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An Old Habit and Ten Bucks

As I was sitting outside on the bench in front of the thrift store, a car pulled up and a woman stepped out with donations for our small mission. I got up to help her carry in her gifts.

As I helped her, I noticed two $5.00 bills laying in the street.  You see, it has become a habit of mine to always for trash around my small space because I like things neat and clean.  I think it shows respect for the people who shop at our thrift store.  But as a result, I always look to the ground and that's how I saw the the two five dollar bills.

In a flash, I remembered a yound woman who had went into the beauty shop next door and I remembered her because of her shoes. So I just opened the door and asked if anyone had lost some money.  This yound woman looked down and asked if I had found two $5.00 bills?  Sure enough, she claimed it.

The young woman thanked me and told me it was her lunch money. 

I was really  glad I had this habit of keeping an eye on the ground. :)

"Because You Are A Giver"

Many winters ago I was working at a community college when a homeless woman came in wearing only a slip on and a hospital bracelet. She started coughing as she laid back on a sofa in the student lounge. Clearly, she wasn't well.  Without thinking too much about it I went to the Student Affairs office where I knew I could find clothes in the "Lost and Found" bin. I gathered her up an entire outfit and made my way back. That's when a co-worker told me I should not help this person, as it would only lead to her wanting more help. I ignored her and carried on, despite the warnings. Two weeks later a lovely elderly man came to my office and asked to speak with me in private. Curious, I gave him my full attention. He proceeded to tell me that he had overheard the conversation with the co-worker ... Read Full Story >>

An Extra Special Candlelight Christmas Eve

I am a geriatric care manager and many of my clients families live out of state. This year, a sweet old lady that I care for, Alice, had gone through a particularly rough time. She had been in the hospital twice and then to a rehab nursing facility. In November I was finally able to get her back to her "home" in to an 'assisted living facility'. Alice has dementia and thought her daughter was coming to visit on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that was not going to happen she was so sad and tearful. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to cheer her. I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday! On Christmas Eve, I surprised her by asking if she would like to go to a candlelight service at church that night. Instead ... Read Full Story >>

Pennies For A Loving Cause

I am collecting pennies at work for a co-worker. He doesn't know I'm doing this. 

Finding Happiness Through Helping Others

I have just found that a small article I wrote about this site, and my own experience of it, has been published on the letters page of a UK magazine.  The magazine is called 'Natural Health'.  I was so shocked when I saw it there. If it interests just one person, then that would be fantastic! Here is the article: Finding Happiness I want to share how my life has changed for the better: I thought happiness came from buying a new dress or lipstick, but no sooner had I bought one thing than I wanted something else.  Life felt like I was forever seeking something, but never finding it.  Then, one afternoon, I was at my computer and I remembered a postcard called 'Random Acts of Kindness'.  I typed 'acts of kindness' into the search engine and found a site called 'helpothers.org'.  This was the beginning of my journey into happiness. The site is ... Read Full Story >>

A Neighborhood Pulls Together To Be 'Kind People'

Two weeks ago while my daughter and I were eating dinner I saw a police officer walking past my backyard with a worried looking woman. I opened my door and asked if everything was okay. Apparently the woman was the grandmother of an eight year old boy who had gone missing an hour earlier.  I said we hadn't seen the boy, but we would help look. I asked my two year old daughter if she understood why we had to go looking for this boy and couldn't finish dinner right then.  She replied, "Be kind people, Daddy." (That still makes me want to hug her!) We hopped into our truck and went searching all over town for about an hour and a half.  Along the way, as we asked various strangers on the street if they had seen this little boy. A group of kids said they would help too. They hopped on ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Cards in Action at School

I've mainly been using my smile cards in paying for the person behind me at the Burger King and McDonald's drive-thrus that I go to.  However, sometimes I find myself yearning to be more creative with them.  I have over 250 of them to distribute since I "made" my own and ordered them through a website that prints and ships out custom cards.  I have decided to bring kindness to the staff and students at the school where I work.  I will keep my eyes and ears open to see whose day could use a smile.  I'm sure I'll get to everyone sooner or later or better yet, everyone who receives smile cards will eventually be able to help out and spread the smiles with me.  Today, I enlisted another co-worker to anonymously deliver a smile to my first recipient.  She was more than happy to be included and said she just loved things like ... Read Full Story >>

The Madrone Seedlings!

I have a strong affinity for madrone trees. Though they grow along most of the west coast, their abundance at sea level and especially on islands in the Pacific Northwest is such that I feel they reflect the soul of this place. Their nonconforming and sensual nature has a way of attracting artists to their midst. In my immediate area, they grow in a few coastal places on the mainland and especially on the nearby islands. My dream is to live among them, but the real estate prices on the mainland where they grow is astronomical and living on an island cuts you off from your family. So instead I have been studying their very specific growing conditions and learning how to propagate them myself to plant them where I live. Last year I purchased 150 seedlings from a native plant sale at the community college in Bellingham. About 25 of these trees ... Read Full Story >>

Like The Flowing River!

[ One of my favorite stories from Paulo Coelho’s 'Like the Flowing River', in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.]


My wife and I met her on the corner of Rua Constante Ramos in Copacbana.  She was about sixty years old, sitting in a wheelchair, lost in the crowd. My wife offered to help her and the woman accepted the offer, asking us to take her to Rua Santa Clara.

There were a few plastic bags hanging from the back of the wheelchair. On the way, she told us that they contained all her belongings. She slept in shop doorways and lived off handouts.

We reached the place where she wanted to go. Other beggars were gathered there. The woman took out two packets of long-life milk from one of the plastic bags and gave it to the other members of the group.

“People are charitable to me, and so I must be charitable to others,” she said.

Running On Empty

Not so long ago on my half-hour commute to work, I passed by a large white van stopped at the side of the road.  At first, I didn't think too much of the situation as it's not out of the ordinary in this area to see vehicles temporarily abandoned while the owners decide what should be done with them. Inside the van was a girl looking obviously distressed.  She sat in the passenger seat with her eyes fixated forward, ignoring everything.  Up ahead I noticed the only thing she could have been looking at -- about 300 feet up the road was a fellow about my age walking towards town with a red plastic gas can in his hands. Within a split second, I realized that he had run out of gas and was trying to fill it up.  While the drive to the nearest gas station was only about 5-10 minutes, ... Read Full Story >>

Apologizing With Kindness

A few weeks ago one of you wonderful people posted an idea for anti- bullying. I took that suggestion and used it in my classroom today.

The little person who is holding the heart had laughed at one of our developmental students who had been crying. So this little guy made a heart using the letters of the other child's name for a positive message.

On the back he drew a picture of him playing kindly with the sad child. Then he went down and gave the heart to the wronged child. I was so happy that he took ownership by apologizing very sweetly. As an added bonus we had done a meditation early in the morning about compassion and sending love to others. Best lesson I taught today! As always thanks for inspiring me! XO

Good Bye North Face!

This is an unfolding story. I once came across bedding all folded up behind the swimming pools where I walk my dog Roux. I wondered at the time who was sleeping there and why, what had happened in their life that this is how they had to live.  I then saw a young woman walking away from the area when I was walking. I was surprised and wondered if she was the person sleeping rough. I saw her again the next day, walking towards that area of the park. Roux the ice breaker, ran up to her for a pat, and she smiled and she is young, mid teens? I asked her if she was sleeping there and she looked embarrassed and said "no" and I didn't believe her. It was winter at the time. She had a T-shirt on and a small rucksack and looked cold. I thought of Mindy (A KindSpring Member)  Oh well ... Read Full Story >>

Beautiful Outfit Beautiful Smile

I was out shopping earlier today. 

On my way out of one store I noticed this rather large women sitting on a bench waiting. She was dressed in a brightly colored long dress and had pretty shoes too. Sometimes I think people overlook larger sized women but I am always looking to compliment. So, that's what I did!

As I passed by I smiled widely and said, "I love your outfit! You look very pretty in it." 

She gave me the biggest smile in return and said, "Thank You."  

I knew right then I made a difference in her day! 

The Big Smile at Panera Bread

I was eating lunch with my mom yesterday at one of our favorite places called Panera Bread. Before we left  I found $4.00 in my purse. There was no one wating in line so I went up to the cashier and asked if there was a minimum dollar amount for a gift card. He told me no so I asked him to put the $4.00 on a gift card. I then handed him a smile card and asked that he give the gift card and the smile card to the next customer that comes in. He looked at me and with a BIG smile on his face he said "really?" and I told him yes. 

Although I did not get to see the reaction of the next customer, the smile on the cashier's face alone was worth it! Hopefully it will inspire him to do the same for someone else.

Post it Note Kindness at the Mall

December kindness for today.  I visited the mall, went into ladies' fitting rooms and bathroom, left positive messages on heart post-its. One of my favorite RAKS (random acts of kindness) to do! Our words matter. They can encourage and build people up, or shame and tear them down. 

When I was putting the hearts on the bathroom mirror a little girl saw me and kept saying, "hearts, hearts, I love hearts!" :)

I left a stack of blank post-its and a pen behind in the bathroom for others to add messages if they'd like. ♡ 

50 Acts Of Kindness in 15 Days

I had decided to do as many acts of kindness as possible during the month of September, and I must say that I have surprised myself. I I never thought that I would get that much done in such a little space of time. I haven't done anything  extra-ordinary, but I have been making sure to keep doing them. For example today is the birthday of a friend from HO and also from a very good friend (almost like a sister) from PT so I decided to top up their birthday presents by donating a small amount to a charity on their behalf that is going to allow 1 child to have clean water for a year, and 1 child to have medical care for 3 months, that didn't cost me the earth and I think it gave their birthdays a RAOK touch.  Other things I've done include: sending a card to a ... Read Full Story >>

Teaching English Helped Him Be Seen Again

  I am an Iranian man who has been battling cancer for the past two years. A transpant has meant things have been better over the past six months. It means I have a lot more time to spend online learning new things.   I have a friend in England who is really feeling home-sick. It's making him quite depressed. He would tell me that he didn't want to do stuff, he just wanted to be left alone, and so on. But I didn't want to leave him in his depression.   So, I asked him if he could teach me English! Even though we were far apart we could communicate by Skype. He jumped from his seat towards the computer in his enthusiasm! "Yes! I'd really like to do that! Can I do that? Please?"   Now, after a few lessons, I can see him becoming happier and more energetic again!   In am sixty-two years old and ... Read Full Story >>

The Long Life of a Short Friendship

My son's day care provider experienced a tragic sudden death of a friend. She had just met this fellow and had sensed a deep connection before dropping him off at his car. He had a car accident that night, and was killed. Deeply moved by the sadness that my friend was experiencing, I was compelled to write her some comforting words about being able to see the positives of how her friend had influenced her life and suggested that he possibly came to her as an angel of change for her life. This trajedy, impacted her deeply and encouraged her to reevaluate her life, as tragedy often does. I encouraged her to look past the normal conditionings that would have us concentrate on the drama of a trajedy and suggested she instead reflect on the positive message this friend's life gave her and the people around her. This approach would ... Read Full Story >>

A Letter to My High School Teacher

  Jeff Rupp, beloved teacher at Fullerton High School, and his daughter Sarah Dear Mr. Rupp, The day I met you was the first day of high school. I walked into your class with a t-shirt that said, “supermodels suck,” and you were rocking a ponytail and had your Harley parked next to your desk. We liked each other immediately. You gave me a lot of advice over the next four years, like how I should get my ass to Berkeley where I belonged. I’m still there, by the way. I wish you were still around too. I remember your full-sleeve tattoos, which the school made you hide even in the blazing heat of summer. They were always there under your blue denim shirt and leather vest combo, and you were more than happy to tell us the story of each one, like constellations etched in ink instead of stars. I remember your laugh, which ... Read Full Story >>

Biscuits On A Cold February Night

I was sitting on the front steps of a small bakery near where I live and eating some noodles. I was enjoying my meal in peace with no one around. There is a burned out house right opposite the bakery and I know a group of people live there. The house has no electricity and has very poor ventilation.    I happened to glance up from my noodles and I saw a group of women gathered outside the house. They were sitting on the ground sharing a meal of some sort.    Seeing them there, a thought occurred to me. I am grateful for the food I receive every day but there are also folks who may be getting one square meal a day, or less. I felt that I needed to go visit with the women who were sitting there.   I bought a large packet of biscuits from the bakery and went over. The women looked slightly ... Read Full Story >>