Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Rainy Afternoon Brightened With Little Acts of Kindness


--by Bluebell, posted Jun 26, 2010

If you are on the lookout, you can almost always find an opportunity for kindness.  I filled my afternoon with small gestures today, they didn't take much time or effort, but I hope they made a small difference to the people who received them.

I was out and about because I had to do a few errands this afternoon.  My first stop was the supermarket.  I wanted to buy some croissants with chocolate on them for my daughter Rita.  I also decided to get  a few plain ones for my husband, my mum and me. Armed with the croissants, I went on to my second stop - a local charity bookshop.  I wanted to see if they had any books on Unicorns, since Rita loves them (and, I have to admit, so do I). 

While I was there, I struck up a conversation with the lady at the counter during which she commented on the smell of my croissants. She said that I was the second person to enter the shop that day with lovely smelling croissants. I jokingly creplied that there was only two things she could do - either avoid them (if she was on a diet) or go to the supermarket and get some.  She replied that she would prefer the second option. "Even better", I said, "I will give you mine".  With that, I placed them on the counter and walked straight out. I caught her surprised exclamation as I left "I thought you were joking". I hope she enjoyed them.

It had been raining cats and dogs so everyone looked quite soaked . I noticed a homeless lady selling the "Big Issue" (a magazine that supports homeless people) who looked particularly cold so I gave a packet of biscuits and all my change and asked her to keep the magazine.

I then went back to my car. I had  to pay for two hours of parking instead of one because I didn't have the correct change, so I still had an hour left on my parking.  I waited until I saw a young couple drive in and gave it to them before I left.  They were a little surprised and quite pleased.
 
Then I went home with a smile on my face :-)

 

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Readers Comments

Twinkle wrote: Wow, a whole afternoon of giving - what a lovely way to spend some time. I'm just thinking about all the smiles you left behind you.

(((hug)))
Spoonerism wrote: Your hunt for beautiful ephemeral animals lead you to beautiful generosity and kindness of heart! :-) thanks bluebell!
Zevelina wrote: What a nice day you made!
Jessica wrote: I have often benefitted from a kind word and a firendly attitude from a stranger, that costs no money at all! Let's do the same to others.
Kim wrote: Someone made a comment. How can i do something when i live on less than a dollar a day? People need to understand that kindness doesn't have a pricetag. While the things this nice lady did entailed spending money you can do everyday kind things for people that do not cost anything. Sometimes a smile, a helpful spirit or just a kind word is all that is needed to spread goodwill.
percy wrote: True, we cannot do it almost everyday. But if we do a thing like that at least once in a way it brightens up our lives. You are a great person.
Karla wrote: I love "trueblue's" sentiment. I'd like to use that!
cabbage wrote: You rock! What a delightful way to spend the day---you are lovely, and i thank you for showing us all how we can look for opportunities to make someone smile :-)
Big smiles to you!
shamini wrote: You are such a good person belle. God bless you.
Serenity62 wrote: You are an inspiration! Your sharing stories are a service to us all. What a beautiful reflection of kindness you spread to those in need. Thank you!

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