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Noticing Even The Smallest Gesture

I spent the night at my parents' house because my mom has multiple myeloma (a very rare cancer).  I was there to offer my support and loving-kindness. 

The next morning, I got up to go for my 7:00 AM swim, and, as I was walking down the steps past the Sunday newspaper, I stopped suddenly and became thoughtful.  I took the newspaper back up to the house and placed it on the kitchen counter where my parents like to read the paper.

Later, when I returned from my swim, my mom replied, "Your dad said an angel brought us our paper today."  It's such a small thing, but I went into the bathroom and cried, for I know my mom has precious little life ahead.

Flowers for Those Who Want to See Them

First, thank you for taking the time to read my posts – it's really comforting to know that there are warm-hearted, kind, and encouraging people on this site. I can always seek comfort here and have fun sharing my experiences with random acts of kindness and giving. Today, I finished making a drawing for my friend Valerie. She recently broke up with someone, and I thought she could use a bit of cheer, so I drew a picture of flowers, like the ones that blossom during the spring! I must tell you all, I have a really soft spot for bright, pretty, and cute things (I often use the term kawaii for cute). So I took some time with the detail, with the petals and such, using violets, raspberry, and pink colors! They are all so uplifting to me. I also put in a few of my own encouraging quotes, which ... Read Full Story >>

A Kindness Lesson For The Girls On The Way To The Store

There is a man who always stands out on different corners of our city, holding a sign that reads "Will work for food for my family."  Normally I don't have much extra to help him too much.  Many times my mom is with me and she makes me pull over and she will hand him some money.   Tonight, I was on my way to the store to get milk when I saw the man.  My daughter and her friend in the car.  We all felt so awful that this man was standing out in the cold, wet weather.  Many people make comments that he should be able to work.  I often wondered why he would stand out there rather than be in the warmth of a building to work.   Well, he may not have an address, and you need an address in order to apply for a job.  Either way, I don't ... Read Full Story >>

"Human Beings Are Not Islands"

In my country we have a form of transportation called “border border” where you ride on the back of a bicycle. It was one of the most common forms of transportation when I was a kid.    One afternoon I was ill and had to leave school early. As I was walking home I saw a man on a bicycle with a baby as the passenger. He had been asked to take her to a specific destination but was having trouble because the baby could not hold on for itself. He was pushing the bike and walking besides it with one hand holding onto the baby.    Then he saw me and asked me where I was going. I told him and it turned out we were going in the same direction. He asked if I would ride on the back of the bike and hold the baby for him. I gladly obliged and ... Read Full Story >>

Drawn To The Warmth

Factoring in the wind chill, I knew the temperature was below zero. The bitter cold cut through my Californian sensibilities, as well as my enthusiasm as a tourist, so I ducked through the nearest door for warmth... and found myself in Washington, D.C.'s Union Station. I settled onto one of the public benches with a steaming cup of coffee -- waiting for feeling to return to my fingers and toes -- and relaxed to engage in some serious people-watching. Several tables of diners spilled out into the great hall from the upscale American Restaurant, and heavenly aromas tempted me to consider an early dinner. I observed a man seated nearby and, from the longing in his eyes, realized that he, too, noticed the tantalizing food. His gaunt body, wind-chapped hands and tattered clothes nearly shouted, "Homeless, homeless!" I wondered how long it had been since he had eaten. Half expecting him to approach me ... Read Full Story >>

Cuddly Bears And Beenies

Today, when I was out in town, I went into the pound shop. Everything they sell costs £1.  

An Unexpected Surprise

One morning I heard someone trying to get their car out of the snow after a snowstorm. (A very common sound here in Montreal.) After a few minutes I realized they needed a push, so I got dressed ,went outside, and pushed the car. It only took about a minute and, feeling more cold than sociable, I walked back to my apartment, without really seeing the driver.   Months later I was at the corner store and the guy in front of me insisted on paying for the beer I was buying! It felt a bit awkward and I had to refuse repeatedly. When I reached the cashier she told me my stuff was already paid for and she couldn't take my money.     So, I was walking back home from the store and that same guy is fifty feet in front of me, all the way! It turns out he's my neighbor, ... Read Full Story >>

A Gift From Grief

On my trip to Berlin last week, the train suddenly stopped. After a couple of minutes, one of the attendants, visibly shaken, told us that somebody had committed suicide by standing in front of the train. After a couple of moments to allow space for my own sorrow, I got up and went to the attendants' cab to offer support, as a professional trained to deal with traumatized people. I was thinking of the train driver who'd basically run over the 'victim'. They told me they really appreciated my offer, but that the train company had specialists for such cases and that they were checking to see whether the driver would get relieved of duty for the remainder of the journey. But for the moment, and some two hours more, the train just stood there while paramedics, police, and train company disaster management arrived and did their job. I found that I felt bogged down ... Read Full Story >>

Blessed X 3

As my Daughter and I parked in front of our local grocery store, under the eaves in front of us was a homeless gentleman and his dog. I had decided upon entering the store that the least I could do was buy lunch for the gentleman and food and water for his dog. While at the checkout I noticed the man in the store trying to calculate what he could get with the change someone had given him while I had been inside. My first thought was I know who is watching his dog (a large pit bull). Sure enough as I exited there was my very shy daughter…keeping an eye on and playing with his dog. The gentleman came out shortly after me and was surprised to see that he had lunch waiting, and that I had already fed his dog. He thanked both of us while explaining that he hadn’t always ... Read Full Story >>

A Helping Hand

I had gone today to complete some unfinished business . It was a hot, sunny afternoon.  I parked the car and was walking towards to my destination, when from a distance I saw an elderly man walking towards me in the opposite direction . As we came close, I saw that he was walking slowly, in measured steps and there was a look of pain on his face.  He was not feeling comfortable, that I could clearly see. I glanced at him and then moved on, wanting to go quickly and complete my unfinished work.   I soon reached my destination,completed my work and was returning to where the car was parked , when again from a distance I saw the same man sitting on the road .I quickly walked across to where he was sitting.   I bent down and saw that he was tired and exhausted.  I was concerned and asked ... Read Full Story >>

A Starfish On The Beach

There is always a reason things work out the way they do. When I first submitted my idea to the Kindness Contest, my plan was to implement a kindness day at our local hospital. This was to entail buying some parking tokens and giving them out, taping some ziplock bags of coins to the vending machines in the Emergency waiting area, buying a hardworking nurse or two some lunch, delivering some snacks & baking to the palliative care family meeting rooms. I still plan to do some of these in the future, but for now my plans had to change.   When KindSpring.org contacted me and told me that that they had chosen my idea I was packing to head south for a few months (we are snowbirds) I told them that I would check out the local hospital in Lake Havasu City to see if they would allow me to carry out ... Read Full Story >>

What Time Cannot Erase

Today, I reached out to three amazing women I am blessed to know in my life. I let them each know how even though life moves us away from each other some times, we still always live on in each others' hearts.

I told them about all the things I love about them, what their special gifts are, how they touched my life, and that I'll always treasure them, near or far.

Beautiful words are just such a gift... expressing gratitude, love, connection - what could be better! I hope they each in turn do the same with friendships of their own that may need rekindling.  I'm so grateful and blessed they crossed my path in life.

How A 21-Day Eco Challenged Changed Us

I am SO grateful for the 21 Day Eco challenge hosted by KindSpring. Taking care of our sweet Mother Earth has always been important to me and I have taken steps in my everyday life to recycle, reuse, think about ways to preserve, etc. but this challenge awakened me even more. Our Scholars Together community has taken on more than we have before in terms of recycling, composting, using our own ceramic cups and metal water bottles when we go out, not buying things in plastic, composting more, and having green lunches more consistently, but the biggest change we made was making a goal of zero trash. We set up more boxes and bins for paper that we could use again, recycled every sheet of used-on-both-sides paper, plastics, cans, etc. ate all of our food, instead of throwing some away and it has been great! We made it into a challenge. In ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers of Gratitude

As most of the flowers in my yard are gone for the year, I made a run to Walmart last night for flowers.

This morning I waited for the neighborhood school bus. As soon as I saw the bus, I flagged it down and gave the flowers to the bus drive Jeanette, who is also my neighbor. The look on her face was priceless!

My children are not school-age anymore, but I do have nieces and nephews that age. I think it takes pretty special people to do this job.

To safely drive, watch over, and deliver so many children is a great responsibility and one that is undoubtedly under appreciated!
 

Lotus Love For You

With love,
from me to all of you.
A lotus from within my pond,
it grew.

Reaching for the light as we all must,
morning dew shining of night's sweet dusk.

Lotus Meaning:
Throughout many cultures over time, the lotus has been a powerful image and a spiritual symbol. In Hindu, Buddhist and Egyptian religions, the lotus is considered a sacred flower.

Among its many meanings and significance, the lotus is a symbol of "spontaneous" generation, and so it also represents divine birth, spiritual development and creation itself.

Namaste

Thanksgiving Hugs

Every Thanksgiving my family and I, along with others, prepare and serve Thanksgiving meals for the people in our small mountain community. My husband and I also bring meals to shut-ins, people that never leave their homes for various reasons. After we passed out boxed meals in a senior housing apartment building. After delivering to some individual apartments, we went to the central dining room and placed the boxes filled with turkey, ham, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, gravy and green bean casserole in front of each seat. People invited us to stay, and thanked us, but we had other deliveries and had to leave.  As we started to exit, I turned around and saw them all watching us. Impulsively, I asked, "Would anybody like a hug?" They lined up. There was so much warmth in each hug. My eyes filled with tears and my heart with love. I now visit occasionally to chat ... Read Full Story >>

Cleaning The Car And The Coast

Yesterday I helped a very busy friend clean out her car. We vacuumed and steam cleaned the upholstery. She was so happy and relieved to finally have it done!

Today was International Coastal Clean-up Day. So, my husband and I spent a very rainy morning picking up trash on the beach. 

It seems like such a drop in the bucket (even though it involved many buckets) but it was a satisfying experience and one we will continue regularly on our own.

I highly recommend this experience. It may change your perspective on all things plastic!
 

Magic Chain of kindness!

A year back, my friend and I had gone to a nearby town to attend a wedding. After the reception, we were waiting for a public transport bus to go back home. It was nine o'clock at night, and although many buses passed, none stopped. We waited for an hour and were getting desperate. We wouldn't be able to stay overnight because it was a weekday, and we both needed to work the next day. It was almost 10pm when a family who had attended the same wedding passed by in their car. Probably sensing that we were waiting for some means of transport, they stopped and gave us a lift. I was so overwhelmed by their kindness, and I expressed my gratitude to them. When we reached my hometown, the family dropped us at the nearest point from where we could catch a shared rickshaw to get back to the spot we ... Read Full Story >>

Happy Faces!

In our class we have formed an NGO called "Recolectando Felicidad". We decided, for our second project, to spend time with kids from different schools. Instead of bringing them toys or material things we decided to play with them because we feel that playing with them, giving them love and making them smile was way more valuable. The class formed small groups, with three or four people each, to take care of the different games Our group  was in charge of the play dough modelling activities. The day before visiting "Rayo de Luz" (a local school for children with learning difficulties) we met up to make the dough. We used flour, water, salt and food coloring, to make sure the dough would be safe for children. We made 4,5 kilograms of dough in six colors: pink, teal, yellow, purple, black and white. The next day, we went to the school. We invited the ... Read Full Story >>

Thanksgiving Joy For A Homeless Man

Sometimes the people who are noticed the least can do the most to lift us up... On Thanksgiving morning I got up early to run in the local 5K, figuring it would give me the motivation to get back into running. It was barely above freezing that morning so everyone getting ready to run was hopping around trying to stay warm. On the side of the road, sitting in the grass, was a man wrapped in a blanket. It was pretty obvious he was homeless and as usual, most people pretended not to see him. I went over and talked with him for a few minutes before the race. In the midst of the idle chit-chat, he told me that he was a veteran and had hoped he might be able to earn a few dollars that morning to be able to go buy a Thanksgiving dinner. He had a glimmer ... Read Full Story >>