Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Double Act of Kindness

I had the opportunity to help two people today.

A young lady had parked her car in a no parking zone near the Anna Nagar roundabout in Chennai, India.  She was upset and was anxiously asking people what to do because the wheel of her car had been locked with a special lock so that she could not drive it. 

She would have to pay a fine to get the lock removed but she seemed to be very scared of dealing with the police.  I accompanied her to a police van parked a little way away and dealt with the police officer on her behalf.  I paid the fine of Rs.150 on her behalf and she reimbursed me later.  She was so relieved to be able to drive her car off again and thanked me several times. 

Later during the day, I came across a young poor couple who were trying to deposit a check at the bank where I have an account.  They had been given a check for Rs. 6,000 by the government which is given to new mothers.  They appeared confused and were unable to fill out the forms.  I helped them with that I hope I eased some of their confusion. 
 

Pushing lost carts back home

Yesterday I was walking to my local Safeway and found one of their carts on the sidewalk about three blocks away. I pushed it back to the store -- not easy, since one wheel was blocked (unsuccessful attempt by the store to prevent theft). Saw a policeman filling his gas tank and told him, in case he was wondering, and also told a store clerk, who was grateful. Even the big chain stores appreciate and need honest folks!

Letter Of Appreciation....i Had ...

Letter of Appreciation....I had to go to the dentist today, a dentist I'd never been to before. From the moment I walked into the office, there was a strong kindness vibe present. The staff was caring & warm, over & above, and the little jolly dentist was so kind & caring. Tomorrow I am going to sit down & write them a heartfelt letter of deep appreciation.
I didn't bite the dentist & stayed calm :)))

Contact To Friend

Met with our "Christmas elf" today, the person who finds us the family we help at Christmas. Surprised her with a batch of cookies that I found out she likes. She was giddy! Found out the family we helped was speechless with what we had done. We don't view it as special, but were delighted to know that we made a difference, if just for a day. Anyway, planning dinner with elf and hubby soon. Love making contacts and turning them into friends.

Happy Bathroom Visit

Inspired by KS folks who do this, on my road journey today, I left the cafe bathroom cleaner than when I arrived. I wiped down the basin and surround, picked up some paper towels that were on the floor, put two post it notes on the mirror, and left a kindness pack (smiley magnet, notebook, pen, list of kind acts, smile card and a Mindy peace dove) on the shelf.

Some Winter Cloths Can Be Make Some One Happy !!

Today I got an opportunity to help a servant with some winter clothes. today's morning he came to me and told me that he got a new baby in his house.he was looking very happy and good. he asked me for some winter clothes, so I gave him some shirts and woolen clothes. he thanked me with cheerful smile.

Thanks to him and also to all of you.

Winter Fun

Since it's probably our only chance to enjoy the snow this winter, I dragged my kid out to go sledding on the hill behind our house today; we laughed so hard and so much fun! I thanked her for being an awesome 15-year old that still goes sledding with her mom. :)

Kindness To A Homeless Man

I saw the same man I saw during the holidays outside of our local grocery store yesterday, it was cold and raining and he looked so hungry; my husband and I went in to but some lunch so I grabbed one extra and handed it to him, he was so grateful and happy, probable his only meal in a while. I went back to the grocery store in the evening and I wanted to buy him dinner too but unfortunately he wasn't there anymore:( whenever I see his friendly face I buy a meal for him, I wish I could do more, but it makes me happy to know at least he gets some food, and I really hope others show kindness to him too.

A Long Hug Was Just What She Needed.

I gave a long hug to a coworker (Ellen) after she told me that was feeling down because she had to put her 18 year old cat down. While giving her the hug I noticed she was crying as I was telling her about the circle of life and I told her: "take this long hug to give you strength to support your loss". As I finished, she said: "Thank you so much, for this long hug, it was just what I needed. I feel much better and I can let go now."

Flowering Kindness in Fourth Grade

Today's RAOK was so cool on a number of different levels:

Last week I asked my students to bring one flower (or more) today so we could create a bouquet for the office staff.

We got WAY more than I had anticipated. There were actually three more vases of flowers after I took this pic.

Then, we all delivered them to the office staff with a Thank You card we all signed letting them know how we appreciated them.

Best part: when we returned, I asked the kids what they got from that experience. they said it made them happy. I asked what made them happy. And, they said making others happy.

I think they got it, that kindness always comes back and that it creates more. Can't wait to see what THEY will do the rest of the month.

#AprilRAOK #BeKindToOneAnother

Students Teach Teachers

A colleague held a class where ten-year olds taught Minecraft to college students aspiring to become elementary teachers. What a wonderful event! The younger children really shined when paid attention to as teachers, and the teachers-in-training learned new things and connected with their future students. Taking young persons seriously, giving others our full attention and respect, and listening deeply are rich gifts!

Positivity Notes

I brought little positive messages on stickies to my training. Each participant was instructed to pick one out for another person there to give them. It set the tone for positivity and the environment we want to create when working with youth.

It was joyful to hear their dreams and watch their plans for the year unfold as they planned out what they want to do with young people.

My Little Brother Rocks!

I called my younger brother today. He lives south of Boston while I live in southern Mexico. How wonderful it was to reconnect with him after several months! I am five years older but we are very close, heart and soul wise. I feel so blessed that I can call him for 'free' with the cell phone plans now available (and cheap!) here in Mexico. We had a wonderful, hour-long conversation catching up on how our children are succeeding and sharing our lives as grandparents. Thank you to all my KS friends for keeping me focused on all the good still out there.

No Christmas Cards

Many years ago at Christmas time I parked my car in the town centre on my way to the post office to post my Christmas cards. It was the last posting day for Christmas cards if they were to be received before Christmas. As I came out of the car park I saw a young boy probably about 12 years of age on the other side of the road.  He was alone and as he was walking he was sobbing and holding his right hand side. I thought some bigger boys had perhaps bullied him and he was in pain. I had to go to his aid and see if I could help with his distress. He told me that his big sister who was a nurse had bought him a combined birthday/Christmas present. It was a mobile phone, I would say it was his first mobile phone. He had been ... Read Full Story >>

Chalk in the Morning

After yesterday's rain, the latest chalk kindness words on the front walk have washed away. I went out early this morning and wrote another. There is an older gentleman who lives in the multi-unit across the street. He is a school crossing guard. We've never talked. This is the second time that he has observed me writing just as he is leaving for his station. And the second time that we have chatted. Who knew that simple kindness words in chalk would have that outcome? 

Library Dues

I was at the library this afternoon. I'm doing some research for my Facebook page and ordered a stack of kindness books online, so I went into the library to pick them up.

A woman was there having a tantrum about her library fine of $5. I walked up to the desk and said, "It's okay, I've got it!" and handed the librarian a $5 note. The woman shouted at both of us that "it's not about the money!!!" So, I said that she sounded like she was upset so I could either pay the fine, or give her the $5 and she could go and buy herself a coffee.

She looked like a popped balloon as her anger levels went down, and half-smiled, and said thanks for paying the fine. I handed the money over to the librarian and the woman apologized. All is well. 

Kindsprung!

Look what I received in the mail today! I've been kindsprung by a fellow kindspringer:). A few were made by dear Jeramiah, who recently transitioned into his next life. Others were made by his caring, beautiful and thoughtful mother, known to us as painiacs:). I will be looking to find a permanent home for these. What a joyous way to remember and honor Jeramiah!

There's No Charge- Today ...

There's no charge- today I decided I was gonna have a me day so I went to the mall. I went to Chick Fil A for lunch and went up to a young guy cashier named Cramer to pay for my meal. He told me the total , and as I was handing him $10, he said "That's ok,there's no charge!"

I was confused for a second then figured it out -wow he's paying it forward! I've done raok acts for people + now it's happening to me! I needed that - I haven't been feeling great and  it was a nice surprise. After I collected my thoughts I told Cramer "thank you sooo much."

I was able to pay it forward a little bit at my next stop, when I was using me retailmenot app. A woman behind me asked about it and while I saw she was waiting for it to upload, I went to the cashier next to her and used mine - she got 50% off too.

Unexpected Kindness

I was at a postal office to send a package for a relative of mine. When the manager asked me to pay the bill, I didn’t have the exact change. I needed a change of 500 Rs. and the manager was saying that it is very difficult to get change these days.

Meanwhile, a rickshaw driver who was standing behind me, overheard our conversation and asked me if he could get change from outside. So I gave him the money. He soon returned with the change.

In appreciation for his eagerness and timely help, I gave him a origami peace dove and he thanked me. The manager looking curiously at this unexpected gift by me, told him to hang it in his auto rickshaw. I then gave a peace dove to the manager as well.

I could tell, it filled our hearts even if we were total strangers and met only briefly.

 

Baffling Software Leads to Kind Solutions

As a student researcher at the Radiological Sciences department at UC Irvine, I use various software to collect and analyze scans of people with brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. When I first started doing research, I found the QuPath software to be very difficult to use. There were a lot of different tools and an extensive amount of new vocabulary to learn. There was another student working on a similar project also using the QuPath software. She walked me through a lot of it and although she had her own project to work on, she was always ready to answer any questions.  I continued to struggle with the software during the times when she was not in the lab and there was no one to ask for help. It took me quite some time and practice to become proficient at using it but eventually, I was very well-acquainted with ... Read Full Story >>