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With A Little Help From My Brother

Living off welfare, I couldn't afford the train ride to see my mom these last few months.

She has Parkinson's disease, and I'm worried that she has been hiding how she is really doing from both my brother and me, in order to keep from being a burden.

I've also been missing her. I haven't seen her for months, being occupied with my training and my life and now, the money problem.
Last weekend, I talked to my brother. I've been feeling a strong pull to visit my mother, so I asked if he'd be willing to give me some money to pay for the ticket. Without skipping a beat, he said, "Yes."

Then, on top of that, he announced that he would pay for a train ticket for me to visit our mother once a month for the next couple of months. I was so blown away! What a kind-hearted, above and beyond generous gesture! I'm so grateful, and so looking forward to visiting my mother.

Trusting in our heart's deeper message

I was away but it did me good to have no internet for a little while. I realized that even if I don't log in to this site, the kindness stories read here keep having an impact on my life. Kindness was always part of my heart, I think it rests inside us from the moment we are conceived. Depending on what we live, kindness takes different forms in every one of us. Some later time in our lives we might learn or realize that If we could read our first thoughts when we meet somebody most people would rather live alone in the heart of a mountain, in a cave. But if we could read our second thoughts we would all look for people's hands, hold them and feel our hearts warm. In second thoughts most usually, kindness is the queen and king. All we need is to allow them a voice. ... Read Full Story >>

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 Real Act of Kindness from a Teenager

The majority teenagers spend their spring break hanging out by the beach, sleeping in, watching television, or just relaxing at home. I am 16 years old and I am a juniour in high school.  I spent my spring break in Acuña, Mexico, heling a family. I went with to Acuña with 7 other teenagers for 6 days to make a difference in someone else's life.  In America, in many ways we are so much luckier than the people of Mexico.   When I was down there, I helped build a house for a family. The family that we were building the house for  were just a little older than us. The husband was 20 years old, the wife was 19, and their daughter was 3 years old. Getting to provide this family, who had been living in their car and moving from one house to another, paying rent, a house, was life changing. At the end of the week, we ... 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 >>

What Nobody Ever Does

Today I got in touch with my go-to I.T. guy. He is part of our Executive Support team at my office. 

I typically instant message him in the office when something has gone wrong, or my boss has locked out his password, or we need some urgent thing fixed. He always springs to action, coming to the rescue and helping us right away. 

Today, I messaged him and said, "Hi! I don't need anything today but wanted to thank you for all you always do." 

He was so happy! He said, "Nobody ever does that!" He said it made his afternoon! 

How long did that take me? No time at all. And it didn't cost a thing! 

Thank yous are free - but they are priceless! Imagine if people you knew just thanked you for the little things in life. You'd be getting such nice messages all day!

Thai Community Kindness Saves the Day in a Remote Village!

My husband and I were serving in Peace Corps in a remote village in northern Thailand. There were many challenges and difficulties, particularly around our housing. We moved into our house this past June. Shortly thereafter, while we were away at a Peace Corps training, the owner ripped out all the surrounding banana groves and the lush undergrowth in order to raise the ground level--she had planned on tearing down our house and building a new one after we left.   She brought in literally tons of dirt. This left our house in a kind of moat, and when the heavy rains came, our house flooded. This, needless to say, was upsetting, but it turned into a blessing, because when he became aware of it, the principal at my school got my eighth-grade class to come help clean up. The boys dug into the moat to drain the water, and built a concrete path ... Read Full Story >>

Help At A Traffic Junction

At the traffic junction, a woman, holding her child tucked under her arms came by. My heart went for the woman and the child. I quickly opened my wallet and thankfully found some cash to give her. As the traffic light became green, I wished them well in my heart. The image stuck on me for the rest of the day.
We are all one.

The Best Tea-Time Ever With An Unlikely Friend

I wanted to have tea with Nirad, in a tea break during an Inclusion retreat. Nirad is a person with a disability (a paraplegic in a wheelchair). I was holding the cup so he could sip tea. I was being careful and poured a small quantity in his mouth. I enjoyed concentrating on each moment and listening deeply to do a good job with serving tea. We were immediately connected and befriended each other during this time. Two other retreat participants joined and then there were four us, people talking about a variety of topics which ranged from how Nirad progressed in his education with grit to cool ones like how he maintains his weight, etc. These conversations brought smiles and it seemed we all knew each other from a long time ago. In subtle ways, we quietly felt the connection. When we finished tea, I felt like tying a wrist thread for Nirad. The wrist-band had the letters ... Read Full Story >>

Those New York City Moments

At a local bakery/restaurant I gave the cashier some money along with a Smile card.  "Please surprise someone by taking care of their order with this today," I said, "and give them this card."  Her mouth dropped open. "Really?" she asked.  "Really." I replied.  "Why are you doing this?" she asked.  "To spread a little bit of kindness," I said, "It feels like a good day to share a little bit of extra love."  Her face broke into the biggest grin. "This is so beautiful!" I smiled thinking about how she was going to spend the rest of the day looking for that "perfect" person to tag. I had no idea that what went around would come around so quickly. A little while later I stood, looking lost, on a subway platform in Times Square. A suit-clad commuter pulled out his earphones and gently asked, "Where do you need to go?" Then he gave me directions.  Soon afterwards I ... Read Full Story >>

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 >>

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.

Doing That Little Bit Extra To Help

I volunteer at a Thrift Store.  One day, I saw Linda, a woman who sometimes comes in to the store on the sidewalk with only sneakers on during a very cold winter day.  She has battled with breast cancer and mental illness, leaving her to live in a rooming house.    I was in my warm car, having just returned from shopping with 4 grocery bags in my trunk.  I said to myself, "This isn't right.  I was able to go shopping and keep myself warm.  Linda didn't choose to be mentallly ill or choose to have breast cancer.  I cannot go to my nice warm home without helping her."  So, I pulled my car over, said hello to Linda, and asked her if she'd be there in the next 15 minutes.  She said, "Yes."  I went home, grabbed a nice warm pair of boots and drove back to where I said I'd meet her.  She wasn't there.  ... Read Full Story >>

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 >>

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 >>

Visit To The Lake

I finally got to go with my son to the lake . I tried to go a couple times when my son has work days off but the weather never worked out. Until I just gave it to god . I just put it in his hands and it was a beautiful day. We were around a nice family and I overheard the mom say to her boys ok now remember its Emily's birthday today that's why were here . I got a nice new foot able raft to take with us and packed lunch for us. By the time we got there it was more humid which is what we wanted so the water was great not to hot or cold just right. We tried out our new raft but it didn't seem to hold us up only when you put weight in the middle on your stomach worked. I thought ... Read Full Story >>