Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Acting On The Voice Of Kindness


--by twocents, posted Aug 3, 2010

I was riding my bike around lunch time today and passed a man sitting just off the sidewalk with his face in his hands.  

My first thought was: "Stop! See if he needs help."

But I was riding fast.  I slowed down and looked back.  It  looked as though he was either praying or crying, maybe both.  I decided that meant that I had to turn around.  I rode up and asked if he was ok.  No response.  For a second, I thought he might be a drunk or a bum.  But I asked again.

He looked up with clear eyes and bright teeth, and gave me a big shiny smile.  He was about 55-60, wearing denim overalls and a farmer's hat, and had the hands of a manual laborer.  I quickly discovered that he spoke no English but I was able to make out that he was hungry and he had no money.  He wasn't a drunk, just a working poor immigrant.

Over a sandwich and more awkward semi-Spanglish on my part, I managed to learn that he has a brother who lives nearby before enlisting the help of a nearby translator.  His wife is in Mexico, his brother works nearby, he's got no other family in the States, and he goes around doing odd jobs to make a little bit of money here and there.  We mostly just sat across the table smiling at each other while he rather messily but slowly chomped through his sandwich.

I guess when I was riding up, a part of me was hoping that I was going to be able to do some grand act of kindness or saviorhood in a moment of distress for a fellow human.  But all I was really doing was giving a hungry old man a meal in a land that must seem very foreign to him.  And sometimes that's enough.

He was halfway done with his sandwich when I got up to leave, telling our translator to tell him to make somebody's day.

He said ,"Gracias, mi amigo", but I was the one who was grateful to hear the still-too-small voice of kindness and act on it.

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Readers Comments

MakeSomeoneSmile wrote: What a very kind thing for you to do. Thanks for stopping and caring!
Bluebell wrote: Twocents you are a beautiful soul. I loved to hear your heart saying "Stop! See if he needs help." Thank you for listening your heart. Love and Light and a Thousand Smiles, Bluebell
Laura wrote: Great story! Just try to make someone smile who relly needs it!
cliff gallant wrote: I'm sorry but all i could think of as i read the story was how self-serving it is on the part of the writer. The entire point of the story seemed to me to be to make the point that the writer deserves credit for his "spontaneous" act of generosity. Next time he should make a conscious effort to keep himself out of the story and he'll discover that the quality of generosity will become more a part of who he actually is. As is, my suspicion is that the reason the man in need went away with a full stomach but little else was that the purposes of the writer were well served by just the gesture alone, which he eagerly reported to the rest of us.
DebraE wrote: The words of a story, just like art work on a wall, are open to interpretation.

For me, you turning around and offering a kindness to the man is the most important lesson i will take away. Thanks for sharing.
bob.gelinas wrote: I too walked away with the same feeling that your intention was to encourage people to listen to their hearts - don't ignore it. You listened to your heart - and brought joy to someone who needed it. In return you received joy as well.


I believe that in giving you get back 10 fold - without the expectation of receiving anything.


Kudos to you for turning your bike around - if only more people would listen to their heart and do the same thing.
iroshads wrote: "gracias, mi amigo" for doing this and "gracias, mi amigo" for sharing it with us. All the best :)
DeAnna wrote: Thank you for your beautiful spirit and the courage to act on your intuition. You inspire and encourage.
adilson wrote: What a beautiful story. Thank god there are people like. I wish god bless you.
Charlie wrote: Thank you for following your heart; it is all too easy to keep going instead of turning around. And although he did not need much, i know he appreciated the sandwich and the kindness behind it.

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