Search Results for 'popular' (2976 matches)

Match: Sort By:


Learning How To Receive

This my story of receiving and how I've learned that this too is a kindness I can do for another, or in my case many others. I have been struggling with a lot of pain and tiredness for several years, finally a year and a half ago I just could not keep going as I had been. I had to stop working and lost my home. I have two daughters, 14 and 9, who live with me. It has been quite difficult finding places to stay and to also learn how to care for myself with this physical challenge. So many friends and strangers have shown up with places to live and help in many other ways. One friend had us in his living room for the first five months and a few weeks here and there since. Another friend bought us 25lb bags of organic beans, rice and flour. The girls' father has ... Read Full Story >>

2543 Reads
  • Posted by mishiarmi
  • Apr 20, 2015
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

Finding the Courage to Smile

I was at a coffee shop last night where there was a wonderful folk music performance. I was busy tapping my feet and singing along to the soothing beats! As I got up to get a cup of coffee and a cookie, I noticed this middle-aged woman near me. She had obviously been caught in a fire of some sort. Her face was severely burned that it looked very tight.  She barely had a nose and her eyes were extremely tiny.  I took a deep breath and went back to my seat. I thought about how brave she was to come out and appear in public. I also felt ashamed of myself for mildly shuddering and looking down while I headed back to my seat, unable to send even a feeble smile her way. As I sipped my coffee and ate my cookie, I just kept thinking endlessly about whether I should ignore this ... Read Full Story >>

2757 Reads
  • Posted by Aurelia
  • Dec 31, 2009
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

A Helping Hand

Today after school, I came home and saw my mother cleaning the house. Since I didn't have much homework that I needed to do, I started helping. While she vacuumed, I picked up junk left out and rearranged things.

While we cleaned, we chatted a little bit. I think my mother really appreciated the help and company, and I had fun hanging out with my mom and helping her with her chores.

2574 Reads
  • Posted by KevinDiehl
  • Jan 29, 2018
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

Family Gets On Wrong Bus, Bus Driver Then Does The Unthinkable

I was on vacation with my husband, my brother, his wife and daughter. We were not familiar with the area and hopped onto a bus, thinking it would be a nice way to see the downtown's old town area. Well, until visiting with the bus driver, we found out we were on the neighborhood route which picks up school children and delivers commuters to various neighborhood places, with a route of well over about 2 hours. That was a surprise and a concern because we had parked our vehicle in a timed parking area and it was going to expire. We shared this with the bus driver only to let her know we were not from the area and apologized for getting on her bus in error. Then she surprised us further saying, "I get off shift after a few more blocks, and if you don't mind a tight squeeze in ... Read Full Story >>

2137 Reads
  • Posted by PositivePower
  • May 9, 2017
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

A Tire-d Kindness

  Money was tight- and then one of my tires blew out!      I managed to pull into a parking lot and park safely before trying to figure out what to do next. A  new tire wasn't exactly in my budget but it was going to have to be worked in somehow. Then there was the additional expense of having to pay someone to come out and fix it.   Another car pulled in right behind me and a man and his young son got out. He offered to change the tire for me, but I told him my spare was in the trunk, already puntured.       He offered to take me and my spare tire to a repair place just a mile or so away. There they put a new tire on the old rim and he waited for me. Then he took me back to my car and put the new tire ... Read Full Story >>

2448 Reads
  • Posted by kathrynduke
  • Aug 7, 2013
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

A Treasured Gift For A Young Couple

I met a really nice young couple about a year ago through mutual friends on a social networking site.  They have just adopted a baby girl.  This is a beautiful gift to the world on its own, but what makes it even more special is how many hoops they jumped through and how much time and money they spent to get to that stage. I was going through some boxes from my mother’s house (she passed away at Christmas time in 2007) and I found some beautiful vintage baby dresses. So I thought, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if I sent some of this lovely vintage clothing to the couple for their adopted baby?  I knew they would love it.  This was truly a gift from the heart; I had planned on saving those for my daughter if I had one someday.  But, given that my husband died before we had any children, ... Read Full Story >>

6588 Reads

Showing Kindness to Even the Smallest Beings

I have found that the way I treat insects acts as a reflection of my approach to kindness.  Like most kids, I suppose, I mistreated bugs terribly.  But many adults continue the rampage against insects, and I have often found that they do this mindlessly, killing them for no reason. With the weather getting warmer, more bugs are getting into our houses.  We also spend more time in "their house," as we enjoy the great outdoors.  We find ourselves reaching for the fly swatter and insecticides to get rid of them.  But why do we do this?  Most insects pose no threat to us, but we kill them anyway. As a young adult, I found myself questioning my treatment of bugs.  It became a moral issue.  I remember reading a Native American story about a mother who saw her daughter stomp on a spider.  The mom simply asks the child: "Now who'll take care ... Read Full Story >>

7625 Reads

A Valuable Lesson Learned From My Child

I always try to encourage my children to be, think and talk positive but one day I was caught not practicing what I preach by my son. My son is 7 ½ yrs old son and he was preparing for a sketch at his school for the occasion of Mother’s day. He was playing the role of an angel. On the evening before the show, we were having a casual conversation while I was preparing dinner in the kitchen.  He asked me: “Mum, can we see angels?” As usual, I seized the opportunity to encourage him to be positive and I said: “Yes, but only those who are, think and talk good can see angels.” He responded by asking: “You must have seen them then?” I paused a few seconds. I was touched by his innocence about the fact that how he thought his mother was a perfect person. Impatiently waiting for his answer, ... Read Full Story >>

5091 Reads

World Kindness Week Day 4 - Smoothies On Campus

I was walking around a college campus today (not my own) and I picked up two smoothies with the intention of giving them away.

As I was walking a young man joked, "Hey, she got a smoothie for me!" 
 
I walked up to him and said, "You're right! Please have it." Of course, he was a bit taken aback and said no. I said, "It's okay. I have one for your friend too." 
 
They took them and we started walking and talking. He asked if I was a professor and I said I was but not at that college. We had a long conversation about their academic and career plans, etc., and I gave some mentoring advice to them.
 
It was so great to just connect for that time with those students who were new to their campus. It made my day!
 
 

 

3055 Reads

The Taxi Driver

When I got on the taxi I had booked this morning I noticed it was the same gentleman that had taken me back home last week. I remembered what we'd talked about so I spoke to him. He was surprised and said he thought sometimes that no one cared.

He said he'd started swimming and was happy to have lost weight, he does it every morning before starting work. We got talking, told him that swimming was a great activity and mentioned the effect of exercise in our brains too. He said he knew it was good for depression and so .... (we are all fighting our own battles, sometimes in silence) I was glad I'd spoken to him.

Sharing, listening...so important, we all need it some time or other. He wished me a good day so many times when he dropped me back that he made laugh, we were both happier :-)

2168 Reads

Cheap Funeral and a Good Party

The derecho was unkind to our town of Lynchburg, Va., on the night of June 30, 2012. The 80-mile-an-hour straight-line winds tore trees out of the ground and dropped them on top of houses in almost every neighborhood. Most of the city was without power. However, I was about to discover that damaged homes and lack of electricity were just the beginning of my challenges that week. I am a building contractor, and I was inspecting a neighbor's tree-damaged home the next day when I got the call from my sister in New Jersey. She told me they were taking my 87-year-old mother to the hospital because "she just doesn't look good." Late that afternoon, I got the call we all dread. The doctor said my mother's lungs were about done, and we had better get there. My wife and I quickly packed and got on the road for the 430-mile trip ... Read Full Story >>

6350 Reads

Look Inside Yourself To Heal Others

Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients--without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate's chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person's illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved. "When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the story. "However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho 'oponopono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood "total responsibility" to mean that I am responsible ... Read Full Story >>

3671 Reads

A Gift On A Small Slip Of Paper

Over the holidays last year, my team at work did a 'Secret Santa' gift exchange. We all picked a name out of a jar, and gave our assigned person small fun gifts over two weeks. Then, we all met after work one day for a final 'reveal' where we exchanged our real gifts. Usually, these kinds of gift exchanges feel a bit more focused on material things than I like to be, but I wanted to be a team player, so I went along with it. It ended up being fun to scheme up a meaningful trail of gifts to give my colleague. On the evening of our final gift-giving exchange, the person who had picked my name out of the jar totally blew me away with her thoughtfulness. She gave me a beautiful framed photo and a postcard that she'd been holding on to since she was 5 years old. Then, ... Read Full Story >>

2698 Reads

Inspiration Around the Corner

There is always inspiration just around the corner! A little girl in my class has been away all week, so the kids made her a book of things she loves to cheer her up (lots of dinosaurs). I put together a little care package for her.

When I went at lunch today to drop off our parcel, I had to go down the stairs to a basement apartment. When I got there, this beautiful message was chalked on the wall beside the door. It was made by the little girl's mom. It makesme want to have an inspiring message by my door because I sure walked away with a big smile on my face after seeing it!
 

2353 Reads

A Lesson In Kindness From My Mother

I was at the drugstore getting ready to leave when I saw an old lady standing at the main entrance. She looked like she might be lost, so I asked if she needed any help. She said, "Yes, please. Where is the drugstore window? I need the get some medication but I don't see very well."  
 
I took her by the hand and led her into the store. I helped her get her medicine and helped her get the money from her purse to pay for it.
 
I asked her how she had managed to get to the  drugstore and she told me she had walked from her house, which was four blocks away. I offered to take her home and she agreed to let me. She told me she was a widow. She had no children and lived by herself. She was 95 years old. 
 
I helped her to her door and she told that she was so blessed to find people like me who would help her. In truth it was all down to my mother who had passed away five months before. The time I spent caring for mom taught me a lot about compassion. She taught me the real love and kindness aren't just reserved for family, but are meant to be shared with everyone.

13.7K Reads
  • Posted by irmamurphy
  • Jun 2, 2013
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

Peace Pole ...

Just wanted to give you an update on our Peace Pole Planting. The village school has accepted the pole and has got the Council to agree that it can be planted on a grassy area directly across from the school in a very prominent place which is passed by all who enter and leave the village (think of all those Peace Prayer wishes going out!).
They have invited uor MP, MSP and lots of dignitaries as well as local newspapers. The children are going to be writing about what Peace means to them and having a Peace Pole Party to celebrate –with Peace Cakes! How amazing is that! It won’t be for a couple of weeks yet, mid-may, but I’ll keep you all informed.
 

2494 Reads

Apple Pie And Cream

Leaving the supermarket earlier today I saw an elderly man with mobility problems. He was struggling to open the boot/trunk of his car and it was starting to rain. 

I offered to help get his shopping into the car. He thanked me for the offer but insisted he was fine and said that if he didn't do things himself they just wouldn't get done as he has no one else to do them.  
 
I didn't like to push the point in case I offended him so I put my son in the car and packed my own shopping away. Then I took an apple pie & cream over to his car and asked if he would like it. His face lit up and he said he loved apple pie. So, I gave it to him. 
 
He was very surprised and wanted to know why. I joked that he hadn't let me help him with his shopping, so I had to think of something else! I felt so happy as I drove home and hope he really enjoyed his apple pie and cream.

 

2457 Reads
  • Posted by MissChatterbox
  • Oct 30, 2012
  • 11 Comments
  • Share Story

Simply the Nudge

Two weeks ago, my daughter came to me a bit frantic. One of her school friends, nine months pregnant and about to give birth any day, was kicked out of her house because her mother wouldn't leave her husband (the girl's stepdad) who was hitting the girl. She fled to the home of her boyfriend's parents. They, however, were packing up to move to a larger house. Being in transition themselves, her boyfriend's family couldn't host her at that time, and she was at a loss for where to go. So, two weeks ago, my daughter came to me asking if her friend can come live with us until the boyfriend's family finished moving. Well, here's a girl in trouble. I talked it over with my husband, who gave his ok. So we got things ready for her. She must have told her mom what was going on, though, because before she had a chance to move ... Read Full Story >>

2251 Reads

Blankets And Warm Clothes For The Homeless

Years ago, a local man (vancouver BC (canada) named Gregory Ould encountered a homeless man, and approached asked him if there was something he could do to help him.

Greg was expecting the man may want something like cigarettes, but the man in need said he could use a blanket to make it through the night on the cold streets.

Greg went and got a blanket for him, and since then, Greg and his young son started an organization called Blanket BC, which collects blankets and warm clothes to be distributed to shelters that help the homeless.

An annual Drive on the Line event was held this past Friday and Saturday, with “Blanketeers” collecting the donations at select Canada Line stations (our local version of a subway) .

I have been a Blanketeer in years past, and dropped off 2 warm jackets on Friday.

Info: www.blanketbc.org
 

4939 Reads

In My Late Twenties ...

In my late twenties I taught aqua-fitness for three years (three times a week). I was also teaching swimming to people afraid of the water. I had an amazing lady of 77 years old, that just began to love water at that age. It was beautiful to see her new love story with water as she was so scared of it for so many years before. I was also finishing my bachelor in psychology at that time and thought about the incredible positive psychological impact all that had in her life. It was beautiful to see her evolve in the water.... playing and having fun! She felt so good about her swimming,that she started to become more active. She used to run on the her roof top, begun to do yoga again and she fell in love with a new neighbor.... her eyes were twinkling! she told me it was like ... Read Full Story >>

3421 Reads




Submit your own
story of Kindness

Search by keyword

Tags

Subscribe to the Kindness Newsletter

143K subscribers

About Us

KindSpring is a place to practice small acts of kindness. For over a decade the KindSpring user community has focused on inner transformation, while collectively changing the world with generosity, gratitude, and trust. The site is 100% volunteer-run and totally non-commercial. It is a shared labor of love.

Other servicespace Projects Include

KindSpring.org is a project of ServiceSpace. BY-NC-ND 4.0