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A Small Act of Kindness Ripples Out a Long Way

I volunteer at a class twice a week.  The setting for the class is in a really beautiful big  playground which belongs to a school.  After the class, I was sitting with the other women who teach at the class, we were filling out some paperwork and talking away.  I was looked around over the playground and noticed that there were some beautiful birds.  A few minutes later, I saw the caretaker cycle across the grounds on his way home.  He stopped to feed the birds.  The caretaker himself is not at all a wealthy person, but he regularly leaves nuts and grains on all four corners of the playground for the birds, and a large bowl of water along with that. This is not part of his duties, he simply does it out of love on his way home; after all the school children have left the grounds. Earlier during ... Read Full Story >>

The Joy in a Simple Cappuccino

I have been wanting to use one of my Smile Cards for a while now. 

In the past I have sometimes bought cold drinks for the guys selling newspapers on the street corners or for the homeless handicapped people on the corners.  Well, a few days ago, I decided I would buy a Cappuccino and giving it to one of the newspaper vendors.

This morning (it was a little chilly) I bought two cappuccinos, one for me and one for one of the guys.  Being kind of cold the guys were not out at first.  I drove around looking out on my way to work but didn't find anyone so I kept driving past my work until I finally found a guy just starting to sell his papers. 

I stopped to buy a paper and give him his cappuccino.  I wish you could have seen his surprise and joy at receiving the cappuccino.  His smile was so big and really blessed me and I hope I blessed him on this chilly morning.

Warm Blessings on a Cold Day

I went grocery shopping on Saturday.  It was a very rainy, windy and cold day.  When I came out of the store my friend told me to wait under the covered awning and he would run and get the truck.  While I was standing there waiting, a man came out of the store and came up to me.  He looked inot my eyes and asked if he could give me a blessing. I try to be nice to everyone without being too naive and I knew my friend would be there in a minute or so, so I said "yes".   The man took hold of my cold hands in his and let me tell you, he had the warmest hands I can ever remember.  He started his blessing for my family and me all the while staring straight into my eyes.  Even his brown eyes felt warm.  I felt such a sense of serenity come over my body from this peaceful, ... Read Full Story >>

A Pay-it-Forward Breakfast Treat

We were out to breakfast one morning and when we went to pay our bill, our waitress said that the man across the isle had paid it!!  Wow!!

We talked with him and asked him why he paid our bill. He said he was feeling a little low and whenever he felt like that, he'd try to do something nice for someone else! What a great pick-me up!

Well, we have paid it forward. We go out to breakfast fairly often and when the timing is right and when we feel moved, we pay someone else's bill. People are amazed and thankful.

We usually say to them, just pay it forward.

Trusting in the Kindness of Strangers

While driving from my home on the long commute to work I noticed a car in front of me had a wobbly wheel. It was clear the wheel had been changed recently and had not been fixed correctly. On a slow road this would not present much of a problem but I knew the route and knew a motorway was coming soon where the traffic would move much faster and would be very dangerous as the wheel could very well come off at that speed. I was driving a large jeep at the time and the car in front was a small to mid-sized car driven by a lady on her own. So as I tried to flash my lights and wave her to pull over I was worried that looking in her mirror she would see a lone man chase her down in a jeep waving frantically for her to pull ... Read Full Story >>

A Bus Ride To Happiness

I have had a number of revelations about myself this year. One of which is that whenever I'm feeling sad or down, a foolproof way to cheer myself back up is to help someone else.

One day I was having a horrible time and nothing was going right. (I bet everyone knows how that feels.) So I just hopped on a random bus, wanting to just get away. Right when I got on I saw this sad dejected looking lady. I decided to sit beside her and try to start up a conversation.

When I talked to her she seemed very suprised but she chatted with me anyway. We talked about love and kindness and how there wasn't enough of either in the world. She told me about her deep struggles.

As she was walking off the bus she said that I was her angel and that God brought me to her. In that one conversation, in that one statement, I felt complete contentment and peace with life.

People can be in search of happiness all their lives and never find it. But I truly believe that loving and helping others is the perfect way to find it.

Christmas Gifts Of Kindness

by Doran Roggio It was the Christmas of 1973. I had just given birth to a baby girl a month earlier. Poverty was a way of life. I was on my own with two children, my infant daughter and a seven year old son. My daughter’s father was not around and I had little help from family. When my infant daughter was three weeks old, I fell asleep during a night feeding. Laying on the edge of the bed I dozed off, my arm relaxed and my tiny daughter slipped onto the floor. Her persistent screams frightened me and I thought it best to take her to the emergency room to make sure there were no injuries. Having no car or money, I called the local police department for a ride to the hospital. The officers were extremely kind and showed concern as I communicated the incident, over my infant’s persistent crying. Reaching ... Read Full Story >>

A Spontaneous Gesture

One day when I was walking towards my office in the morning rush hour, I saw an old and very poor lady sitting near the gate of my building. I guess she was begging for money.

So many strangers were moving around her, I saw that they were all ignoring her plight - busy in their own daily routine.  I don't know what it was, but something moved me to reach out to her.  I took out my lunch box and water bottle and gave it to her without giving it a second thought.

She was so surprised and happy.  A tear ran down one of her eyes.  It made me feel so good to help her a little bit and it reminded me that sometimes it takes very little to make someone smile and feel a bit more secure.  

A Boot Full of Kindness

My girlfriend and I went to a supermarket called Tesco.  It is a very big shop here in Poland, something like a Walmart for those in the states. Whilst we were there, a homeless man walked in wearing the most tattered clothes and very dirty.  He was using an old vacuum cleaner pole as a stick to carry his life's possessions.  He really was a mess and his face was as dirty as a chimney sweep's. My girlfriend was looking through some clothes and I was wandering around the shoe section, and to be honest, curiously staring as this dirty old frail man who was sizing up some shoes.  Now, anyone in their right mind would wonder, does this guy have the money to buy a new pair of shoes? Security had their eye on him, as I did. I went to find my girlfriend and told her, if that guy doesn't get a pair of shoes, we're buying him a pair.  ... Read Full Story >>

Helping Out A Mother

The other day I was really glad to be able to help a friend. She had gone back to full time work after years of staying at home to take care of her children. She has been finding it quite hectic, especially because her husband works away a lot and isn't able to help as much as he would like. She had an after-work meeting to attend in the evening and I suggested her children come over and have dinner at our house. I told her not to worry about rushing back because they would be just fine.  We had a lovely time together and my son enjoyed seeing the girls here too. Life being how it is, my friend was a lot later coming back than she thought she'd be. So, when she rushed up to my front door I stopped her, hugged her, and told her to breathe deeply. Her children were lying on the couch reading, ... Read Full Story >>

Sharing Happiness Through Singing

Had such a wonderful day today, I sang for about 3 hours today, with my sisters "The Short Sistars" bringing smiles to many people in  the community during this holiday time as the crowds of people sat and watched :)

It was so much fun to see the joy our music and our smiles brought to so many people. Also we sang quite a few original songs...one called "We're a Family" which talks about the community all joining together in harmony to create one! People working together not as many people all separately...but all together as one.

Wow! To see crowds sitting and listening, moving to the beat with such joy across there faces I love seeing so many happy people! :)

I think we made many people's day and all those people made our day too.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and amazing year 2011!

A Mexican Happy Meal

When on vacation in Mexico I always enjoyed buying the wares of the young Mexican vendors; chicklets, candies, blankets ... Actually, I don't care what their wares are I just want to buy them! It never ceases to amaze me that kids aged 3 to 5 are actually working, and it may well be the work they will do the rest of their lives because if the family is poor enough to have the kids working at these ages, you know they are not going to school and will very likely get caught in the poverty trap.   On one trip there my wife Cory and I went to McDonald's for a hamburger. (Yes, we were a little home-sick!) As we went in there was a woman begging at the door. She had with her a young boy who I would guess was about 2 years old. I sat and watched him ... 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 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 >>

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

Kindness From Spain!

Printed out my first batch of Spanish Smile cards in Spain this week. I gave out many of the cards over the past year while living in NYC, and now that I am in Spain teaching English for the year, decided to continue spreading the love!

The first card I actually privileged a friend to give out, who  put it in the pocket of an article of clothing at a popular local department store. We wont know if or when this one gets discovered!

The next card, I left today in the coffee machine of our break room. We recently got a new fancy automatic coffee machine that all the teachers love. I dont drink coffee, but I thought, "what better than to leave 60 centimos with a smile card on the coffee machine in the morning for someone else to discover?"

So, I did, and later on I checked and it was gone.. I have no clue who got it and who had a free coffee today, but I plan on spreading lots more love and kindness around my school in Southern Spain!

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 >>

A SPECIAL MEMORY

I was on my way from work one Mother's Day, and I noticed a man pulled by the side of the road and he was trying to load these huge logs into the back of his pick-up truck. As he attempted to load a log, I noticed every vein and muscle in his body straining to complete the task, but to no avail. I stopped my car and offered a hand. The gentleman looked at me as though I might not have enough strength to assist, but since I was the only one offering help he accepted. Together we lifted the log into the back of his truck and then two more. Admittedly, I was grunting from the weight of the logs. As we were loading the logs, I wondered if he was a craftsman who might be making tables from the huge logs (recently cut down by the city), but he ... Read Full Story >>