Stories of Kindness from Around the World

On New Year's eve my husband and I stopped in San Francisco for dinner on our way back from a retreat. While eating we felt that we should do something different this year. I took a $20 bill and asked the restaurant owner to give me $5 bills.

After dinner, we headed out on the streets to find homeless people. The first guy we came across was sitting with a paper cup in his hand. We dropped in a $5 bill and moved on. Right across the street we saw another man sitting outside a a club with his guitar. We requested him to play some music for us and he obliged, after which we dropped a bill in his cup.

Then my husband asked me if I would pose with the man for a picture. Initially, I hesitated although I thought that was a great idea. After some more coaxing from my husband, I asked the man for his permission. He agreed with a big smile on his face and insisted that I prop the guitar around my neck. There was something special about his smile - it was wholesome, from his heart, and we felt blessed.

We crossed the street and came across the first guy again and we thought, let's take a picture here as well. I asked this man, if I could take a picture with him and he too agreed with a big smile. He took off his hat to pose for the picture, and we felt a warm, lovely smile.

We continued on our walk looking for more people and we came across another man with his guitar. He was collecting beads which had scattered on the ground from his broken necklace. I offered him a $5 bill and in return he gave me a can of Dr. Pepper and I said i didn't need it. He then offered it to my husband and he too politely refused. We requested that he sing a song for us instead. He said sure and offered both of us a seat on the street. It was remarkably thoughtful - he had broken a chair in half. He placed the top back rest on the floor, on which he sat. The rest of the chair with the seat was on the pavement for his audience.

He sang a beautiful song, I remember a few words from it: 'Why do you wait for the sunrise, the sun is always there. Look in your heart, it is always there' . We were deeply touched by his song. I wished him a great year ahead and he said to me 'life is beautiful,' with a big smile on his face. I took a picture with this man too but this time my husband too wanted to be in the picture. At this point a drunk man was passing by and he offered to take our picture, which he did.

I gave my last $5 bill to the guitarist and said goodbye. But he would not let me go empty-handed. He gave me as many beads as he could pick up in his cupped hands and asked me to make a bracelet out of it. I took it with gratitude and we both felt that the people we met today had give us much more than we had given - a heartfelt smile brimming with joy.