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Sunflower and a Frog

He took it out from around his neck and leaned down a bit, his eyes looking straight into mine. "Would you mind?" he asks. Looking at him through his eye glasses, I smile and say, "Of course not, Lee. It would be an honor." And with that, I was garlanded -- probably for the first time in my life -- with a simple necklace. Lee is the epitome of a happy-go-lucky guy. He used to be a trucker, I think. If there were one word to describe him, it would be happy. Or joyous. And what a pure heart. In one of those fits of unadulterated compassion, he just felt like giving me something. So he takes off his own necklace and offers it to me. It was far from an ordinary necklace. In a small town of Oregon, Lee met a Japanese-American fellow selling small hand-made, glass items. While conversing with ... Read Full Story >>

9194 Reads

Let Someone Know You Are There

My son’s kindergarten class did a performance yesterday for the parents and rest of the school. It was great but one particular thing made me think a little more about life in general. I was in the back videotaping it since my wife could not attend. About 10 minutes into the program, I could see the change at the exact moment my son saw that I was there. He was doing great and being a wonderful participant before that moment, but I could tell how seeing me there made such a difference and meant so much to him. His smile, wave, and frequent “thumbs up” directed to me, made me laugh as I was able to relive them over and over later. It made me think. Sometimes just letting someone know you are there for them can make all the difference. They may not call on you or ask anything of ... Read Full Story >>

9699 Reads

The Girl Who Gave Me Apples

August 1942. Piotrkow, Poland. The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square. Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated. 'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me, 'don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen.' I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker. An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, then asked my age. 'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood. My mother was motioned to ... Read Full Story >>

11.1K Reads

Thanks For Rocking With Me!

There was once an elderly, despondent woman in a nursing home. She wouldn't speak to anyone or request anything. She merely existed - rocking in her creaky old rocking chair.

The old woman didn't have many visitors. But every couple mornings, a concerned and wise young nurse would go into her room. She didn't try to speak or ask questions of the old lady. She simply pulled up another rocking chair beside the old woman and rocked with her.

Weeks or months later, the old woman finally spoke.

'Thank you,' she said. 'Thank you for rocking with me.'"

7445 Reads

Jacqui's Ring of Generosity

During one particular hospital stay in November 2006, I met an incredible lady, who I will always remember. Her kindness, and big heart, touched me in a life changing way. I was lying in bed in my room, gazing mindlessly at the bustling people pacing past my door in the corridor. I quite enjoyed this. I’d see all sorts of people; elderly patients walking slowly but intently, their eyes focused on the ground that their feet would soon walk over; frazzled nurse’s striding past clutching their paperwork, cheerful bubbly children. Quite often some one would cast a glance my way and smile, but no one ever came in. However, this one afternoon, a patient who was heading back to her room next door to me, caught my eye and stopped. She came to my door and smiled. I greeted her with a friendly smile and she came in. She sat by my ... Read Full Story >>

3693 Reads

Groceries Bought And Left Behind

The other day I was in the grocery store. I was hurrying to get a few things I needed in between soccer games. In the line behind me was the sweetest lady who was quietly searching through her wallet to find the money she needed to purchase the seven or eight items she had in her cart. I imagined she probably lived on a limited income and might benefit, even just a little, from having her groceries paid for her.   I turned to the cashier and said, "Go ahead. Run her items through. I'd like to pay for her groceries."    My children, aged twelve, seven and three, quietly watched what was going on.   "I can't let you do that," the lady said.    "But I just did," I replied. "Have a great day!" And then, smiling, I walked with my children out the doors.   As I walked away, I heard her ask the cashier, "Did he just ... Read Full Story >>

6466 Reads
  • Posted by PiTeacher
  • May 30, 2012
  • 25 Comments
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Life is Like Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.  During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.  Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of ... Read Full Story >>

40.5K Reads

Pass The Buck!

Few months ago, a friend of mine handed me an envelope. Intrigued, I opened it and found a dollar bill.. A dollar? For what? My friend launched into an animated articulation of how he received a gift of $20 and he decided to split it up and give a dollar to 20 of his friends to do random acts of kindness. Multiply all the goodness that comes with an offering twenty-fold! Last week I was walking in a nearby downtown to keep a baby entertained while the  rest of the family watched a movie. The downtown is really small so we ended up pacing up and down the same street many times over. There was this small ice cream shop, half-way between 2 blocks, that kept drawing me. I saw two girls, about fifteen years, doling out cones and cups with a great smile and attitude. The line was long and so ... Read Full Story >>

16.5K Reads
  • Posted by earthling
  • Oct 21, 2007
  • 25 Comments
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The Smile Card Exchange

About a month ago, while in the drive through at Starbucks, I noticed a woman in a car behind me who appeared to be having a bad day. There were two kids in the back who looked to have too much energy at 8am on a Sunday morning.  The line moved slowly and at one point while pulling forward, the woman behind me bumped my car. I could tell this worried and concerned her. The entire time that I waited in line for my coffee this woman didn't smile. Looking back at her I could tell she was looking at the side view mirror wondering "Why me? Why today?" When I pulled up and paid for my coffee I requested that the Starbucks barista give the woman behind me a Smile Card and paid for her muffin and latte. Just 30 mins ago I was again waiting in line at the Starbucks. I heard a car door ... Read Full Story >>

10.3K Reads
  • Posted by ClemDubois
  • Mar 16, 2010
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Children Watch and Learn From Us

Teenagers! What can I say? My daughter is 12. Sometimes she is a crazy bundle of fun and sometimes she seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. This was one of her down days. She was bored and sad (and making a meal out of it!).  Every time she complained about being bored I would suggest something she could do, but there were always bucketloads of reasons why she couldn't do any of them. The suggestion that she might enjoy tidying her bedroom just provoked a look that reminded me of thunderclouds -- she's been good at that look since she was two! I was getting a little fed up with all this negativity, but I kept my patience.  I gently suggested that possibly the very best way in the world to have a good day was to try and make it a better day for someone else.  Then I suggested ... Read Full Story >>

6716 Reads

Hugathon

I set up the stand "Free Loving Hugs" on the side walk on one of busiest days in town - Fair on the Square. Over a period of two hours standing there I gave out about 300 hugs including 3 puppies, one kitten, and 1 kick in the butt.

What? Kick in a butt? Yea! One man came to me and he said that he really needs a hug. I gave him a hug, and then after he told me that he was going through some tough times in his life, I gave him a second hug. He said that he also needs a nice kick in the butt and so I happily, but gently, obliged, to help “kick”-start him into action. =)

Another memorable request was from a lady who came to me with tear filled eyes, and told me that she really, really needed a hug today. I gave her a nice loving squeezy hug, and then she told me that she was just diagnosed with cancer. Then I felt like I needed to give her a really, really long healing hug. We stood there hugging and the emotion of the moment overcame me and we both stood their crying for a while... =)

3177 Reads

The Veteran Who Just Wanted To Be Seen

This happened about four or five years ago. I had been involved in "Non Violent Communication" for a couple of years. I was struggling as I still do with finding a natural and seamless way of connecting with people through compassion and empathy in everyday encounters; trying not to assume I know what someone needs but being willing to ask.  Walking through the lobby of an office building in San Francisco I could hear a man screaming and shouting obscenities. He was so loud his voice penetrated the sounds of mid-day traffic and the double glass doors leading to the street.     Heading through those doors I saw a double amputee hunched over on one of those little rolling platforms auto mechanics sometimes use to scoot under cars. He was gesturing erratically at pedestrians as they approached and yelling profanities as they veered as far away from him as they could get ... Read Full Story >>

10.5K Reads

The Old Man on the Highway

As I turned off the highway onto the ramp to go home, I encountered a little old man on the side of the road.  His sign read, "Stranded, need ride to get to friend."  He had a bag, a cane and the clothes on his back. I turned my car to the right, the traffic horrific, no one letting me turn around.  So I went around the block and pulled a u-turn so that I could drive by this little man to offer him help.  A s I got turned, he had already begun walking up the road towards me.  It was like he knew what I was doing.  I stopped beside him and asked him what he was doing. He responded, "Well pretty lady, I am trying to get to my friend who is dying.  We have been friends for almost 50 years and now he lay dying -- I want to be with ... Read Full Story >>

7631 Reads

Before My Head Gets In Front Of My Heart

I do a lot of kind things on an impulse, mostly because I know that if I think about them I will probably will let my head get in front of my heart and then regret not having acted.

Today I woke up with the clear idea that I had to send a certain amount of cash to someone I know who is indirectly related to me. The amount  was exactly half of what I had in my already very slim bank account. 

As you can imagine all sorts of thoughts went through my head but - I can't explain - I just knew I have to do it and do it anonymously. 

All I know is that this person has three children around the same age as my daughter and her husband is an alcoholic with an autistic personality, which makes her life very difficult.

Why I had to do this now and not another time I might never know. But I feel it was the right thing to do.

3419 Reads

Uncle Unconditional

I went to visit my parents this past holiday weekend. During the trip, we went to visit my ailing uncle. He was in the hospital due to a heart attack. It was the second heart attack he had in the last four months and this time the doctors said it is really quite serious. The whole family has been wishing him thoughts and blessings of healing since he is the eldest one in our family and particularly because we hope he can live to see his son's upcoming wedding which is scheduled for next month.  As I looked at the situation with all of its uncertainty, I began to think about the life this man lead. He is 60 years old. He has spent his whole life teaching low-income inner city school children whose families are primarily broken, that these youngsters have hope, because hope is priceless. When I went to see him one last time before I left to head back to my home, I brought my uncle a fruit basket with ... Read Full Story >>

6534 Reads

Overwhelmed by Unexpected Loving Kindness

The car went through the stop sign and into the intersection. With no where to go or time to get there, my taxi hit the car dead on. For the next three months I was out of work. I had no savings to speak of. No family to help me. I was in dire straights to be sure.  The lady who ran the stop sign had little insurance, barely enough to cover the medical expenses with little left over to pay my living expenses. Just after the accident Justin came to see me in the hospital. We had been co-drivers with the taxi company. We knew each other and worked well together. We were not what one might consider to be friends but we liked each other. He asked me what was going to happen and I told him I didn't know. I was in deep trouble financially until a settlement ... Read Full Story >>

6733 Reads

Gratitude For The Kindness Of Strangers...

As I was walking along the river this evening, enjoying some hot chocolate with the sun shining down on me on this nice spring day, I was in the mood to do something nice for a stranger and started to look around for an opportunity to do a random act of kindness.  Two minutes later I was approached from across the pathway by a complete stranger.  I wasn't sure why he was approaching me, when from out of nowhere he started talking to me really aggressively and harrassing me.  I could tell he was probably drunk or high or who-knows-what so I just stayed calm and kept walking ahead.  There were hundreds of people sitting on benches nearby and walking along the South Bank with me, so I wasn't really worried.  As I tried to walk along he kept saying offensive things to me and trying to get my attention.  ... Read Full Story >>

9934 Reads

A Day Of Miracles, Cupcakes And Smiles

One evening in July, a few friends and I decided we would get together to brainstorm an idea for a local Smile Card event in London -- something we could do as a group to share smiles anonymously and cultivate kindness in our hearts.  We came up with a few suggestions and then picked an idea that got everyone excited and moved ahead with planning it – we were going to bake and decorate 200 cupcakes, buy a bunch of sweets, make some fun smile posters and give it all away at Hyde Park!  Our little team of 6 people spent a month planning every fine detail from inviting friends to get involved, baking cupcakes ahead of time, buying supplies, getting t-shirts that say SMILE and a banner with a giant Smile Card on it and visiting the park ahead of time to find the perfect spot for the event.   A special thanks ... Read Full Story >>

6901 Reads

Just Doing The Right Thing

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday when I found a BlackBerry cell phone in a puddle of melted snow.  I picked it up and it still worked!  I started scrolling through the contact list and calling numbers to see if I could figure out whose phone it was.  Unfortunately, only one person answered and she didn't recognize the number that I was calling from.  She made a comment of "It is just so nice that you are trying to find out whose phone it is."  Since that lady didn't know whose phone it was, my friend suggested that we go back to the street and the house that we found the BlackBerry in front of.  I knocked on the door and two college-age people answered.  They hadn't lost their phones, but as I told them the story and mentioned some names on the contact list, the young man said that he had those names ... Read Full Story >>

7843 Reads

Ripples In The 5th Grade

Today, after having my 5th grade students share stories about what makes them smile, I shared the 21-day kindness challenge with them. They were super excited! 

I had them write down kindness ideas in their journal. 

As soon as school ended students were coming back into the class to secretly slip mechanical pencils and other small gifts into other students' desks! 

One student came up to me and gave me a hug and said, "This is just the beginning!" The kindness ripples have begun!

2560 Reads




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