Search Results for 'popular' (2974 matches)

A Lift That Gave Me Joy

Last fall, before Thanksgiving, I was making my way in my car out of the shopping center parking lot.  I was all alone in the car.  I noticed a woman laden with bags and her two boys, one carrying a pumpkin and the other another bag. I assumed that they were headed to the bus stop across the major road, since it was too far to walk with all those purchases to any of the nearby apartment communities.  On a random impulse, I rolled down my window and asked if they were indeed headed to the bus stop.  “Yes,” the mother responded.  I asked "Would you like a ride?"  "Oh yes!” was their excited reaction. I was delighted, and, after manoeuvering over to the side out of the way of other traffic, I stopped and the boys piled into the back seat.  The mother started to push in beside them.  I ... Read Full Story >>

A Little 'Game of Good'

For the last two and a half years I have been giving out Smile Cards whenever I find an opportunity. I am sad to admit that my family and I are homeless, we live in a trailer which we were so kindly given by a family member. During this period, I have given out over 200 Smile Cards.  I have always tried to find something kind to do, even when my husband lost his job and we were fighting to get by.  I have started giving out coupons for free food, plus money for people to get at least one meal, on me. I always put my coupon, gift and Smile Card in a envelope that says "For whoever finds this". Once I left an envelope on someone's work truck and got back into our trailer. I just happened to look out at the bus later and I saw the guy open my envelope and find the gift.  He read the card and then he looked ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Blessing From Beautiful Blue Eyes

I saw him sitting on the grass at my local strip mall.  His hair was matted, his clothes were dirty, and he was talking but I don’t know who to because there was no one near him. People passed by but they didn't seem to see him and they didn't seem to care.  The day was sunny and warm, perhaps they were all busy taking in the beauty in that the day had to give. But I saw him.  His name was David.  As I watched him, he moved my heart a little. I felt a little of his loneliness and isolation. I wanted to reach out to him, to make it a little better. I went into the nearby grocery store and bought him a cold drink and a sandwich and got some extra cash from the ATM.  I then drove back to where this lonely soul was resting, on the grass, ... Read Full Story >>

My Son, My Hero

Just after his first birthday my son Cameron was struck down with a rare blood illness.  In the following years he has needed four courses of chemotherapy, multiple blood and platelet transfusions, harsh immunosuppressive treatments, suffered a thrombosis in his leg and over 800 hospital visits, including stays of up to 3 weeks at a time.  All this has led to him now also being an insulin dependent diabetic. Cameron is now 9 years old and raised over £71,000 to support other sick children.  He has equipped his beloved children's hospital with books, televisions, game consoles, arts and crafts items, toys and games.  To the hospital school that taught him how to tell the time, he also gave laptops so the most poorly children could work in their beds, along with a music station, a libary, paints and crayons. A couple of years ago he found out that his hospital was closing and a new one was being built.  ... Read Full Story >>

The Echo Of Life

The Echo of Life A son and his father were walking on the mountains. Suddenly, the son falls, hurts himself and screams, "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" Curious, he yells, "Who are you?" He receives the answer, "Who are you?" Angered at the response, he screams, "Coward!" He receives the answer, "Coward!" He looks to his father and asks, "What's going on?" The father smiles and says, "My son, pay attention." And then he screams to the mountain, "I admire you!" The voice answers, "I admire you!" Again the father screams, "You are a champion!" The voice answers, "You are a champion!" The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers For a Gardner

An elderly lady who lives near me keeps her garden so beautiful. It has an abundance of flowers and colours. The weather is not too good here at the moment, it's actually raining. I drove past this elderly lady's house and the garden is showing signs of winter with very little by way of flowers or colour. I knocked on her door and she came out. She doesn't know me and I told her I had flowers for her. Dear love, she said she couldn't imagine who would be giving her flowers. I told her it was me and I was giving them to her because she works so hard in her garden and we all get to enjoy the beauty of it. She was totally gobsmacked. All she could say was 'I don't know what to say.' Her name is Elizabeth. Tears ran down Elizabeth's face and you would truly ... Read Full Story >>

Remembering Why It's Worth Helping

Just recently I had been wondering if there was much point in doing little acts of kindness. So often they get ignored, and occasionally they come back to bite you! Then, just last week, after a long day of travelling, dragging suitcases behind me, I found myself delayed at a bus station. The bus was running four hours late! So, I guess I wasn’t in the best of moods. That’s when a woman asked me if I had any spare change to help her get a bus ticket. “Oh, sure,” I said, more than a little sarcastically. “How much would you like?” As I spoke I mentally kicked myself for my attitude and reached into my bag for some money. As I handed her five dollars I heard her stomach rumble. This was no gentle, ladylike murmer. This had the growl of real hunger! I reached back into my bag and brought out a Danish ... Read Full Story >>

Pay It Forward Coffee Day

I don't drink coffee. It's not that I don't like coffee, because just the smell is heaven to me, but coffee doesn't seem to agree with my body. I can drink decaffeinated coffee every once in awhile if I'm lucky, but only on rare occasions. So this story is not actually about me, but about my husband, who definitely drinks coffee. In fact, he drinks so much coffee that he is on a first name basis with every employee that works at our local coffee house. They even gave him a Christmas card last year with a free coffee gift card inside. Well, maybe they gave him the gift card because he's such a friendly guy. :) Anyway, each Friday, the person behind him gets their coffee gifted to them. If there's no one behind him then the next person to walk in the door will receive the pleasant surprise. He decided ... Read Full Story >>

Where's The Jelly?

I just came in from the grocery store. I only needed one item but the woman in line before me had spent more than the money she had in her hand.  As she checked out her 2-3 packed bags, she asked the cashier to put the jelly back so she would have enough money to cover the bill. As she paid, I looked at her and told her I was going to buy that jelly for her. She said, "Oh no, you don't have to. I just didn't grab enough money when I left my home." I looked at her and happily said, "That's okay.  Perhaps you could return the favor to someone else."  Caught up in the spirit of generosity, she tried to offer me something else until she landed upon an idea -- "Can I give you some of my "Turkey points?"   At this store, they give you Turkey ... Read Full Story >>

Boxes Filled With Compassion

Today we spent the morning going through our personal belongings. We were looking for items to give away for free, at a local park. Not just any items but things people really needed. We came up with blankets, soaps, food, and clothing. Our aim was not to find things we no longer wanted, but things we use everyday that would be useful to others. For some of the items we used and needed we split the amounts in half.  We kept one half and added the other half to the pile of things to give away. We made up boxes with the things we believed would be useful and added some small toys.  We added a list of local addresses and phone numbers of local helping agencies. Inside the boxes a simple letter was placed. It read….. “Please take these items and know that your life is important. Times are difficult but these days will pass. ... Read Full Story >>

In Her Time Of Greatest Need

  I used to work in a hospital as a Pharmacy Technician. As part of our duties we would make rounds of all the nursing stations to pick up orders deliver medication, etc.    On one of my rounds I met an elderly lady. She was sitting outside a room crying. People walked past and saw her crying but nobody offered to help. I stopped and asked if she was okay. She said her husband was in the room - dying.     I asked if I could call anyone or do anything for her but she said she didn't have any family near-by and they never had any kids. So, I just sat there a while, holding her hand and listening to her.    This went on for weeks, me listening and hugging, and her waiting and crying.    Well one day on my rounds I saw her sitting there, not crying. So, I went to sit with ... Read Full Story >>

Signal to Help a New Mom

While shopping at my local Walmart  I noticed a young girl ahead of me.  She had with her what looked like a newborn infant in the cart along with diapers, formula, and other food items.  This young mother wasn't the average mom shopping at Walmart.  The pierced nose and tongue might have discouraged others from helping her.   The cashier rung up her items and the girl gave the cashier her credit card.  The credit card was declined and the girl looked at the cashier embarassed and horrified.  The cashier gave the girl the option of keeping her items in the cart while  the girl went to get the necessary money.  I wasn't sure if this was the person I was supposed to help, after all there seemed to be a lot of stuff in her cart, and I am a single parent myself.  The girl left, supposedly to go get ... Read Full Story >>

Raisinettes With My Daughter

At the local Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in my city center, one thing's for sure -- I will find a young anxious teen fundraising. It's the hub for school teams and local organizations.  At anytime day or night, you can find children of all ages, selling processed nuts, candy, cookies or popcorn.  It's not so easy to sell those to ATM clients, and I feel their uneasiness as they look at you with big pleading eyes.  Everyone dodges eye contact with the kids and that only makes it worse. Today was no exception.  My heart began to skip a beat or two, as I approached the ATM.   It was getting dark and the young boy had a box half filled with chocolate covered raisins. I asked him, "How much for each box of raisinettes?"  He said, "Two dollars".  I said, “I'll tell you what.  I will buy the rest of the box, ... Read Full Story >>

Best Looking Yard in Town

My husband and I own a lawn care company and so many times we would pass this house that was very unkept as far as the lawn was concerned. Last week, we decided to stop in and see if we could help.  Nobody would come to the door for the longest time.  Finally, a little old lady came to the door, very reluctant to open the door.  We explained to her that we did not want to harm her in anyway.  After a few minutes of talking we asked her if we could cut her grass for her?  She was quick to answer, "I cannot pay for my grass to be cut, my sister is living with me dying of cancer and it takes everything we make combined to pay for her medicines etc."  We had indicated to her that we would just like to do this for her and her ... Read Full Story >>

For A Little Superhero

I was talking with a woman in my office who has a son near the same age as my little 5 year old boy. I was telling her how much my son loved his Superman pajamas with a detachable cape. She laughed and told me how much her little boy would love something like that. She looked for weeks and then asked me again where I got it. She was not able to find any more there.

She loves her son so much that I decided I would find another one somewhere! Sure enough, in the age of the internet, I was able to find one on-line and have it shipped to me. The other morning I put in on her chair so she would find it when she came in to the office. She was so excited and touched that I found one for her son. I was so happy to make her and her little boy smile.

I get updates all the time on her little superhero. I'm just glad I was able to find the outfit and make them both smile!

A Baby Girl's First Act of Kindness

We had our first child in January and were so overwhelmed by all the love and kind wishes that people from around the world shared with us and our little one.  She was showered with blessings, flowers and gifts from near and far and in some cases from people we didn't even know personally! :)  My husband's business friend had a shirt made with her name on it for the football team he supports, another lady in Ireland (who we have never even met!) had candles made with her name on them,  another friend in India had dresses made for her, our aunt knitted lovely hats and sweaters for her, friends bought her loads and loads of adorable clothes, another friend from New York had a blanket made with her name on it, another friend sent us cupcakes from a famous bakery that spelled out "Welcome Sareena," another friend gifted her ... Read Full Story >>

Free Money At Walmart

I hand-designed some of my own Smile cards. One is for "hiding" money in unexpected places. It basically says I hope that this will be found by someone who really needs it.  So, I went to a local Walmart here in Hawaii and placed a $20 bill with the card behind a product. I then went to another aisle to see who found it. I so wanted to see how they reacted!    After a while a lady found the money and the note. Then she looked around to see if she could identify who left it. To my surprise she put it back! I guess she really didn't need it. She then went to another aisle to watch who would find the money!   After about another seven minutes a lady with a young boy found the money. They too started looking around and even at the ceiling! I guess they were looking for ... Read Full Story >>

Vulnerability Brings New Appreciation for Kindness

I think my mom raised me to be considerate. Growing up in a rather well-off family, where in a material sense I was wanting for nothing, kindness wasn't something I especially noted. I might have taken it for granted. As a teenager, to cope with some emotional challenges in my family, I taught myself to be a perfectionist, and developed a rather negative attitude towards myself. I always saw what was lacking in myself, or what I imagined to be lacking, in others, and in my life. You might gather it was difficult being this way. I lived this way well into my 30s.  Due to health problems, I left college without a degree, tried for an apprenticeship, fell ill again and left my employer.  After sick pay ran out, I ended up drawing something closer to welfare than unemployment benefits, though it was technically the latter. The family lore was ringing in ... Read Full Story >>

A Silent Connection in a Beautiful Moment

My attention was divided between the book in my lap and the people passing by when  I saw her walking slowly towards my parked car.  She had a bright blue saree, a large nose pin, orange marigolds in snow-white hair, a large shoulder bag and a face that showed every wrinkle of her 70 or so years of age.  She stopped and put a hand out to rest against the car’s hood, gently closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead. The sweltring day was taking its toll on her slight frame, and the large bag seemed to affect not just her gait, but also her breathing.  She reminded me of a delicate bird, struggling because of the weight someone had added to its wings.  Was there a way I could do something, anything, to stretch those wrinkles around her mouth to a smile?  But then, I wondered, ... Read Full Story >>

You Could Be My Son

The other day I was in town with my daughter and we saw this man sitting on the ground, looking sad and like he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Before I could say anything my daughter asked if we could give him some money. (He had a hat on the ground with some coins in it.)    So, I gave her some change. At the same time an elderly gentleman bent down towards the man, said some words, and gave him some money.    I was very much touched by the gentleness of the gesture. It was as if the older man was saying, "I am helping you because you could be my son."    It was a very hot day, which is not very normal in our little town. We were going to the supermarket and my daughter asked me if we could get some water and something for the man to eat. ... Read Full Story >>