Search Results for 'popular' (3005 matches)

A Perfect Opportunity to Answer a Plea

I was in Houston for a prayer luncheon.  Afterwards, I went to the ministry van to change my clothes before going out into the streets. I changed my clothes and then changed from my cowboy boots into a pair of work boots.  I was standing outside the van when a man came up to me and said “Sir I need some shoes”. I looked at my shiny cowboy boots and the work boots and looked back up to him and handed him the cowboy boots. I reached into the van and got a new pair of socks and asked him whether he had a shirt.  He replied, “no Sir”.  I reached back and got the pants and shirt that I had just changed out of. He started to well up and I said that maybe God has sent me here to help him today. He gave me a long look ... Read Full Story >>

An Untold Story of Gratitude for an Everyday Hero

I live in India and this incident is just a small example of my day-to-day interactions with ordinary people, which leave behind unforgettable gratitude about the greatness of such people thoughout our lives.

It was the day that I was getting out of the hospital after winning a battle with a failed surgery. To make matters worse, when I left the hospital they told me that I was not supposed to climb any stairs to reach my house and I lived on the Ist floor (now I had to be carried like a corpse!).

We took a rickshaw from the hospital to our home and when we arrived, my brother and the rickshaw driver, who drove us home, carried me to the Ist floor and into our home.  My mother paid the rickshaw driver some extra money in addition to the actual charge for his kind gesture.

He left, but then came back and returned the extra money to my mother.  He said, "I don't need this extra money, she is like my sister."   My heart cried with tears of gratitude and till this date I still vividly remember that rickshaw driver.

A Life Lesson From A Farmer

My dad sent me a nice story forward, and here's an attempt to paraphrase the gist..

A certain farmer with the best crop yield was known to give away his seeds to other farmers in the area. When asked why he would give away his assets, he responded, "Well, you see, the wind blows seeds from all over into my land. If my neighbors have inferior seeds, then I will get an inferior crop. Therefore, to ensure that the wind brings me the best seeds, I must share my best seeds with others.

This is true about farming, and true about life. If we have an exquisite seed of happiness, why not give it away, so the wind blows it back to us.

My First Thanksgiving

At 47 years old who would have thought I would have been wearing a "Baby's First Thanksgiving" bib? Although I didn't actually wear a bib, last year was my first "real" Thanksgiving. I came from a broken home and when I married 25 years ago, I sought to make my family everything I didn't have growing up. I'm afraid I had that "white picket fence" mentality. Every holiday needed to be picture perfect. The food, the dishes, the house decorations, even down to the cozy sweater I had purchased especially for the occasion. I was so wrapped up in how things were suppose to be, losing sight of what meant most. So many of my years wasted on being decieved. That was then this is now. Being alone now, separated from my husband, and our son serving in the military, I was blessed to have the opportunity to truly serve. A small group of friends and ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Into The Flow

Usually when I drive home I take the fastest and shortest way home...don't we all! Usually the drive takes me about 45 minutes driving from work. Well a week or so ago, I started to drive a different way home because I got bored of the usual way home. This new way contained lots of traffic, with cars moving at a snail’s pace. In the distance (about 300 meters away), I noticed a huge line of cars trying ever so hard to drive and get into the traffic flow on the main road (which I was on). I couldn't believe it – it was so easy to do – to stop and let a few cars into the traffic in front...but no one seemed to do that.  Well, that was probably because it was the 5pm rush home from work. When I finally got up to the line of traffic, I stopped ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Flower and a Lasting Smile

I had this strong desire to buy a flower.  So at lunchtime I went to the flower shop and bought a long single flower with my last £1.  I took it back to work and put it in my colleague's drawer as a suprise.  I knew at some point he would open his drawer and see it.

Later in the day, I got a phone call asking me if I had put the flower in his drawer.  I said "yes".  My colleague was very suprised and touched. He said, "it was a beautiful flower".

On Monday, when my colleague came to work he was still talking and telling me how nice the flower looked in his home.

I felt so happy that I had done that for him, to see him smile was well worth it.

Two Little Kindness Moments

The first moment came when I was in the local dollar store. There was an older woman in front of me just wrapping up her purchases. When she came to pay for them she discovered that she was seventeen cents short. Before I could even offer to help the young cashier gave her a big smile. She said, "Oh, don't worry about it,"' and sent the woman on her way. As I came up she said, "It's only a few cents. I can't make a big deal out of it." I responded, "Here's the seventeen cents. You did a really nice thing. This way your cash won't be short."   The second moment came when I was walking along with my young son in a big, busy mall. We passed a young man whose arms and face were covered in tattoos. He wore raggedy clothes and sat on the sidewalk with a sign that said "Homeless - Hungry ... Read Full Story >>

All It Takes Is A 10 Second Thought

I've been so inspired by everyone's thoughts and reflections that I thought I'd take the plunge and continue a recent practice of stepping out of my comfort zone and sharing this story. Last Friday, I was coming home late after spending time with friends andthought I'd go down to the $.99 cent pizza place.  On the way, I saw a man sitting on a random stoop.  I'd seen him before, panhandling on the stairs I walk up every day as I leave the subway running late to work, but this time I had no place to rush off to.  There was something about him, a quiet and serene demeanor, different from many of the other homeless people I had seen in NYC.  I walked past him, went to the pizza place, and those 10 seconds waiting in line was enough to practice stepping outside of my usual, familiar flow.  So with a few ... Read Full Story >>

An Easter Act to Remember

Two years ago, on the day before Easter, I had given my three children money instead of Easter baskets.  Later that evening, we were all sat watching TV,  when an infomercial came on about starving children. 

I couldn't help tearing up when my children said, "Mom, can we give our Easter money to these children?"  I told them yes and that God was going to bless them for this.  I wrote a cheque and sent it off in the mail.  I wanted to go get them Easter baskets for their kind act, but I didn't have any more money.

To my surprise, on Easter morning, a couple of ladies from a church we used to attend came over with a big box.  I didn't open it until they left, and when I did, tears started streaming down my and I fell to the floor with gratitude.  It contained Easter baskets for my children and a gas card for my family.

The universe is good and sometimes knocks you on your knees in tears from the way it works...

A Small Message Of Appreciation

Today I am pleased to be able to say I sent an email to my aunt!

Why is that such a big deal? Well, there is some bitterness in the extended family because of her  (she is my uncle's wife) but today was their son's movie launch. My cousin had invited me to the event.

I was there in time to share the happiness and it moved me to tears as I remembered my dad who was the inspiration for all my cousins who forayed into the film industry. 

I just sent her the email appreciating her for standing by her family and doing her best to help them achieve their dreams.

And here comes the best part! I feel at peace and all the bitterness has disappeared. I know she will smile when she reads the message!

Thank you all for being so supportive and inspiring me to change for the better - always!

Feeding the Soul by Helping People

Hi all, I would just like to say what a FAB site this is, and I feel blessed to be in this with soooo many beautiful people. At the tail end of 2007, my wife at the time told me that our marriage was over.  It hit me extremely hard emotionally, physically, and financially.  I had my faith in a lot of things taken away from me.  But that all changed because of the love of the person that I was put on this earth to be with!! To cut a long story short, I put my house on the market (selling it at the worst possible time due to the economic meltdown), made a pittance on the sale, but I did not mind because at least I wasn't in negative equity.  Being grateful for what I have, instead of dwelling on what I don't have has really kept me in ... Read Full Story >>

Anonymous Kindness With My Coworkers At School

Yesterday, I anonymously gifted three coworkers at the school I work at. First, I left a note for our school assistant superintendent that said, "Thank you for holding down the fort."  She has taken on the additional role of principal until one can be hired. Next, our school secretary received a note that said, "Thank you for wearing your happy face, everyday."  She does an awesome job of constantly being patient and smiling at everyone. Third, our payroll person got a note that said, "You make a difference."  Needless to say, she makes sure we all get paid, but she is also a great mom that has brought two wonderful children into this world.  I know because I have taught them both. Along with the notes, the recipients got the famous Smile Cards and small bottles of various perfumes.  I have not seen or heard the effects of these small acts of kindness.  However, ... Read Full Story >>

Gratitude Creates Gratitude

I just read the story of the folks who baked cookies and cupcakes to hand out to people in their community who they wanted to thank for doing the jobs they do, and how moved they were by the responses they got from folks.

I had a similar experience when I typed a short email to the Siemens Corporation to thank them for making and selling the radiation machine that treated my cancer.  I got personal emails from an exec there telling me I made her day.  They ran my email in their company newsletter (seen by some 500,000 employees) and then flew me up to Siemens Healthcare US headquarters to let me say thank you in person to their employees!  They filmed my talk and then did an interview with me and will be sharing all that with more employees in the future who couldn't be there that day.

I knew that it would matter to someone there if I said, "thanks" but had no idea the impact that act would have on the company or on me.  Just a tremendous blessing all around.

Extra Care For A Teacher Going Through A Difficult Time

On Monday, my fiancee and I heard that our astronomy teacher's mother had died.  We were surprised that he was still teaching in school. My fiancee was telling me that as the teacher was teaching, he had felt such empathy for the man, because as he was lecturing, you can sense he was trying to be strong, in the midist of teaching. We came up with an idea. The teacher is such a passionate and warm hearted person, and we figured that, he could use a good dose of  love and cheer. That night after school, we meditated for our teacher as well as his beloved mother. We like to meditate using Metta and Tonglen, both very loving spiritual meditation practices ;) When we went back to school (yesterday), we gave him cheer up cards which we had take time to decorate with flowers, hearts and peace signs. As we had handed the cards to him, we both could see the ... Read Full Story >>

Fruit And Friendship Make My Day

There is a pregnant woman that works in the building adjacent to mine. I started work here a few months ago and every morning I would see her taking a nice walk. Then one day I greeted her and asked about her baby. She was very kind and smiled a lot.

On our first meeting she said she was having trouble picking a name so we brainstormed together and came up with some ideas.

Our chats became regular whenever she was on her walk and on the days that she did not show I would go by her office to see about her and the baby. I noticed that when ever she went on her walk she had a bottle of water; she told me that she got hungry a lot. So I started bringing some fruit to work with me and every time I saw her I gave her one.

We have now been friends for a few weeks and I still bring her a fruit every morning during her walk. The satisfaction it gives me to see her gratefully smile at me makes my day! Funny how a piece of fruit given in kindness can transform my whole day.

The baby is due in two months and she is as excited as can be. And I couldn’t be happier to have a new friend in my life. I look forward to meeting her little angle too.

Personal Growth On The Freeway

This morning when I got in my car I said a prayer. I prayed that God would help me become a better person and I prayed He would allow me to experience personal growth.  As I pulled out and headed to work I said I was going to hold myself accountable for all the things that I know prevent me from being that better person.   As soon as I got on the freeway the madness started. People were driving crazily, not courteous at all. So I was getting mad and impatient. And then a car came out of nowhere and the driver cut in front of me so recklessly that I had to slam my foot on the brakes to avoid from crashing into him.   In that moment a string of curse words entered my mind and my arm raised in anticipation of blaring my horn! My other hand prepared to flash a ... Read Full Story >>

The Gift on the Sidewalk

Today, I was babysitting my two-year-old friend, Liam. He was feeling sad and wanted to stay inside with his mom and dad. I tried everything to get him interested in playing outside with me. Nothing worked. Finally, as a last resort, I took a shiny new penny out of my pocket. I tossed the penny down the sidewalk and then chased after it. It must have looked fun, because he joined right in! On one of my tosses, the shiny penny rolled down the sidewalk and appeared to stop near a Christmas tree that was laying next to the gutter, waiting to be picked up by the recycle truck. As I squatted near the tree to look for the penny, I spotted a small, lonely Christmas ornament attached to one of the branches. Scooping it up, I was struck by how delicate it was. Handmade, and crafted from felt, it was in the ... Read Full Story >>

A Simple but Meaningful Act of Gratitude

Every month, I write letters to two Marines serving in Afghanistan who I don't know.  I thank them for their service to our nation. While I don't know them, I hope that they know how much I appreciate them.

Cinderella, you have brightened the world.

Today was an intense day that offered opportunity for the whole community to be kind. Our dear friend Cinderella down the road had a severe stroke some time last night, and was found this morning by her close friend who noticed she had not picked up her paper or walked her dog. Thank GOODNESS for kind, loving neighbors who pay attention. She ran to get my mom, who is a nurse, and we both ran to Cindy's house. I had never seen someone in her state, she was not responsive to us, but she looked terrified. We called 911 , and while we waited we spoke to her to calm her and I sang to her a little bit, which helped her close her eyes and stop shaking. After she was taken, 2 neighbors went to the hospital, while a team of 4 of us began to clean her room and figure ... Read Full Story >>

Runaway Coffee Barrels and the 'Angel of Mercy'

Coming home from a coffee shop today, we had our old truck loaded down with three 50-gal. barrels of mostly coffee grounds that we use to make compost.  My husband had laid them down in the truck, and as we came up the ramp to a major intersection the tailgate hinge broke and all the barrels rolled out into the street behind us. Thank goodness there were no cars immediately behind us, which was a bit of a miracle since it was lunch hour. One barrel rolled right into a lane, and the two others were partially in a lane.  We slammed on the brakes, jumped out, and I retrieved the closest one while my husband started running back toward the ramp to get the other two. I knew that one of the ones he was going to get was extremely heavy; we had had a horrible time getting it into ... Read Full Story >>