Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Weekend Rule: Smile at Everyone

Well...I decided since I had many errands to run this weekend that I would  smile at everyone. Isn't it interesting the reactions one gets when you smile at strangers? Some looked back startled with big doe eyes, others smile back immediately, some continue frowning, others ignore you and some greet you with a "Hi, How do?". There is much construction around our neighborhold so I planned best route to avoid the detours and ended up waiting at a train crossing...a long one...almost 6 minutes.....thank God the car next to me had a small child in the back seat.....we exchanged smiles, waves and then a series of funny faces.....he had me laughing and I , he too...the wait passed quickly and I was energized by the antics of that sweet back seat boy! Later at the stores,  a Mom & daughter passed by and I said "Hi" smiling and cracked a joke, the daughter ... Read Full Story >>

A Blazer, Red Scarf, and Fifty Bucks

I have this college friend, Eric.  One thing used and still does always intrigue me about him is how he deals with the poor.  We have a lot of poor homeless people that come walking around our neighborhood day in and day out, either collecting stuff from our trash to recycle or physically coming to the door to ask for anything.  Walking to and from class you pass by at least 4-5 of them daily.  Most of the time, the constant rush against time makes me pass by them without noticing, but Eric would always take the second (even if he's in the middle of an important conversation!) to take out his wallet and give him/her a dollar. This may not seem like a big deal, because most students are USC have a dollar to give away.  Sure, Eric also isn't dead broke, but like all of us film school ... Read Full Story >>

Not Lost In Translation

I was recently walking the streets of my home town in Australia, when I an African man looking at a street sign.  As I got closer, he was still in the same spot gazing at the sign.

He looked around to see if anyeone might help, but since the streets are quite busy, no one had time to stop.  And instead, some people were looking strangely at him.  I walked up to him and with all confidence and said, "Are you ok?" He looked at me and said "No Enlglish" and smiled politely.  I pointed to the sign and said "Lost?" and he nodded.

He had a map of the area and an adress of where he was to go, so I asked for the map and got out one of my pens from my bag.  I looked it up and drew a North sign on the top and a red line for him to follow.  And he finally understood.

With smiles all round, he even offered to give me money. But I just said its ok and pointed where to start off at.

The next few days I saw him again at the local shops and he recognised me immediately.   He smiled and it was till that moment that I realised how much a smile can really say!!!!

Time With A Friend

My friend is grieving over the death of her 8 year old daughter. I took your advice, feeling helpless on what I could do  for her and you all said give her your time.You supporting me helped me to support her...this is what I did:

Tonight we picked up a coffee and headed to the cemetery to visit Lindsay's grave. We sat and chatted about Lindsay's short life and how we missed her.  After an hour visit we went to 7pm mass that was being said for Lindsay.  

I felt good being of some support to my friend. It's so hard because I didn't know what I would talk about with her at the cemetery, but the words just started flowing...God working through me.

I think I might have helped in some small way, and am glad you all encouraged me to spend time with her.  God Bless you all.

The Elderly Couple At a Bus Stand

It was a Saturday in late January, and very cold day, as you might imagine. My husband, son and I had an decided to go shopping, so off we went in our nice warm car.  As we drove along, I noticed an elderly Asian couple sitting at a bus stop. The elderly woman had a very thin Salwar Kameez (Indian clothing) and flip-flops on and the man had a light coat.  We drove past them but I turned to my husband and said "Wouldn't it be such a good thing to do if we were to give them a lift to where they were headed, rather than being stuck in the bitter cold waiting for a bus?"  I think my husband looked at me thinking I was kidding but when he saw that I wasn't, he turned the car around and we headed back towards the bus stop. We parked up ... Read Full Story >>

Just One Class Rule

I taught primary students for 28 years.

Although most of my colleagues had charts full of classroom rules, I limited mine to one: Be Kind. 

Absolutely every example of inappropriate behavior can be eliminated with this simple rule. 

I never had any real behavior problems.  I too followed this rule when dealing with the children.  We had a loving, caring environment.

Lighting A Little Candle

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had no idea why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and insignificant. When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a large man walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the man was going to set her on fire. No, no!! she cried, Aaaaagghhh! Don't burn me, please! But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow. To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the ... Read Full Story >>

Coloring Book And Crayons

This past weekend I was going through my stuff.  While doing so, I stumbled upon 3 large boxes of  crayons, coloring books and markers.  I am a kid at heart, I must confess.  They were mine and I had not used them yet. 

I decided to take the coloring book and crayons to the laundry mat and waited for a child to give to. 

There was a little girl around 4 yrs, sitting while her mother put the clothes in the washer.  I went over to her mother and said, "I would like her little girl to have these, along with this smile card."  She gladly accepted.

I walked away and was doing my own thing, when the little girl came over and thanked me with a huge smile on her face! 

I still need to give the other stuff away and can't wait.  I love doing this!

How I Found Happiness That Day

The typical rickshaw puller (Pedi cab driver) works like a beast of burden and barely earn forty rupees a day (a dollar).

One cold winter morning (around 5 a.m.), I got out on the road. I had to walk to my school, which is just 10 minutes away. But then a voice inside told me to make some one happy today.

I got on to a rickshaw. The puller was an old and gaunt fellow. I asked him to drive over to the school. We arrived in a few minutes. The fare for that distance was only five rupees or even less if I bargained.

Instead, I got down and placed a fifty rupee note in his hand. He said he had no change for such a’ big’ amount. I told him that I was giving the entire 50 rupee note … He was shocked and surprised!  He gazed at me with gratitude-filled eyes.

I told him this morning God whispered in my ear: “Make this rickshaw-man happy!”

He looked at the red rising ball, the Sun, and praised the Sun while kissing the 50 rupee note.

I felt very happy that day.

Cold Hands

My daughter is six years old. I wanted to wash her winter coat and I found in each pocket a pair of gloves.

I thought that one pair of gloves might not be enough to keep her hands warm and asked her why she had two pairs.

She answered: ‘I am doing this already for a while, daddy. You know, some children in school don’t have gloves and when I have an extra pair, I can lend it to them so they won’t get cold hands'.

So Much Love To Give

I wanted to share with everyone the never ending love that I have experienced from my mother. Besides the fact that she loves me and all of her children, grandchildren and friends unconditionally, she still finds time to give to strangers as well. She was 'forced' in to early retirement by my father who decided at age 57 he had had enough of working and that his wife should also give up work to spend her days with him. This didn't go down too well with a women who at 55 had worked the majority of her life and as her two children and 7 gandchildren didn't live in the same city as her, what was she to do? She played golf and 'played' ladies for about 12 months but felt dissatisfied with that lifestyle. So several years ago, she began volunteering with an organisation in Australia called RSL Care. She takes 'old' ... Read Full Story >>

At The Baker's Shop

Yesterday evening, as I was entering the bakery, I saw a father and his 7-8 year old son.  The kid was pointing to a particular cake and pleading his father to buy it for him. From their clothes, it was clear that they were poor.  The father did have some money -- a 500 Rupee note -- but no change.  The shopkeeper was insisting  that he needed change, and the father was trying to console his son by saying that shop keeper is not accepting the money. I could see the sadness on the eyes of that kid. On seeing me, the father turned to me, "Do you have change for 500 rupees?"  I replied,  "No."  But I did him some money so that he could buy his son what the cake he so wanted. I was too shy to stay there, since I knew that they will come to thank me.  So I went ... Read Full Story >>

Smiles Are Contagious

Today I was at a local college taking enrichment courses all day long...9:30am-10pm.  There were many familar faces there but I wasn't hanging with anyone in particular when it came time to eat lunch in the cafeteria. 

I got my soup and walked around looking for a place to sit and eat. I noticed one table had only 1 person and there were 4 chairs. I walked up to the table and SMILED really big and asked if she minded if I sat and ate with her. She smiled back and said, "Please Join me".  I was so relieved to be welcomed like that.

Before I knew it we were chatting and exchanging ideas for the classes that we teach.

I highly recommend being friendly and smiling if you are in the position I was in. I made a friend and it felt good. Smile, it's contagious.

Scientific Research on Kindness

Heather asks, "A friend mentioned to me that research shows that a certain number of acts of kindess a week "sticks"--creates the positive habit. Do you know of this, or similar, research?" So we thought we'd compile some useful resources for Heather and the rest of you, thanks to our friends at DailyGood. Altruism: a Neural Kick from Within: What motivates people to act anonymously kind? Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, wanted to find exactly that -- the neural basis for unselfish acts. So they decided to peek into the brains of 19 volunteers who were choosing whether to give money to charity, or keep it for themselves. They found that the part of the brain that was active when a person donated happened to be the brain's reward center -- the mesolimbic pathway -- responsible for doling out the ... Read Full Story >>

A Flashlight From An Old Man

I recently went to a restaurant to buy a pie for a party.  As I walked up the steps and opened the door, I saw a hunched-over old man with a cane walking toward me carrying a handled bag full of things he had just purchased there.  I stepped back and opened the door widely so that he could pass through easily.  As he did so, he stopped and said to me, "Wait!"   He set down the bag, reached into one of his pants pockets, and retrieved a tiny plastic keychain flashlight still in its original plastic wrapping.  He handed it to me and said, "Take this.  I like to give things to people who have done something for me."  I thanked him and told him he was very welcome.  I was almost speechless as I watched this old man walk off to his car.  I added his token to ... Read Full Story >>

Thanks For Your Time

Sometimes life's most important lessons are learned from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his ambitious future, and nothing could stop him. The phone rang one day.  It was his mom, who told him, "Jack, Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. "Jack, did you hear me?"  "Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he ... Read Full Story >>

Bumper Kindness

The other day I was picking up my mother.  As I waiting for her, I parked the car and went shopping for a bit.  I was probably gone for an hour or so. 

When I got back to my car,  there was a note on my windscreen saying that they had accidently scraped my bumper on the back of my car!

The note said they had waited nearly an hour but had to go, and they were sorry and left their number and said to call them.

What honesty and kindness!

Lost & Found: Two Rings

After working out one day, in the locker room, I came across a gorgeous wedding ring studded with many diamonds and a ruby ring.  I could tell they were very expensive, and by the color, the gold looked to be 24 carat. I looked around but there was no one in the gym or in the locker room.  So I took the rings to our work Lost & Found in the Security department upstairs.  After you fill out the tag, the items are kept for at least 30 days. I told the security guard that I did not want my name mentioned, as I wanted it to be a random act of kindness. I did not want the person to feel they needed to thank me or compensate me.  And I was pretty sure that the rings would be claimed! Over the course of the day, I forgot all about turning in the rings but ... Read Full Story >>

Switching Seats at the Movies

I am 15. Last night my friend and I went to Shrek the 3rd. We got there an hour early because it was opening night and we were among probably the first 25 to go into the theater. We got an awesome seat on the second to back row and sat plum in the center. As the theater began to fill up over the hour, we began to see that we were sort of in the way. This man asked us if all the seats on our left side were saved. We told him no, they were empty. It was obvious he was trying to see how to fit a very large group in that had not arrived yet. Without much thinking we said, "Hey, would you like us to move down to the end of the row so your whole family can sit together?" He said "Oh are you ... Read Full Story >>

One Scary Man

I know that the title is little curious. But the scary homeless man is even more curious. I have lived in Mayport Florida for about three years. Every day, leaving work, coming home and running errands, I pass this homeless man with two shopping baskets full of his treasures.  Except for about 2-3 months of the year (and I'm not sure where he goes during that time), he is always around, never to be missed. Anyhow, the reason I call him a scary man is because my son and I are often together when we see this man and he's always talkin to him self and staring at people with an awkward look. He talks loud and much of what he says does not make sense. With his two carts filled to the top, he's there just talking away.  It's intimidating. My wife and I are always talking about his misfortune and how ... Read Full Story >>