physically, and financially.  I had my faith in a lot of things taken away from me.  But that all changed because of the love of the person that I was put on this earth to be with!! To cut a long story short, I put my house on the market (selling it at the worst possible time due to the economic meltdown), made a pittance on the sale, but I did not mind because at least I wasn't in negative equity.  Being grateful for what I have, instead of dwelling on what I don't have has really kept me in ... Read Full Story >>

3295 Reads

Anonymous Kindness With My Coworkers At School

Yesterday, I anonymously gifted three coworkers at the school I work at. First, I left a note for our school assistant superintendent that said, "Thank you for holding down the fort."  She has taken on the additional role of principal until one can be hired. Next, our school secretary received a note that said, "Thank you for wearing your happy face, everyday."  She does an awesome job of constantly being patient and smiling at everyone. Third, our payroll person got a note that said, "You make a difference."  Needless to say, she makes sure we all get paid, but she is also a great mom that has brought two wonderful children into this world.  I know because I have taught them both. Along with the notes, the recipients got the famous Smile Cards and small bottles of various perfumes.  I have not seen or heard the effects of these small acts of kindness.  However, ... Read Full Story >>

4314 Reads

Gratitude Creates Gratitude

I just read the story of the folks who baked cookies and cupcakes to hand out to people in their community who they wanted to thank for doing the jobs they do, and how moved they were by the responses they got from folks.

I had a similar experience when I typed a short email to the Siemens Corporation to thank them for making and selling the radiation machine that treated my cancer.  I got personal emails from an exec there telling me I made her day.  They ran my email in their company newsletter (seen by some 500,000 employees) and then flew me up to Siemens Healthcare US headquarters to let me say thank you in person to their employees!  They filmed my talk and then did an interview with me and will be sharing all that with more employees in the future who couldn't be there that day.

I knew that it would matter to someone there if I said, "thanks" but had no idea the impact that act would have on the company or on me.  Just a tremendous blessing all around.

2109 Reads
  • Posted by alwayscalled
  • Jan 29, 2011
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Personal Growth On The Freeway

This morning when I got in my car I said a prayer. I prayed that God would help me become a better person and I prayed He would allow me to experience personal growth.  As I pulled out and headed to work I said I was going to hold myself accountable for all the things that I know prevent me from being that better person.   As soon as I got on the freeway the madness started. People were driving crazily, not courteous at all. So I was getting mad and impatient. And then a car came out of nowhere and the driver cut in front of me so recklessly that I had to slam my foot on the brakes to avoid from crashing into him.   In that moment a string of curse words entered my mind and my arm raised in anticipation of blaring my horn! My other hand prepared to flash a ... Read Full Story >>

2451 Reads

The Gift on the Sidewalk

Today, I was babysitting my two-year-old friend, Liam. He was feeling sad and wanted to stay inside with his mom and dad. I tried everything to get him interested in playing outside with me. Nothing worked. Finally, as a last resort, I took a shiny new penny out of my pocket. I tossed the penny down the sidewalk and then chased after it. It must have looked fun, because he joined right in! On one of my tosses, the shiny penny rolled down the sidewalk and appeared to stop near a Christmas tree that was laying next to the gutter, waiting to be picked up by the recycle truck. As I squatted near the tree to look for the penny, I spotted a small, lonely Christmas ornament attached to one of the branches. Scooping it up, I was struck by how delicate it was. Handmade, and crafted from felt, it was in the ... Read Full Story >>

2240 Reads

A Simple but Meaningful Act of Gratitude

Every month, I write letters to two Marines serving in Afghanistan who I don't know.  I thank them for their service to our nation. While I don't know them, I hope that they know how much I appreciate them.

3127 Reads

Runaway Coffee Barrels and the 'Angel of Mercy'

Coming home from a coffee shop today, we had our old truck loaded down with three 50-gal. barrels of mostly coffee grounds that we use to make compost.  My husband had laid them down in the truck, and as we came up the ramp to a major intersection the tailgate hinge broke and all the barrels rolled out into the street behind us. Thank goodness there were no cars immediately behind us, which was a bit of a miracle since it was lunch hour. One barrel rolled right into a lane, and the two others were partially in a lane.  We slammed on the brakes, jumped out, and I retrieved the closest one while my husband started running back toward the ramp to get the other two. I knew that one of the ones he was going to get was extremely heavy; we had had a horrible time getting it into ... Read Full Story >>

2395 Reads
  • Posted by Sundi
  • Feb 24, 2013
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