Stories by savraj (16 matches)

A Birthday Dinner Becomes an Opportunity to Practice Patience and Kindness

The other day my daughter and I went out for dinner to celebrate her birthday. We went to a place she loves. The restaurant is on top of a hill and when we arrived the sun was setting behind the mountains. The kind waitress met us at the door but mentioned that, without a reservation, we would have to wait a very long time for our order because they were short staffed. She said that it could be over an hour before we would get our order. Well, we decided that we would leave because she strongly advised that we should! We stood outside wondering what we should do next when the owner came out and insisted that we stay! So we went back in. The waitress was right. We waited close to an hour before we got our appetizers! But do you know what? It was ok because we had tea and ... Read Full Story >>

Helping each other find our way through the day

I was taking my fifteen-minute walk break at work today when a sweet elderly gentleman asked me for directions. He was going to his physiotherapy appointment. I pointed him towards what I thought was the right direction but he seemed hesitant so I walked with him up the stairs and down the hall to be sure. He was right! He was not in the right place! We were directed down another hallway and still couldn't find the right place. Finally, we decided to call his wife and found out that he was in the wrong complex altogether. The poor man looked so sad and lost but tried to keep positive and kept thanking me. He was so disoriented that we couldn't even find his car right away. When we finally did, I gave him directions on how to find the other complex which was down the road. I hope with all my heart ... Read Full Story >>

Lightness In My Step

This morning during my walk I had the good fortune of meeting someone I have been wanting to cross paths with for some time. I had seen this elderly gentleman before. A few months ago he was collecting cans and bottles from the recycle bins behind my house. I was shocked to see this and saddened by the fact that he had to do this to survive. I thought about putting bottles in a bag for him with a note attached saying that the bag was for him to take, but then thought it may not be the best idea from a safety standpoint. So I let it go. One rainy day in the spring I saw him again riding his bike with bags of bottles attached to his backpack and handle-bars. My heart sank. I felt powerless thinking I could never connect with him. So you can imagine my surprise when I ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a grieving mom

We packed a picnic lunch and went to the mountains today. Helena, my friend's mother is visiting. Three years ago her daughter passed away on Christmas Day. Since then, understandably, she has been very depressed. This visit, however, everyone noticed a change in her. It seems that Time has finally partially healed her broken heart. The drive out to the mountains was exciting and fun for her! She took hundreds of pictures and giggled as she took them. She said her life was wonderful and she was so happy to be out in her beloved "narava", Croatian for nature. On the way home she wished she could see a deer, and then just ten minutes into the drive, as if on cue, out popped a deer! It was close enough to the road that she could talk to it. Softly she said, "I love you sweetheart". The deer stared into Helena's eyes for a moment ... Read Full Story >>

A Story of Courage and Gratitude After A Life Changing Event

Hello again friends As per requests from KindSpring friends I am sending an account of the story of my accident. It is part of the letter I sent to KindSpring members Mindy and Mish. " Milan's back is improving daily and on Thursday he decided he would attend a couple of sessions at the teachers convention. I drove him to the train station and therefore had to take a slightly different route to work. It has been very warm here all week and so in the mornings there has been ice everywhere. I was coming down a ramp headed onto a major 4 lane thoroughfare. I hit some black ice and started swerving. I tried to correct slowly but suddenly I started going back and forth very quickly. I lost control and hit the side wall to the right and then my car went completely to the left, jumped the median, I hit my ... Read Full Story >>

Thankful for the dirty dishes

Yesterday I read a sign in front of a church that read, "Don't be upset about having dirty dishes. At least you have something to eat." I believe this message was for me.

Earlier that morning I had gotten into my car to find that someone had unlawfully entered it, made a mess and had taken some change! I was shaking all the way to work and felt very violated. I kept thinking, "I would have given it you if you needed it. Why would you steal from me?"

Then when I got to work I heard about a co-worker's cousin who had taken his own life over the weekend. Suddenly my problem didn't seem so bad. And yes I have more than enough to eat.

I have so much to be thankful for.  It's all a matter of perspective sometimes isn't it?

Hospital Art

I met an artist in the park today. She was working on a piece of art she had co-created with local school children. The images on the artwork, of happy families with their pets, were so uplifting!

Her next project is to create a large mural that will cover an entire wall at the Children's hospital. Again, she plans to collaborate with children from the neighborhood. What a heartwarming idea.

Children who are well will be creating art for children who are sick. I imagined the day the mural would be unveiled. The children who worked so hard and lovingly on it would be overjoyed with excitement to show what they had created. And the children waiting to see the mural would be equally excited to see what was behind the curtain. And finally voila! Cheers all around!

Children helping children be happy. Children being happy like they always should be! The artist woke me up from my daydream and said, "I sure could use a lot of volunteers to help with this project! " I told her to count me in! I would be happy to help make this dream come true!

New York Adventure

The beauty of this past weekend lingers with me still. There were smiles aplenty and synchronicities around every corner! I'm still trying to absorb it all and maybe I never will because it was just so rich. Thankyou dear Mish, Mindy, Roger, Harvey and Rajni, for making it all so magical. On Sunday before the show, Milan and I went to the United Nations building. Most areas of it were closed, so we were amazed when we walked around a corner and came upon a public display of flying doves in a huge dream catcher. They looked just like Mindy's doves but larger and with the United Nations insignia on them! They were made by children. We were amazed to see them and even more taken aback to see that there was one string with no dove. It must have fallen off. Hmmmmm I wondered if it would be ok to gently attach one of ... Read Full Story >>

Shared Smiles

I saw a man listening to music on his phone today. He was standing by the pet store as I walked by and he looked lost in thought as he listened to the soft sounds playing. He was looking off into the distance as if watching old memories being projected onto the wall in front of him.

The music was a beautiful Asian sounding song. I got to the end of my walk and upon my return the man was still standing there. The music was still playing and he was still looking off into the distance.

As I walked by again, I looked back and smiled and said, "such beautiful music!" Suddenly everything changed. His face lit up with the biggest and most happiest smile!  He said, " Thank you!" We both smiled. Our sparks connected just for a moment. There is so much kindness in a shared smile!! I smiled all the way back to work! 

Kindness Between Neighbours

Our lovely neighbors have always had a beautiful St Francis statue by the gate on the side of their house. I've always loved to gaze at whenever I look out the kitchen window. The other day I noticed it wasn't there! I wondered where it had gone! I hoped it was just moved and not stolen! I had heard of thefts recently of plants and lawn ornaments. I told Milan about it's disappearance and he said he would ask the neighbours the next time he sees them. Yesterday he bumped into Mrs "Neighbor" and mentioned the missing statue to her. He told her how much we loved it and hoped it hadn't been pilfered! She said that she had just moved it to the backyard and would bring it back right away! "Oh no", said Milan, "We're just glad it's safe! Hahaha!" That evening we went out to sit in ... Read Full Story >>

The Kindness Of My Parents

Every week my Dad sends out to us "kids" an email called, "Theme of the week". This week's theme was about the importance of earning an honest living and doing so with kindness and compassion in mind.

Every job on Earth can be done with kindness and compassion in mind! Even my Mom and Dad who are now 80 and retired continue to do their jobs as "Mom and Dad" with kindness and compassion in mind. It's so kind of them to continue to help keep us all on the right track! I am very grateful for them both!

It Starts WIth A Simple "Hi"

We had a great encounter with a lovely elderly gentleman on our walk this morning! We see him almost every morning. When we first saw him, months ago, he would walk by us quickly and not look at us at all. I know English is his second language and figured that was why he might have been apprehensive about making eye contact. I don't know any Mandarin so I would always just walk by with no contact as well.  Then one day I decided to just smile and say "hi😃". He looked at us and with the biggest smile he shyly said, "Hi!" He smiled with his eyes too! He looked like a different person! So so beautiful. It was that easy! We made contact! We don't see him every morning but when we do, we exchange "HI's!" This morning we saw him from a distance and I thought I would try waving ... Read Full Story >>

A Young Boy's Uncommon Selfless Birthday Wish

One of my fellow nurses here had a birthday party for her son this weekend.

He invited his entire class! He decided that he didn't want any gifts but wanted his guests to bring a donation for the Canadian Cancer society!

He just turned 10 year of age. Bravo to him! Together they raised $170. I'm sure the children enjoyed the party and felt great about their contribution to charity!

Money Raised for Cancer 💕

Hello kind friends. It's been a long time since I've shared thoughts here, but the love I have for our KS family is always in my heart!  I wanted to share with you today a wonderful thing dear Milan (Mr J!) did. A few weeks back his school held a run called, "The Terry Fox Run". Terry Fox was an amazing young man who ran across Canada, with one prosthetic leg, to raise funds for cancer research. After he passed away from losing his battle to cancer, schools began to hold yearly runs in his name to raise money for cancer. This year, Milan presented a challenge to the students at his school! He told them that if they collectively raised $3,000, he would have his head and beard and moustache shaved in front of the entire student body! The children were extremely thrilled at the idea and were happy to take ... Read Full Story >>

The Power Of a Mere Smile

It is with mixed emotions I went to the young offender center every few months to give vaccinations. On the one hand I feel lucky to be able to provide a service that may have a positive health impact for the residents. But, on the other hand, I feel a sense of sadness and disappointment as I see the inmates being escorted by guards to the nursing unit. My last visit was very memorable. For some reason, there was a levity in the air. More than ever before, I felt a lightness as I spoke with each person. We shared stories and smiles and fears. Even the toughest inmates seemed to be surrounded by light. I saw them as not only youth, being punished for crimes, but also as children who have the potential to change for the better. Most of them wanted to talk longer! They were reaching out to ... Read Full Story >>

Homecoming Delight

Last night we returned from a two-week western Canadian coastal adventure. A neighbor, we had just recently met, offered to water our flowers while we were away.

We were so delighted to come home to hundreds of flowers blooming and plants flourishing! We are truly blessed to have such kind people living around us!

We brought some gifts for them from Haida Gwaii, and I offered to bring over some lasagna tomorrow because the neighbor lady just had knee surgery and has limited mobility.  

You should have seen their beaming faces. They looked a lot like our beaming faces when we saw the beauty of our garden! What a beautiful exchange of love and caring!
 

Rehmat and His Perfume

A Gift Of Love For Berni 2017