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The Insight of Children

I took my children into the city last night to meet up with my husband to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.  We walked through the downtown area while we waited for him to get out of owrk.  In front of one of the subway stops was a woman sitting with a can.  As we walked by, my daughter asked what she was doing and I told her that she was probably homeless and was trying to get some money.  My daughter  looked back and asked if on the way back she could give the woman some money.  I told her that she absolutely could do that, and we continued exploring.   Later on during our walk, we  found a bed of cardboard and blankets.  My daughter knew what it was and wanted to know who it belonged to so she could give them a dollar or two.  We moved on, and she played ... Read Full Story >>

The Elderly Can Be Proud But Lonely

My niece is in her first year teaching in Liverpool. She lives in a block of flats and was telling us about a 94 year old woman who lives in the flats. This frail lady is called Valerie and Linsey got to know her. Linsey and her flatmate called to see Valerie and Valerie had even made them dinner. The sad thing though is perhaps the loneliness of Valerie. My niece has said Valerie sends her letters and cards even though they live in the same building. Makes you think doesn't it? We really need to tune in more to the elderly who need social interaction above and beyond sending mail to those who live in the same building as them. It made me think of Charlotte, I've mentioned her before in posts. Last time I met Charlotte I dropped her off at her supported living facility. She brought me in ... Read Full Story >>

Tuesday's Kindness Report

It's amazing what can happen with you venture out with the mission of kindness! Yesterday, I had a most successful trip out. :) First, I started off by recycling and picking up trash around the dumpsters. Then, I put a muffler, hat, and gloves in a bag to give to the woman who lives under a bridge near her home. I didn't see the lady who would give it to her, but I have the bag ready-to-go in car for when I do meet up with her. Then, while running some errands, I chatted up with the clerks at Trader Joe's. It was nice to have some laughter and good conversation. After that, I swung by the bank. I had been to the bank about six weeks ago, on my birthday, and the new teller remembered and asked how my day had been. We ended up chatting about kindness, and I shared ... Read Full Story >>

A Spontaneous Christmas Gift - From Everyone

It was our turn to host the Christmas family dinner. It had been a few years since it had taken place at our house. Three deaths had occurred in the intervening years, family elders. And there was the considerable loss that went with that. One of them, the mother of my son-in-law, had died almost exactly a year earlier. She and her husband had hosted many family gatherings at their large home. The gatherings there would never be the same again without her. And so my wife and I both felt both the need and the strong wish to provide a warm setting for a healing gathering. Some years earlier a secret Santa strategy had been settled upon to help reduce the financial burden of gift exchange. The names of all would be written on separate slips and then drawn by family members. You would give a gift to the person ... Read Full Story >>

Marks Of Kindness

I was on my way to my parents' on my motorcycle and saw a middle aged man carrying a heavy sack on his shoulders and walking with great struggle. I passed him, then paused, and turned around to stop near him and offer him a ride.

He lifted the heavy sack which had a lot of scrap iron and sat on the pillion. Immediately he asked me my name and after I told him, blessed me aloud. We rode on.

In five minutes, we were stopped by a traffic cop who demanded to see my license. There were many cops who were stopping everyone on that road. My ride got down with his sack and got back on after I was through with the cop.

We reached his destination. He got off and thanked me again. After reaching home, while parking my motorcycle I saw that the iron pieces in the sack that he had placed on the pillion had made deep marks and almost torn the seat in a couple of places.

I smiled and took it as a reminder he had left behind so that I do not forget what the pillion is for.

Kindness Inspired By A Car

As I was parking last weekend in the Los Angeles area, I experienced one of those "I know I'm in the right place at the right time" moments.  I happened to find a space next to a car which had the most inspirational back window I've ever seen.

It said "The fruit of the Spirit is" and then listed all these qualities (but not as a bullet point list; it was quite artistic and fun!)

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Generosity
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-Control

The best part of it was that they were not promoting a business or any particular religion -- it was just the message.

I just happened to have a SmileDeck on me, so I wrote a note saying how inspired I was and then put the note and the SmileDeck under their windshield wiper.

Finding My First Smile (Card) This Week

It was a Wednesday night, four days after my grandfathers birthday which he was not able to celebrate since he had died five days before. I was struggling with his death and was acting like he wasn't even gone. In addition to that, I was having a hard time because I was missing my sister who had been living with me until a month ago, before she decided to move in with her father. At first I was okay with the decision because she was a pain but soon after I missed her. This wednesday happened to be the Wednesday when I started a new job and I had been texting my sister about it. She called me a little bit before work and sounded really upset, she said she had gotten off the phone with our grandma and that I needed to call her. I had been avoiding it. I hadn't called my grandma ... Read Full Story >>

Joy From Unspoken Gratitude

It was afestival time in India and I had gone to buy some sweets.  Iwas sad that day and in no mood to celebrate. As I was purchasing the sweets I saw some slum children outside the shop looking at cake in the window with wide eyes.

The shopkeeper began to shoo them away. But I stopped him, purchased the cake and gave it to the children. This I do on many occassions at different places. But this particular event felt very special. As I was giving the cake to the children their eyes sparkled out of happiness and gratitude which  touched my heart. It made me sooooo delighted.  For a few minutes I felt like a Santa Claus.

This tour of paradise (for those few moments) didn't cost me the earth. Just less than Rs. 100/- .  More that I giving them anything special they had given joy to my sad heart by that unsaid thanks in their eyes.

Giving A Family The Gift Of Christmas

Leading The Blind

  I work in a major department store as a cashier. My area has four cash registers grouped in a square and I am not supposed to leave the immediate area unless it is to straighten clothing on the tables right next to my work station.   Yesterday, I was the only one working on the registers. I was straightening clothes up when these two ladies approached me. One had a walking frame with wheels and the other was holding her arm. When they got close to me, I could see that the lady with the walker was totally blind.    They asked me how to get back to the Mall from my store. I pointed and said, "Just go that way."    The next thing I knew they were headed in a totally wrong direction. I called to them and said, "Hello, you are going the wrong way!" They turned around and came back towards me. ... Read Full Story >>

Spending Time With A Friend

I invited one of my Japanese guests to stay a weekend in the country as there was a special event. She was such good company, so appreciative and kind. Everything was a surprise, she was in awe of everything, constantly saying 'wow' :-)))
Met neighbours, friends, market stall people, she'd try to talk to everyone practising her English. We had meals together in the garden, did a little shopping, walked, had the traditional English tea (which she loved, ate all of her bits and some of mine!) Unforgettable memories for both of us!
A super fun weekend full of kindness

It's Worth It

There was once a little boy who lived in my community.  His father was abroad and was not supporting him nor his mother financially and his mother was not working, so most times his mother could not send him to school. My mother saw the situation and decided to "take him up". She bought a lunch bag and in the mornings when we left for school, whatever was in my lunch bag was in his and when we got back home he'd get a snack or dinner if he planned on staying over. Well one day, from nowhere his father got in contact with his mother and told her he would be filing for him to come and live with him abroad. His mother agreed readily as it would be better because she would not be able to pay College expenses for her son. Well he he did leave and go abroad, but years later we saw this stranger at ... Read Full Story >>

Being Alive and Well Fed

This morning I asked myself a question: ‘What does being alive mean to me?’. The question eventually led me to this moment now. Well, isn’t it only to be in the now to be alive, anyways? Well, at this particular moment-right now - being alive means sharing the abundance of kindness in a story. Two years ago, I was hitchhiking and a friendly man in his mid-sixties pulled over. Curt was brimming over with stories spiced with his joy for living. My journey to the chiropractor didn’t take it’s usual 3 or so rides.  Curt altered his route to drop me off directly in front of the office 45 minutes later. During the ride, I learned that Curt was just dropping off a van-load of free food for people in my small town.  He did this weekly just because "It is so fun to bring people food which otherwise would have gone ... Read Full Story >>

When My Daughter Was Born

Exactly 10 years ago I gave birth to a little girl, now turning a big girl.

The day my daughter was born I was blessed with the company of my husband and 3 friends who kept me company from 16.30 in to 23.00 at night.  Due to the shortage of personel, I had to stay with my baby daughter in the corridor of the hospital just outside the bunch of the rooms where women give birth.

I can't forget the endless patience and efforts of my friends and family to keep me in good spirits for all those hours. To me,  this day is a celebration of my daughter's birthday and a celebration of the most beautiful friendship in times of need. They must have done a fantastic job because I don't remember being bored or annoyed while we waited all those hours!

This year I am going to write a thank you letter to each of them for being there for me.

Can You Go Overboard With Kindness?

This past weekend I had a bunch of charitable things I wanted to do. I took food to the animal shelter, I bought sweaters and a couple of sleeping bags to donate to the homeless, and I bought someone's breakfast at the drive-thru. On my way into the good-will shop I saw a couple of young teenagers huddled together; a boy and a girl, no more than 14 or 15. The girl had her head on the boy's shoulder and they were clinging to each other. No one paid them any attention. On my way out, I saw them still sitting there. I started to walk to my car but thought, 'No. What if these poor kids need something? What if they've run away and have nowhere to go? What if they're hungry?'     Imagining all sorts of awful scenarios I turned around and walked towards them, very proud of myself for my ... Read Full Story >>

Taking the Extra Step to 'Pay-it-Forward'

I wanted to do a random act of kindness for my friend’s birthday, so on Friday I went to Walmart to carry out my gift to her because I think people who shop there do so to save money and could use a gift. My gift in honor of her birthday is a birthday cake!  I selected a cupcake birthday cake for which the recipient of the gift can pick any design they wish. My plan is for the next person who walks up to the bakery counter to purchase a cake to be told that someone has anonymously paid for their cake, and for them to then receive the receipt along with my handwritten message explaining the gift along with a Smile Card attached. It took some doing/convincing!  I had to speak to 2 members of the management and make 2 trips to the store.  I was turned down the first time ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Cookies From A Conference

I'm attending a conference at a hotel this week. The hotel provides a continental breakfast as well as an afternoon snack selection.  When our session ended today I noticed there were still some cookies left. Knowing that the way home would take me through an area where there are homeless people I was inspired to pack up some of the extra cookies in napkins and take them with me to give away.     Granted, cookies are not the healthiest food but they are an indulgence I imagine few homeless people get to enjoy. And these cookies were really good!   I gave two to a homeless gentlemen, left two neatly wrapped on top of a container in another public place where I often see homeless people, and have two more with me to give away on the way back in tomorrow.   It's an idea you might consider if you happen to be staying at a ... Read Full Story >>

Passport To Europe

Someone I work with was asked to go to Europe to sing with her church choir! 

Kindness Without Leaving Home

I'm a stay at home mum to three beautiful young boys, and some days I never leave the house!

On these days I always wander how I can do a kind act. But I realize I do them every day. Although not big and even without leaving the house we can still do acts of kindness.

I smiled at other drivers driving my boys to school, I left uplifting and positive comments on people's Facebook status. I played with all my three children and gave them attention rather than do something for me and I walked the neighbor's dog.

Things can be done every day without leaving home.

Kindness Is The Medicine

One of my co-workers was recently stressed because his wife is struggling through a period of severe depression triggered by a rebounding of bodily pain from fibromyalgia.  She's also been on furlough from work for a number of years, and doesn't get much opportunity to maintain social ties and a sense of purpose which are often so essential and deeply nourishing.  After listening to him unload his burdens, I decided to do something small to support him and his wife. I don't know his wife very well at all, but wanted to express some warmth and kindness to her, since it so often feels like the universal balm to soothe every ailment. I found out that, like most people, she loves receiving handwritten mail.  So I purchased a card and wrote the following message to her: Dear Nxxxx, I want you to know that you have something very unique and beautiful to offer the ... Read Full Story >>