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Blessings From A Special Lunch Guest

Today I had a special person over for lunch. I returned home this morning, after a week long trip to Pondicherry. I had come down with a fever and was resting. I woke up with a knock at my door and realised my land lady had come over.  While she was entering, I heard her asking someone,"Why are you sitting here?" An old frail voice replied, "Madam gives me food, so I am sitting here waiting for food."  My land lady came inside. I went out and wished the old lady "Amma" well and enquired about her welfare. My land lady was giving me questioning looks whilst watching my interaction with Amma. When lunch was ready, I asekd Amma to come inside to eat, but she refused, she said that she sits out daily and that was okay for her. I told her that as I was at home today and that she was a guest in my home, she should come inside.  Amma came in and had lunch. I told her to rest in the room. ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Gesture That Made My Day Brighter

I needed to stop by our local grocery store on my way home. As I approached the store, I could see  a little old lady was trying to get a young man's attention - but without success. I asked the lady if she needed something and she said yes.  She had parked near the shopping cart return area and was going to use a cart to lean on.  She needed it to help her balance.  There was only once cart there and it was from a different store so she didn't want to use it.   I walked to another cart area and retrieved a cart for this grocery store.  The lady was relieved and happy to have the right cart.  She told me she uses the cart to get to the store.  Once inside, she uses a motorized cart.  She thanked me and was on her way. A little while later, I saw the little old ... Read Full Story >>

Six Hours to Help

Today, I went to the passport office to get my passport renewed. Even with doing some of the renewal online, I still had to wait like six hours to submit my application.  Feeling a bit frustrated by that, I decided that instead of getting annoyed, why not help people fill out their forms. Most of the people who were there were either elderly or not from the country, and needed extra time with the forms in their non-native language. I was happy helping them with their forms in any way that I could. All of them were very appreciative but the greatest happiness was seeing them smile when they were able to successfully submit their applications. 

The 6 hour waiting time turned out to be so much better than I expected because I had an opportunity to help others...I  walked out, passport renewed and a happy man!

A Little Bit of Extra Love on Valentine's Day

My church was assigned Valentine’s Day to serve a meal to homeless people.  After reading a HelpOthers.org story about giving flowers out at a meal program, I formed the idea to augment our church activity with some colorful floral life.  Building off of my intention, a fellow church member came forward to help pay for the flowers.  At the event, we fed the hungry souls until they were stuffed, and then we gave flowers to anyone who wanted one.  Our pastor even joined in to pass out flowers at the tables.

Later that day, I saw a lady with a carnation in her hand hugging the pastor, which led me to believe that the flower must have touched her in a special way.  It is great that through a simple idea on this website, we were able to bring the food serving experience to a deeper level with some flower power!

A Kind Act in Time Saves Three

One Saturday evening I was going to the movies with a friend. After driving a short while, we saw a crowd of people on the side of the road surrounding a woman lying on the ground. We stopped our car and, without hesitating for a minute, my friend and I ran to the unconscious woman and lifted her up and put her in our car. We took her to the nearest hospital and stayed there as she was admitted. We were extremely relieved when the doctors told us she was alive and would be alright. Two weeks later I got a call from an unfamiliar number and when I asked who it was, the caller replied that she was the woman my friend and I had taken to the hospital! She asked to meet us and when we got together, she could hardly express how thankful she was and how blessed ... Read Full Story >>

Leaving Flowers on the Perfect Doorstep

I went outside and cut some flowers growing in my yard. I was going to leave them on the doorstep of some random house in my neighborhood.  I wrapped them up nicely and went to find a house. I rang the doorbell of the first house and ran off.  A couple minutes later I walked by and saw the flowers still there. I went and picked them up because I didn't know how long the people who lived there would be away for and by the time they got back, the flowers could be wilting. I went to find another house. Same thing happened. Nobody was home.

Cruising along to find yet another house, I saw an elderly couple leaving from their home on a walk. It was the perfect  place! Once they were out of view I dropped the flowers off.  I was riding back when I saw them again. They were on their way back home. 

I can't help but wonder if they knew it was me or what their expressions would be when they discovered the flowers. It was an awesome thrill and I loved it! I'm excited to do other things!

If you have any ideas on anything I could do please comment and tell me!

A Smile Card Farewell

I am planning to change my career, so I went to a career adviser to get some advice on what to do with my qualifications. The career adviser was lovely and we connected immediately as if we had known each other for a long time.

When I booked another appointment she told me that she was moving and that it would be the final appointment. I decided to give her a little glass heart with the words "good luck" and a Smile Card. When she saw the Smile Cards she asked me if she could have more, she was going to have a farwell dinner and she wanted to give one to each of her guests. I was over the moon and handed her all the Smile Cards I had in my bag.

I felt that I wanted to do something else so I went home got one of my books and wrote a small dedication whishing her luck for the new job, and wrapped it in a beautiful paper along with more Smile Cards. I gave it to reception to give it to her, I hope she liked the surprise, and I'm happy to have sent more Smile Cards out in to the world.

A Kindness Box In The Classroom

I am a special education teacher in a primary school.  I try to teach the children about kindness and reward random acts of kindness in my classroom. 

When a student does something to help another peer out of the goodnes of their heart, I will acknowledge it and let them go in to my kindness box to pull out a little surpise.  The students get excited when someone is recognized for being kind and they congratulate that child for caring enought to help someone else. 

It is amazing how children in my classroom are always well behaved and have a caring nature from just being kind.

Five Boxes Bursting With Kindness

I had put together 5 different boxes and placed an advert in a local online website saying that I had a FREE box of items that I wanted to give away containing new and used items!   I also added if the replies could tell me why they were in need and then I could figure out what items would be of help!  I really thought I would have hundreds of emails but the one that stuck out the most was an elderly lady who was having a really hard time she had had a stroke, was battleing cancer, had lost her her husband and also lost her 25 year old cat ... and she might be losing her condo because she had no money!  I met her and in handing her what seemed to be just not enough ...I wanted to do more! I have yet to email her and find out if she will be home Christmas eve as she has no family and stop ... Read Full Story >>

Sowing A Kindness Seed For Two College Students

My son had come home from college for the weekend.  It was a lovely time.  No stress, unlike some weekends :-)  His friend  was going to drive him back to college.  I had a valentine card for my son, and inside I put a note to get good grades, make wise choices and that I love him.  I put a couple pieces of candy and some silly stickers along with some spending money.  The most important part?  I paper clipped 5 smile cards to the cash. I also gave his friend an enevelope.  Inside was a note to drive carefully as he had precious cargo in his vehicle :-) and I thanked him for driving my son back (saved me a trip!) I also included a couple pieces of candy and some cash for gas money.  I also paper clipped 5 smile cards to his cash.  I am looking forward to the next ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Could Be Just One Seat Away

Recently I was traveling on business and was on a long flight back home from the West to East Coast connecting through Charlotte. As I sat down in my seat (ailse seat) the women next to me extended her hand saying "Hi, I'm Eva".  I responded back and then she turned to the person next to her in the window seat and did the same thing.  I thought to myself, what a nice gesture for someone to introduce themself to the people around them.  You don't see that much. So after we took of, Eva soon pulls out all this paperwork from her bag, and starts to work very diligently.  Being a little nosey and somewhat curious, I could see that she had a stack of children profiless that looked like something you might see from Unicef or other organizations that help people around the world. I asked her what she was working ... Read Full Story >>

Fruit for the Pregnant Woman Pt. 2

The pregnant woman I wrote about in my previous story has now become a friend of mine.  Many of you wanted updates on both her and the baby, so this one is for you guys. As promised, I still have fruit for her every time she goes on her walk. Yesterday she did not come by, so I was worried. I went to her office to take her the fruit, but she was not there. This morning, she came by looking very tired. She said that she had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, which was why she was not at work. As the time for delivery is nearing, it is getting harder and harder for her to sleep at night, so she is tired.   I gave her a banana this morning, and, as always, she seemed to be surprised that it has been almost three months and she still receives fruit from me. ... Read Full Story >>

It's What You Do, Not What You Say

When I was younger,  we lived out in the in what is now a forest preserve. People had the unfortunate habit of abandoning  dogs at the foot of our long driveway. This drove my poor mother crazy!  We were by no means well off and already had a dog. Staring out the window my mother would sputter and complain about the irresponsible and cruel people who had dumped their dog on us. She told us to stay away from the dog as we could not afford it, and that was that! I felt very upset, and I couldn't believe my mother refused to help the animal, but she was adamant.  She said, "Other people lived near by. Let them take care of the creature." The poor dog lay at the end of the driveway and hardly moved for two days, obviously heart broken. My heart was breaking too, but I dared not ... Read Full Story >>

Summer Kindness

There are summers that pass by quickly and with hardly any major events to remember. This summer, on the other hand, it will be a summer to be remembered for doing what makes my heart happy - being of service to others! 

I made new friends, sent love letters to strangers, gave surprise presents, baked cakes to give away, looked after babies and teenage girls, listen with my heart to the life challenges some friends are going through, helped others in need of a helping hand ... The summer is not over yet and I expect many more kindness adventures. 

I like to start my day asking the Universe " How can I be of service today?" and then I go with the flow.

The Most Beautiful Gesture I've Seen At a Coffee Shop

I was in a shopping mall recently, so I decided to go and get a cup of tea. As I was making my way to the coffee shop, I noticed an older gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby. I knew from first sight that he was in need of some kind of help. He had a little lunch stretched out in front of him and was wholeheartedly enjoying it. It was also rather evident that he had a problem with his right eye and probably couldn't see out of it. I then joined the line and waited to be served.  Then it happened. One of the most beautiful gestures I have ever seen in my life. There was a young man in front of me in the line who was also waiting to be served. Next thing I know the young man hands the server a twenty dollar bill ... Read Full Story >>

I will never forget

A few years ago (when I was in college) and comically poor, I had just made up with my parents and was headed home for the first time in a few years. I'd dropped out and was working for t-mobile and made a decent life supporting myself but a few months prior to  I had a meltdown and realized I had to go back to school. I caved, called my dad, and asked for help. Before I started driving the ~9hrs home, I decided to stop at the grocery store to grab some chips, red bull, etc. It was a few days before Christmas, and I was super down on myself about how poor I was, how my parents were paying for me to head up, how I felt like such a waste, and how I felt like I'd failed to support myself. !I went in, grabbed some stuff, then realized I was ... Read Full Story >>

Dontaing a Hotel Room To A Needy Stranger

I decided a few months ago that I was going to treat myself to a 4-day getaway from Los Angeles and visit Chicago. I turned in some long-saved frequent flier miles for the airplane ticket, but had to shell out cash I really couldn't afford for the hotel. I found a travel website where a discounted promotional 3-night stay was purchased from a recently opened hotel. About three weeks before the trip, I had to regretfully cancel and only then realized the room, while transferable to another person, couldn't be changed to a later date and wasn't refundable. For the next two weeks I tried selling it on Craig's list with no success. Five days before the "big weekend" I gave up trying to recoop any money and decided I'd contact some acquaintances who live in Chicago and offer someone a free "staycation". After trying a handful of people all of ... Read Full Story >>

Inviting Everyone

Every Thanksgiving a lot of families gather around a table full of food and give thanks for the blessings we have. Starting many years ago my family learned to spread the blessings to others not only on Thanksgiving but for every holiday. Back when I was young I always remembered people I didn't know showing up at Thanksgiving, Christmas, about any holiday! I learned later on the tradition my family started years ago that we still partake even today. Every holiday that my family and I celebrate we challenge ourselves for each family member to invite someone who doesn't have somewhere to go on the holiday. Sometimes we have tons of people and sometimes not too many. Our tradition includes taking pictures and looking over the pictures sometimes we cant even remember the names of everyone in the picture! At Thanksgiving yesterday I had invited a neighbor who I know didn't have anywhere to ... Read Full Story >>

Charting gratitude!

Bought blank charts yesterday and my sister, my niece and I filled our charts with gratitude :) It was a fun experience as we all sat together and wrote down all the things we are grateful for. My niece has fullest chart so far, she is 11 :)

Grumpy Turned Smiley

You know what? I think that working on gratitude and my spiritual practice is TRULY helping me to be more patient, to smile, and to appreciate those who support me. Here's my example: My wife was upset with me this morning and I was already sped up and trying to get to work. I managed to acknowledge that she had good reason to be upset, and rather than pout like I sometimes do, I smiled and thought "this is an opportunity to be patient and enjoy my morning with her anyway." Although, I didn't want to get groceries, I decided we should go together and make the best of it. When I got to the store 2 separate employees were cheerful and friendly to me. I gave them my full attention and smiled back, even though I was having a challenging morning and needed to get to work. I'm grateful that I took ... Read Full Story >>