Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A World Of Smiles


--by Author Unknown, posted Jun 11, 2007
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.

As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.

As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and warmth.

That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

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Readers Comments

lovebug wrote: I also have to thank you for sharing your light, it does help the rest of us see a little more clearly.
wayne wrote: I am too selfcentered to care sometimes about the rest of the world and maybe that is why I am a miseriable person. Maybe if I read more stories like these I would feel better.
philster wrote: The words "Don't judge a book by it's cover" immediately came to mind. When I was in the military, we lived in military housing. We befriended a couple down the street who had a child with Spina Bifoda (when in womb, the spine does not connect which causes paralysis from the waist or chest down). The first time I saw him was from a distance and then one day we met his parents and Joey. Although only age 6, he had the soul of a 30 y/o and so so smart. We had 3 children and 1 on the way, all healthy, we felt blessed. We would go down and get Joey to play with our children and allow Mom some downtime. Joey was confined to a wheelchair, had to where a torso brace to sit upright and his Mom or Dad had to do physical therapy on his legs daily to keep the blood flowing. Joey was not expected to live to his teens but you could not tell by the love of his parents. Like the little girl, his smile would light up a room. He loved dinosaurs so I found a small stuffed one that he could put with him in his wheelchair. It has been almost 20 years and Joey's smile still is imprinted in my mind much like the story above. Joey was a book of love and Joy. Thank for sharing your story!
Black_raven wrote: That is such a sweet story. Thank you for sharin it.. Honestly, we take evrythin for granted. We shud look at dose people who're not as fortunate as we are.. Life holds a larger meanin in the form of a lil something like a smile. Lets all stay happy.
irongrace wrote: it's amazing what people with dissabilities can teach us. I have found usually that we are pushed aside. We who have a Different Ability have so much that we can teach the world.
brighteyes wrote: I love a good inspirational story...thanks for sharing...it brought tears to my eyes too. Everyone is special and so many people not just handicapped are overlooked in our societies.
Smiles are contagious, Let's pass them along!!!!
AURELIA wrote: Now that was ONE BIG CONTAGIOUS SMILE!!!! It still remains with you after 10 years. WOW WEEEEEEEE....I'm smiling too. I'm glad you didn't feel uncomfortable and look away. Making eye contact meant a lot to the little one. SMILING< SMILING< SMILING :) for the rest of the night... and I just might have a smile on my face when I close my eyes in bed tonight..thanks for the vision. ~Aurelia
warmth wrote: Truely Inspiring. We must Thank God for whatever we have and think that whatever we have is the BEST.
Thank you for sharing the story.

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