Stories of Kindness from Around the World

 1:  A 15 Year Blessing From A Homeless Person

On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway...  He always waved at every car, he was always happy and smiling and sometimes almost dancing.  Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, as I came off the ramp.  He had that effect... Occasionally the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, “I’m blessed!”.  Then one day I was called into my boss’s office and was told that I was being laid off due to the economy... [more]” 

2:  Turning Fear Into True Compassion

“This is a true story that happened to my friend Rekha...  As she was walking, a cyclist came up to her, snatched her handbag (containing her keys, phone and credit cards) and sped off with it! She ran after him shouting "thief - thief".  A man further ahead must have heard her...  He grabbed the bucket and threw the water on to the cyclist.  The cyclist, caught off guard, drove off the pavement and his bike fell over.  The other people in the park rushed over and surrounded him.  Rekha was worried that the people would try and beat him up, as often happens in India, and so she pleaded with them not to hurt him.  She [talked with him], bent down ...  looked into the boy's eyes and said... [more]”

3:  Pay-It-Forward Chain Reaction At A Restaurant

“My four grown children were all home visiting this weekend so we decided to go out for brunch.  The centre of attention was my toddler granddaughter.  We always try to make our family meals special so this time we decided to order every kind of pancake they had and asked that they be served on one big family-style platter!  We each took turns digging in and also feeding it to the baby, who loved them.  There was a lovely environment at the table and lots of smiles.  As I was looking around the table, enjoying this wonderful scene, a gentleman at a nearby table caught my eye.   He was eating his breakfast alone quietly, in the corner.  He frequently looked over and smiled as my granddaughter continued to entertain us all.  Suddenly, I had a great idea!  I dug out a smile card from the reserve that I always carry with me and snuck up to the waitress... [more]” 

4:  A Shoe Seller Walks in the Shoes of Kindness

“I saw an old man...  a seller of second-hand shoes. I wanted to give him something but I had not brought anything with me. Then, a little girl came toward him. I heard the child say, "Grandfather, may I polish your shoes?" The girl said, "I polish the shoe because I need money to buy my brother a new school uniform." I heard this and tears came to my eyes. The old man answered, "Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with me and I will buy you a uniform." Then they walked to a market (I followed behind) and he bought her a uniform... I was blown away by the kindness I had just seen.  Someone who had so little themselves, was able to show such incredible generosity! Amazing!... [more]”

5:  A Schoolbag Filled With Love Makes a Difference

“My daughter, Emma (in 7th grade), started back to school last week. There is a young boy in her class (call him Jake) who is quite overweight. As you might expect he is the butt of many jokes and is treated very badly by other kids (and even by the teachers)...  One night Emma was extremely upset about this situation, not only because Jake was picked on but that he also had no supplies. We sat together that evening and discussed the situation in great detail. We devised a plan for Emma to engage Jake in a conversation and for her to ask Jake what he needed for supplies. The next day Emma spent some time with Jake and really came to realize that this young man had a heart of gold... [more]”

6:  A Circle of Kindness Started by a 10 Year Old Girl

“I reached into my back right pocket to grab the money to pay and noticed that there was no money in there.  I started to get nervous.  I knew my pocket book was in the car and I was sure I had put the money in my back right pocket. I look at cashier with wet eyes and a confused look not knowing what to do.  There were people behind me on the line. She told me to speak with the courtesy counter.  I laughed and said, "Really? It's cash, no one would hand that in!"  I decided that there was no harm in checking so I walked up to a women behind the counter and said "I have to ask, did anyone turn in cash by any chance?". She asked "How much?".  My face then lit up.  I said, "$200 in the form of one hundred dollar bills".  She said, "Actually, yes, someone did!".  I was so surprised! "Who? I want to thank them."  She points to a young girl about 10 years old... [more]"

7:  Just Decide, Friend

“I was waiting to pick up a friend at the airport when I had one of those life changing experiences, the kind that you sometimes hear other people talk about, the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me...  a wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me... when my friend came up to me and asked," What are you looking at?" Without hesitating, and a with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!"... [more]”

8:  Filled by a Daughter's Love

“When my daughter was 2 years old, I remember rushing to get to work, and getting to the front door fussing at her to hurry up and come to the door. When she appeared at the door she had a bag that she was holding open. I said,  "We don't have time for this."  She stopped me and said, "Fill it with love momma."  I fell to my knees and hugged her and then kissed her and said "Thank you". From that moment forward she would bring the bag and I would bring the love to the door before we left for school and work... [more]”

9:  A Volcanic Eruption of Kindness in London

“During the problems with the now infamous ash cloud, I spent the morning listening to people calling in to a radio show on London's LBC radio station to tell their stories of woe....The story that most struck me was a call from Peter who had just gotten married the previous weekend to Maz and were due to leave for their honeymoon to the Dominican Republic but could not due to the ash cloud. When James O'Brien, the radio presenter, asked if he was upset, Peter said:  "Not at all, I've married the loveliest girl in the world whom I adore so no I'm not unhappy at all". Both, the presenter and I were blown away by the beautiful answer.  A little later...  I spoke to the producer of the show and asked if she could contact Peter to offer him and his wife a room for the weekend at the hotel... What is incredible is the sequence of events that followed after my initial offer... [more]”

10:  Rescuing Dash-9, An Orphaned Dog

“For the last few weeks there has been a rather large, red dog who has been hanging around [my work] with an obvious leg injury.  He was scared and would not come near any of us.  Each day, I came to work I would talk to him, toss him a bite to eat and go about my business.  After about two weeks of this, this wonderful creature saw me arrive at work one evening and... came straight up to me, lunged at me and began showing me his love and affection in the only way he knew how... [more]”

Please let us know which one was your favourite...  :)