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You All Are Heroes!

I just wanted to thank all of you for spreading so much of joy and goodness in this world. It might sound cliche, but through your stories, I came to realize that there is so much we can do to make people happy and touch their lives in a special way. You all have made me more sensitive. I have started appreciating the small joys in my life. In short, your stories have made me forget my sorrows and helped me become a much happier and better person.

I love you all because everyone visiting this website is a true hero. Please take care of yourselves and others and keep the wheel of kindness moving!!

A big thanks goes to the people behind this website for taking the initiative and giving us such a good opportunity to become more humane.

Bread and Roses

While checking out at the grocery store I had been visiting with the woman behind me. She was riding in one of those shopping carts with the basket in front. The basket held just a few items: some apples, corn, a loaf of bread, some canned goods, and a bunch of gorgeous coral colored roses. Several times while we were visiting I caught her looking at those lovely roses and smiling. I commented to her that they were, indeed, very lovely roses. She said, "I really do love them, they're my favorite color. Well, just as I was leaving, I heard her say to the cashier, "You can put those roses back, I really shouldn't afford them." I turned around and asked her if she would allow me to get them for her. She shook her head and said, "Why would you want to do that? You certainly don't have to." ... Read Full Story >>

Aren't We All Family?

I noticed elderly man was wobbly on his feet and was trying to steady himself by grabbing at a bush outside the rest area facility, but then sort of slowly collapsed to the concrete sidewalk as another bystander. My husband and I ran to his aide. Thankfully, he didn't hit his head on the sidewalk! A few more of us gathered around, assessing the situation. I gave my cell phone to husband to call 911. It seemed lot happened all at once, but there were at least 4 or 5 of us by the man's side. <3 His wife was alerted (she had been walking their dog in the pet area) and then she brought his oxygen. Someone took his pulse; another cushioned his head. Waiting for the ambulance to get there, I held his hand and looked in his eyes. I patted his face and touched his forehead. I assured him that ... Read Full Story >>

Living out a life-long dream in South Africa

My heart is so full of love and fulfillment, I have been so blessed to be able to live out a life long dream recently. I am so grateful for the support and friendship of a very dear friend of mine, who has helped me with making a kind acts project possible. We live in Johannesburg South Africa, where as you all know poverty and unemployment are huge issues. I have for many years had a dream to open a soup kitchen. To be able to help and feed the hungry. We have created a Facebook page called Shadows, where we have started sharing our kind acts activities with our friends. We are handing out blankets and I am making hearty soup, which we have started handing out to the homeless. There are so many people living on the streets, it is heartbreaking. I have now created a blanket drive and hope to ... Read Full Story >>

A Name I Won't Forget

Tuesday night, at confession, Father gave me the usual penance: prayers. Then he hesitated and said, "I'm going to give you a second penance, a fun one, 'cause I know I can do this with you. You are to do an anonymous act of kindness for someone. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as they don't know about it." I decided to give a thank you card and a chocolate bunny to the cleaning woman at work. She's such a cheerful person and she does such a terrific job. The only problem was I didn't know her name! I asked my co-workers. None of them knew. I emailed my boss (I knew she would know), and as I was doing that, one of my co-workers started instant messaging everyone in the plant for her name. No one knew. It was pretty embarrassing for all of us! Finally, my coworker got a response from ... Read Full Story >>

Doing Something Out Of The Ordinary

I have just done something out of the ordinary, and it felt fantastic. 

I found myself with a couple of hours free and nothing to do so I  decided to go to a low cost supermarket and made up 3 bags of food costing about £10 each. I then proceeded to drive to a very deprived part of my town where I knocked on the three most shabby looking doors and waited.

Once the door was answered, I simply said: "I know things can be hard sometimes and we all need a little help, I hope this comes in handy." I handed over the shopping, smiled, turned around and walked away. The look on the people's faces was priceless. The food fed the people and the gesture fed my soul.

As always, "we make a living out of what we get but we make a life out of what we give!!"

 

Believing in Kindness

I was on a long drive this past weekend and stopped for a rest break.  I noticed a man in a wheelchair sitting by the stop sign.  He was holding a sign that read, "trying to make it home for the holidays".  I quickly dismissed it because I had no cash to give him. I watched as people drove by and either ignored him or stared at him like he was a curiosity of sorts.  I felt really badly for him. I started to drive away but turned around and asked him if he was hungry.  For some reason, I seem to be called to feed hungry people lately.  He seemed shocked that someone was interested in his well-being and said yes, he would like a sandwich and a soda. I know some people balk at the idea of giving money to strangers because they may use that money for drugs or alcohol ... Read Full Story >>

Tedi the Love Clown

I go to the Hospital every Saturday, in my bright costume, and long eyelashes,and an august clown face.  I hand the patient a 4" Love Pillow.. hand made by myself, and a couple of friends.

I say, "This is a Love Pillow, It is to remind you that you have a Heavely Comforter,

God is still in charge, you know,

And He loves you so much,

He knows what your needs are even before you ask.

He will never leave you, He loves you with an Unending Love,  And I love you too !!!"

--Tedi the Love Clown

I have been clowning for 24 years now, and this has been my most important experience.  I see between 80 and 120 patients each week and wouldn't miss it for the life in me.

Three Strings of Itzhak Perlman

Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an awesome sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play. By now, the audience is used to this ... Read Full Story >>

Giving Away My Skateboard

When I was a teenager I used to skateboard all the time! It seems like that's a phase a lot of teenagers go through.  I would always buy the really nice skateboards the professionals used. I still had one that I bought not too long ago. But, since I don't skateboard anymore, I thought about going to a skateboard shop and giving it to some kid.I know I would have been so excited if someone had done that for me when I was younger.   So, I drove to the local skateboard shop and waited outside for about ten minutes. A boy and his dad were about to walk into the shop when I stepped up and asked him if he'd like my skateboard. He asked how much? I told him it was free - as long as he used it!   His eyes lit up and I could really see how excited he was. ... Read Full Story >>

Marvin's Prayer Book

A while back I started a prayer book for a very sick friend called Marvin. This morning I was collecting prayers and a man wrote something in Marvin's prayer book. Then he told me his story.    Like Marvin he too has cancer. He has been through chemotherapy three times. His cancer has returned after every chemo period and even a few surgeries. He is now stage 4 and terminal.   The reason I am sharing this is because he said all of this to me with a voice that was so hopeful. He seemed not concerned about his situation at all. Instead, he asked many questions about Marvin and even put his phone number in the prayer book for Marvin to call.   He said, "Tell Marvin, no matter what time of the day or night it is, he can call me. Tell him I want to hear from him in his darkest hour. You ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Friend in Need

I have a friend who owns a coffee shop.  She has until Dec. 31 to pay some kind of tax to our city totalling $1,400 dollars. 

I felt so bad for her.  Owning her own coffee shop has always been Kim's dream.  In fact I still vividly remember the day she opened up her shop 3 years ago.  Nobody could have wiped the smile off her face!

I am an artist and have a card rack in her shop.  I told her to put a large sign on top of the rack saying, "Buy cards, all proceeds go to help Barefoot Annie's Coffee Shop."

Helping someone is the best feeling!

Frodo, Sam and the KindSpring Family

I’ve been thinking lately about my visits to the KS community, about how much I enjoy coming here and about the different types of messages which are posted here. I like to participate in some way too as I feel that it’s only fair to give as well as to receive encouragement from all of you however, I’m often at a loss as to what sort of thing to share. Should I post a pretty picture of a flower, an inspirational quote or should I tell a kindness story? When I first came to KindSpring I had recovered from depression and anxiety attacks, KS helped me to see beyond my immediate field of vision, and the inspirational stories of kindness renewed my outlook on life and the world in general. I had come from a period in my life which was pretty much summed up by these words from Tolkien which I ... Read Full Story >>

Gratitude for our Caregiver

About 2 months ago I realized how often my mother's caregiver would do kind things for me.  Not just little things ~ BIG things, like picking oranges and juicing them, making my bed for me when my muscles are so tight I can't bend over easily, raking the leaves and weeding the front yard......... those kinds of things.  I ALWAYS thank her, and she says she enjoys it.  But I decided, since she is paid a set wage by the agency we went through, and has a large family to raise, I would put a dollar in a decorative box every time I see one of those kinds of things that she has done for me.  I have already changed out 20 single dollar bills for a $20 bill TWICE and have probably somewhere in the vicinity of $70 in there.  That's my own "thank you for your many kindnesses" box, and ... Read Full Story >>

The Sock Ministry

David the homeless man started to cry.   In order for the ER doctor to examine him, he needed to get undressed. With some coaxing, he undressed, explaining that removing his layers of Michigan winter clothing made him feel vulnerable.    He hesitated when I assisted him in taking off his socks, and once they were removed, I knew why. The socks were smelly, wet, and had not been changed in months. David also had a severe case of trench foot.   With soap and a pan of warm water I washed David's feet, recalling in my mind the biblical meaning of washing another feet. It was then I got the idea to start a Sock Ministry. Christmas was coming, and we encouraged people who received socks (again) for Christmas, to donate them to the Emergency Room. Within a few weeks we had hundreds of pairs of new socks. Word spread throughout the homeless population, and ... Read Full Story >>

Come Out and Play!

I thought it was rather odd when my friend from the nursing home asked me to motor her wheelchair through the puddles that formed from the melting snow. I didn't really get it, but I went along with it. We were out on one of our walks or what I like to call one of our"weekly strolls" because I stand and she rolls. Adhering to my friend's peculiar request, we were off on our watery wheelchair adventure! We splashed through each puddle together and came out of each experience, slightly damp and smiling. In fact, after a few puddle excursions, even I started looking out for larger and more daunting puddles to sail through until one day we were out on our stroll, and to our dismay, no puddles were to be found. They had all dried up.  Keen on keeping our strolling adventure alive, we discovered something new that awaited us. As we headed down the residential street, there was a small pile of leaves. My friend asked me to roll her through ... Read Full Story >>

Bank of Candy

It was such a nice day today, with storms expected tomorrow, so I put the laundry on hold and treated my adopted mom to lunch. <3

We walked around the entire mall, and I found a bank of candy machines that I filled with quarters. :) My mom said she had never seen anyone do anything like that!

Pizza Delivery!

Today I did something I have never done before. I ordered delivery pizza for our neighbours at our back fence whom I don't know.

I've been watching them all as a family this past week (parents and teenage children) spend their weekends in the garden. Cutting trees, picking up rubbish, and doing such a big job. It has warmed my heart so much.

So as a nice treat on this hot day, I discovered their address and went down to the local pizza shop. I ordered 2 pizzas, coke, and garlic bread, and had it all delivered to them. I left no name except to tell them to have a nice day and that this was a random act of kindness.

So far this is the biggest act I have done. I love it. I really hope they felt loved today and I'm so glad that lunch was on me!

A Gallon Of Gas And A Gift Card

My husband and I have six children and things have been tight financially.  He is a brick-mason and as a barter deal he agreed to build a sign base for a man who owns a sign company in return for a basset hound puppy.    The job was at the front of a cemetery. As we were working beside a busy road we noticed a well dressed man walking towards us. I looked beyond him and saw his car was parked on the roadside. When he reached us he asked if we had any gas he could have.    My husband reached into the back of the truck and handed him a gas can with a gallon or two of gas and a funnel and told him it should be enough to get him to the nearest gas station.    The man thanked him and walked back to his car. About twenty minutes passed and we finished ... Read Full Story >>

A Different Kind of Pep Rally

A group of us decided to start a Kindness Pep Rally, where we hold signs with messages like, "Honk if you love someone," "You Are Awesome," "Kindness is Good for the Heart," and "Dont Give Up, Ok?" We are well into the third week of it, and still going strong! Our "Pep Squad" began two weeks ago with two friends, and today something amazing happened! An hour into our "Pep Rally," a total stranger stopped by to chat. During the conversation, the stranger revealed that her name was Amanda and that she had just moved to the area. She said that she was touched by what we were trying to accomplish.  "This may sound strange, but I believe that meeting you and seeing the amazing thing that you both are doing is a sign that I belong here in this city. I want to become part of this."  We shared that our next event would be holding signs that ... Read Full Story >>