Stories Matching 'New Ideas' Tag (96 matches)



The Christmas Bike Conundrum

The Enzian Art House in Florida was showing movies in the park. One evening, a few weeks before Christmas, they showed The Christmas Story and had a raffle with a girl's bike as the prize.  It was painfully cute with iridescent streamers, flowers, butterflies, an adorable bell, all designed to delight a five year old. But fifty year old me won it! This led to a bit of a conundrum as I didn't have kids or grand-kids to give it to.  I wanted the bike to go to someone who didn't have the opportunity to own such a wonderful thing. I contacted the shelter (where I occasionally volunteered in the kitchen) and while there was a big need for a sweet bike there was also the potential for it creating strife.  I sought else where until I found out about a couple in our church who had been going through hard times in their ... Read Full Story >>

6092 Reads

Giving treats away at McDonalds

I was at McDonalds the other day and was trying to decide what snack to get to tide me till I rode the 2 bus home.

There was a young lady looking at the menu but just got a small soda. I decided to help and got 2 breakfast burritos for one dollar each and 2 apple pies which are 2 for a dollar. I shared a burrito and pie with her and you would have thought it was the best meal of all time.

She was happy and I was too. I was able to share a meal with someone . I told her I never like to eat alone and was happy for the company. Who knows maybe I will see her there again some day.

Found out she had lost her job and didn't have much money for food . I told her to go to my church and they would help her with some groceries to help out. So I know she will have something else to eat later on that day too. Its a blessing to help someone in need.

1948 Reads

The Perfect Time For Dinner

I made a dinner for a single mom and her boys after learning yesterday that she is working extra hours when they are at their dad's house so she can spend more time with them when she has them.  Because of that (and health problems) she is very sleep-deprived. She is also worried about one of her sons' health situation.  I put a lot of love (the secret ingredient!) into the dishes. Then I called her and said I wanted to bring dinner over for her. She answered by saying, "Really? What's the occasion?"  I said, "I just wanted to bring you dinner today."  She told me that her son had just asked, "What's for dinner?" and she replied that there was nothing in the fridge so they might just have to settle for cereal!  She was totally floored by the timing. She said that it never happens that their fridge is totally empty!   Needless ... Read Full Story >>

2521 Reads

Giving Needs Receiving

I was going through my wallet in the grocery line to pay for the groceries I had selected when I noticed the woman behind me counting coins to pay for the little that she was purchasing.  So, I turned to her and said, "I'll pay for it for you."  She looked up at me with hurt pride and said, "No thank you!"  I felt really humbled and disappointed. As I payed for my own groceries the cashier asked if I had some coins to pay for part of my bill so she would not have to change the larger note I offered.  I did not.  The woman behind me reached forward with a quarter and said, "You can take it out of this."  I was stunned. She could hardly pay for her groceries but she was willing to offer her quarter to pay for mine! I was tempted to say, "No, thank you," but when I ... Read Full Story >>

6780 Reads

This Is Really Great!

Leaving Paris, I had no more use for my mobile SIM card, which still had quite a bit of talk-time on it.

So, after checking-in for my flight, I made a detour to the Arrival area, where I found a just-arrived, almost-elderly couple making enthusiastic enquiries in English at the Information Desk. I asked if they'd like my SIM card and talk-time.

The man replied, "We had just a moment ago asked where we could buy one." "Now you have one," I said, handing his wife a small, cellophane envelope containing the SIM and a Smile Card. "Wow," he said, "this is great!"

She removed the Smile Card and started to examine it as I turned to head-back to the Departure area. "Hey," she called after me, "THIS is REALLY great!" I simply kept-on walking, grinning as broadly as I hoped they were.

2896 Reads

A Little Library...

I started a small neighborhood book exchange. My husband put the shelves together for me and we supplied the "seed" books to get things rolling. I also designed and printed free bookmarks for patrons to take with them. My hope is that people will choose a book, enjoy it and return it for another...along with contributing a few books of their own to share with their neighbors and friends.

2263 Reads

The Shirt Off My Back

Today I had the thrill of giving someone the shirt off my back!  For the past four days I have been participating in a disability arts festival as a member of a choir set up specifically to perform at this festival. Yesterday, after our performance, I was feeling a bit sad thinking that this might be the last time I would sing with this amazing group of people.  I was putting on an oversize, custom-made, raw silk shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons that I have been enjoying wearing when it occurred to me to give the shirt to the first person who said they liked it.  After our performance, as choir members were winding down and changing, the director of the procession said she loved my shirt. So, I happily took if off and gave it to her. She immediately put it on, saying, "Can I give you some money for it?" and "Why ... Read Full Story >>

7376 Reads

Innter Transformation And Some Balloon Moments!

My friend/new found kindness buddy and I were walking down a familiar street near our university and we stopped by an ATM to withdraw some money. We were in the queue when we noticed a young girl helping a blind girl on her way home, by holding her and not letting her come in contact with any danger. My friend H and I felt we needed to thank her for the immense act of kindness that she was doing. So, we decided to make a balloon animal for her to express our gratitude. We created a balloon giraffe and handed it over to her when she stopped by a pharmacy next to the ATM and told her that we were touched by what she was doing to help someone else who is disabled. A connection emerged so strong out of this interaction that we had that she wanted to join us ... Read Full Story >>

4075 Reads
  • Posted by 11888
  • Mar 4, 2014
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Soap Story

The washrooms at university do not have soap, and a friend and I felt that this was a very unhygienic practice. So, we decided to initiate a small project where we would place hand wash in as many washrooms as we can, with little notes pasted on the washroom walls.

We went to a store and bought loads of hand wash and refills, and began placing them in the washrooms near our classrooms. We've provided an e-mail id in our little notes, and told students to inform us when the hand wash becomes empty, and we will refill them within 24 hours.

The reactions from those who are using the hand wash has been very pleasing. We decided to remain anonymous, however there is a great deal of speculation going on, and that's exciting.

It's a wonderful way to serve, and this idea emerged in my head, while attending a Moved By Love retreat recently. I am so grateful to my friend for helping me implement my idea. 

2100 Reads

Kind Carriers

Left a Dunkin' Donuts gift card for our mail-carrier today, with a note on a smile card -

"Just a show of gratitude, because among the bills and things we'd rather not receive, you bring us smiles in form of cards from family and friends, and magazines with articles we enjoy.

"There is always happiness inside our mailbox because of you. So here is a smile for you, hope it brings you some happiness, and a thank you for all you do!" 

I came home from the kids' soccer practice to find our card gone, and a note inside the mailbox -

"Thank you for the kindness, your note brought a smile to my face.and that was gift enough. So to pay it forward I will use this gift card to buy donuts for the Post Office break room. Have a great day."

3482 Reads

Lovely Quote and Words

Lovely quote and words to live by. I'm getting there, but still working on it, especially under times of stress.

"When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn't get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don't get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.

The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying 'You are too this, or I'm too this.' That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are." - Ram Dass. 

What a beautiful reminder!

20.6K Reads

Life Is Better Than The Day's Headlines!

I took five dollars out of my wallet and paper-clipped them together with a KindSpring smile card. Setting off on my run, I looked for an ungated front porch with a freshly-delivered newspaper on it. I tucked the money and card inside the paper, and I was on my way.

I hope this surprise will remind someone today that life is brighter than the usual grim headlines!

1273 Reads

Charting gratitude!

Bought blank charts yesterday and my sister, my niece and I filled our charts with gratitude :) It was a fun experience as we all sat together and wrote down all the things we are grateful for. My niece has fullest chart so far, she is 11 :)

2547 Reads

Life is Easy

"Life is easy" says Jon Jandai. "Why do we have to make it so difficult?" After pursuing "success" in Bangkok for several years, Jo dropped out of university to return to village life.

There, he went back to the life he knew as a child, working 2 months of the year to grow rice (with an additional 15 minutes a day to grow vegetables), dug a couple of fish ponds, built his own homes using earthen bricks, and gave up buying clothes (he has so many clothes from friends and visitors that he has to give them away).

Jon contends that to be happy, we cannot just rely on money; we have to reconnect with each other.

Check out this inspiring video to hear more about Jon's amazing story!




 

4304 Reads

10 Ways to Live Simply in 2015

Although simplicity has a long history, we are now entering radically changing times—ecological, social, economic, and psycho-spiritual—and we should expect the worldly expressions of simplicity to evolve and grow in response. For more than thirty years I’ve explored the “simple life” and I’ve found that simplicity is not simple. I’ve encountered such a diversity of expressions of the simple life that I find the most accurate way of describing this approach to living is with the metaphor of a garden. A Garden of Simplicity To portray the richness of simplicity, here are ten different flowerings of expression that I see growing in the “garden of simplicity.” Although there is overlap among them, each expression of simplicity seems sufficiently distinct to warrant a separate category. So there would be no favoritism in listing, they are placed in alphabetical order based on the brief name I associated with each. 1. Choiceful Simplicity: Simplicity means choosing ... Read Full Story >>

8729 Reads

Helping a Friend Heal Through the Holidays

A friend of mine is struggling with Lyme disease. I'm aware that because of it, my friend has a restrictive eating plan. To help heal her immune system, I came up with an idea for an advent calendar for her to enjoy - a new seasonal tea bag every day, plus a puzzle/doodle or idea/affirmation to do or share. And I enjoyed putting it together for her - it felt good to be doing something to support her recovery :)

1228 Reads
  • Posted by jmccorma
  • Dec 14, 2015
  • 11 Comments
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