Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The first moment came when I was in the local dollar store. There was an older woman in front of me just wrapping up her purchases. When she came to pay for them she discovered that she was seventeen cents short.

Before I could even offer to help the young cashier gave her a big smile. She said, "Oh, don't worry about it,"' and sent the woman on her way.

As I came up she said, "It's only a few cents. I can't make a big deal out of it." I responded, "Here's the seventeen cents. You did a really nice thing. This way your cash won't be short."  

The second moment came when I was walking along with my young son in a big, busy mall. We passed a young man whose arms and face were covered in tattoos. He wore raggedy clothes and sat on the sidewalk with a sign that said "Homeless - Hungry - Sick."

Now as we passed I was thinking, 'Junkie.' It was an automatic reaction.  But, as we went a little further, I said to myself, "Who am I to judge?  I should just put something in his paper cup."

At the same moment my son said, "That man is homeless, hungry and sick. His sign says he needs medicine. I want to help him."

I gave him some money and told him he could put it in the cup. As I watched the young man gave my son a big smile and said, "Thank you!" My son told him, "No problem." When he came back to me he said, "That was good. Now he can get better."

Just two little moments, but they taught me not to let my preconceptions get in the way of my good intentions. And, once again, I learned that children are often our best role models for the acceptance of others.