Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The Simple Kindness of a Four Year Old


--by JuneBug, posted Jan 27, 2011

A few weeks ago, my oldest son, Erik decided to spend the day with one of his nieces, Mia, who is 4 years old.

They went out and about to several places and then decided to go downtown before heading back home. Downtown is Mia's favorite place to go!  They were walking around and browsing in store windows and taking in the sights when Mia spotted some flowers and she picked a few. After some time, Mia began to drag a bit and Erik, wanting to head back home urged her along.

Passing a few homeless men sitting along the sidewalks, he would walk a bit faster to get her past them, but she held back and made him come to a complete stop. ''C'mon, Mia. You need to walk with me.''  ''Okay, Uncle Erik '', she replied ''but this man needs a flower!''  He looked on as she handed the homeless man her flower and Erik said that the man smiled a big smile. Erik nearly had tears in his eyes as he related this story to the family!

''I'm gonna take her back downtown again soon just so she can hand out her flowers and make people smile...'' he said. Children may learn from us, but we also learn from the big hearts of our children :)

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Readers Comments

Spoonerism wrote: :-) this fits perfectly with the "homework" we got at my meditation school this week. To see with an innocent eye, to hear with an innocent ear. We all have the ability to do this, but it's hard to drop the conditioning and past experiences that cloud the moment!


Thanks for the story, it's a great reminder!
Olivialee wrote: Sometimes we adults are just to shy to show our love and care to others, especially to those in need. Compared with innocent mia, we really shouldn't be embarrassed to show our inside love.
Yon wrote: I've been teaching little kids every sunday and its refreshing to know that they love you unconditionally. Love and cheers to the children of hope! To mia, you're such a beautiful girl and may adults mold more children like mia:)
bookworm58 wrote: We can learn a lot from children cause they love unconditionally. Thanks for sharing the story.
Karen wrote: So sweet! We learn so much from little ones who are open to life, love, and sharing. They are our teachers of love!
Charlie48 wrote: Nice that he was able to stop and appreciate the small kindness of his niece
ollie wrote: Children can teach us the most important lessons in life. Love to you both.
Sassychx wrote: That is so true, i know there are times when the kids see things in a way that sometimes us grownups never see and it is so amazing!
success wrote: The best thing about young children is that they don't have many of the stereotypes that many adults have and therefore, they have less inhibitions. We should be more like children.
Dennis wrote: A wonderful story it is amazing how when we are children that life is seen in a different way. A lesson well learned from a child is a lesson we must pass on. Thanks again for a great story.

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