I can’t think of anything recently from a stranger, but my Mom’s friend sent me a check for $333 after my emergency trip to see my daughter before her surgery. For my friend it would be an insult not to accept her gift, she is truly an angel!!
Today at work we wrapped 1000 gift for needy children, we do this every year – adopt children but the wrapping became a tradition a year ago and is a fun idea!
My former boss trying to help me find a job while I’m jobless (because I quit my job last month due to mental health issues which nobody knows) is the most kindest thing someone has done to me. He’s been helping me out in several different ways. He’s been the best.
Ahhh … just what I needed! I’ve been dogged all day by my habit of focusing on an UNkindness done me. You know how it goes … “Can you beLIEVE she did/said that? To ME?!” Oh just stop it, small self! Now I get to reel back the day and focus on the better. Let’s see … a stranger … the checkout girl at the grocery at lunch. Yeah, she was kind. I made some kind of joke and she smiled and laughed. So did the bag boy. Raised his eyebrows, nodded his head, both saying, “me too!” Me too. Best phrase for connection out there.
I think that the most recent time was the simple gesture of a stranger in my neighborhood waving as they drove by while I was walking to the mail box yesterday afternoon. I know the neighbors who live immediately around me, but this may have been a neighbor who lives further away or else someone who was visiting the neighborhood.
For the past 10 years I have been working on changing a long-standing habit of avoiding making eye contact with or greeting strangers. In some cultures, perhaps it would not be appropriate in all contexts to make eye contact with or greet a stranger, but in my town I think that is an appropriate and beneficial thing to do. My avoiding this had to do with my fearfulness and soon it became very habitual.
I have really been working on looking at someone in a car if I am at a crosswalk as a pedestrian, and waving them to go first or else giving them a wave of thanks if they are yielding to me. I try to smile and send them lovingkindness. It really gives me a jolt of joy and connection when they give a friendly wave back. I also try to greet other pedestrians, and look for opportunities to greet people in the grocery store, whether to motion them to go first through a crowded aisle or to thank them for letting me go first. I often wave to people in my immediate neighborhood even if I don’t know them, but my default when I am feeling tired or vulnerable is still to avoid eye contact. Yesterday, I almost avoided eye contact and then happened to look up and see this stranger waving at me. I was moved by the simple gesture of connection and gave a wave back.
Elizabeth, you’re naming one of the things I most appreciate about walking or riding my bike in my town. We moved here 4 years ago and one of the first things I noticed was that pretty much everybody we pass will make eye contact and smile or say hello or comment on the weather. It creates that fleeting bond that makes me feel like I belong.
I recognize that eye contact isn’t comfortable for everyone and I wouldn’t force it, but when it happens it feels good.
I was at Wal-Mart about a year or so ago. This guy had about $500.00 of his own stuff on the conveyor, turned around and looked at my $50.00 dollars worth of stuff and said, “let me pay for his as well.” We spoke, I thanked him and it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted and didn’t even say pay it forward. That was a beautiful gesture.
Definitely the strangers who stopped to help me in mid-January when I crashed hard on my bike on black ice. They were in the first vehicle that went by after I went down and stopped to help me. They put my bike on the sidewalk, offered to help me over to sit on the curb, and waited with me while I called my husband. They would have waited with me until he came but I thanked them and said they should go since he was only about five minutes away. If I hadn’t had someone to call I believe they would have taken me to the ER. So much kindness and so needed in that moment when I was very shaken up and in pain.
Those sound like some wonderful people who stopped to help you when you had your bike accident, Barb C! Stories like this restore my faith in humanity.
I realized the question was about the last time I was moved by kindness. This crash was such a big event that it has stuck with me and was the first one that came to mind.
I’m fortunate to give and receive small kindnesses all the time. This is a reminder to give them more attention in the moment, which would then allow me to feel moved by the experience and make them more memorable.
One kindness I do notice every time: When a driver passing me on my bike moves over the full lane to leave plenty of room. Most drivers here do that and I appreciate it so much. It leaves a safety buffer. (It’s also state law but I doubt many people know that it got changed a couple of years ago.)
As a fellow biker, Barb, I really appreciate what you say about sharing the road. When that occurs I often think we are all taking care of each other out here on the road.
There are little kindnesses all the time. The trick is to be open to them. Embracing kindness tends to open you up to these little acts, and in this world, you get what you give. Holding a door open, letting someone go ahead in a line, a wave, a smile, go a long way.
Kindness changed my life. I had the opportunity (well, it was actually imposed upon me 😁) and I saw people in their most vulnerable and challenging moment, offer kindness to others and me. This became a guide for me. I wanted to be like that. I wanted to offer kindness even when it scared me. Even when it made me feel uncomfortable. This changed my life and it changed me. When I feel overwhelmed or unsettled, I try to remember that my only goal is kindness.
Mark Twain
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”
Dalai Lama XIV
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. And be kinder than is necessary”
Love the quotes, Charlie!
Reading them together
was especially impactful for me.
Reading about kindness
in your sharing and inthe others
has warmed my heart.
I was especially moved by your Dalai Lama quote.
♥️♥️♥️
Thank you, Charlie!! Kindness is important for all of us to pass on…Thannk you forn your experiences and thank you so much for the quotes. I always learn dsomething from your posts.
What a moving story about your opportunity to see people offering kindness in their most vulnerable and challenging moment, Charlie T! If you ever feel moved to share more about it, I would love to hear.
The kindness of another shopper at the grocery store this week. At five feet tall, I cannot always reach what I need when it is on a high shelf. She assisted me and shared that her Mom has the same issue having lost height due to age. She had such a warm and compassionate energy and I could feel the love she has for her own mother and was sharing with me. Today’s quote from Ram Dass maybe think of another Dass quote, “We’re all just walking each other home.” How powerful it would be if our egoic minds could truly embrace that perspective!
A few weeks back I was rerouted because of emergency equipment in the street. The street I was routed to is more of a neighborhood. In one of the front yards was large pink elephant, and a pink flying pig. Also in the yard were several painted wagon wheels. It definitely put a smile on my face after a small I convenience.
The person ahead of me in the Starbucks drive through paid for my order.
I thought about who this person was. I never saw them and did not notice their car.
Doing something nice for someone and not getting any credit for it.
Being generous with no thought of recognition.
I was surprised and very touched by this. ♥️
I try to make note of it any time I go out. When someone holds the door for another, when someone says bless you if another sneezed, when a car lets the other into their lane, when a compliment is given, when they smile at another. The world can be a cruel place, but there’s still moments of pure goodness and that’s what I have to remind myself.
I also wanted to mention if anyone would be interested in doing a group video call? Maybe once a month? Just a space to talk and reflect. or Maybe do a simple meditation and discussion? Let me know what y’all think 🧡
I’d be interested in this. I joined a women’s group early in the pandemic that became such a warm community even though we only knew each other through the shared experience of signing up for a movement/meditation experience that met several times. We continued with monthly calls after the course ended.
On a crowded, standing-room -only city bus, a young man asked me if I wanted his seat, and cheerfully and gladly got up when I said “yes, please.” Heart-warming since this not as common an experience as I would expect. People are tired and just want to sit down.
I was at walmart one day and a young man asked me if I needed a grocery cart. I completely forgot about that. I had my hands full. Certainly unexpected and kind!
Just yesterday…I had just come from cardiac rehab and had to make a stop at the mall. I cannot tell you the last time I was to the mall. I am not a shopper and this time of year…I stay away!! However; I needed a gift from the kitchen store. As I was walking from my car…a older man (most likely my age!!_) called out “Hey Girly that is a grat coat”….I turned around and smiled at him …and said. :Just a few days ago I said to my husband that I needed a new winter coat…he said “WHY? Everytime you wear that coat you get a compliment”….Hmm.. that is true…but the zipper is giving me trouble and it is getting worn…I have a thousand reasons why!!! The gentleman and I walked to the door of the mall together…we both said how we did not like the cold anymore. I asked if he traveled during the winter…”We can’t – my wife has alot of medical problems- but I would love to”. I said that I had recently had a heart attack–but was grateful that we would still be able to travel…He said that is great…and “Let me get the door for you” and then another door…That small act of kindness and that conversation made my heart sing. Nowadays not many men open a door for a lady- stranger or not…and that was a great gift to me…The doors are very heavy- and having someone to chat with was wonderful. I saw him again and he said “I found my wife”…YAY! I said… the lady smiled and along our way we went…everyone with a smile.
The first time I went to this yoga studio that my husband gave me a gift card to try… they have a sauna business inside and I was chatting with the manager, a very nice lady from Spain. We had a great conversation, and she gave me some free passes to try the sauna since she thought it would help us destress. The passes were a nice gift, but her taking time to just sit and talk to me for a bit was the best part. My husband and I are trying to get out more, but we haven’t made any new friends yet, so I appreciate being able to connect with someone outside of chatting with a cashier at the grocery store.
Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.
I can’t think of anything recently from a stranger, but my Mom’s friend sent me a check for $333 after my emergency trip to see my daughter before her surgery. For my friend it would be an insult not to accept her gift, she is truly an angel!!
Today at work we wrapped 1000 gift for needy children, we do this every year – adopt children but the wrapping became a tradition a year ago and is a fun idea!
My former boss trying to help me find a job while I’m jobless (because I quit my job last month due to mental health issues which nobody knows) is the most kindest thing someone has done to me. He’s been helping me out in several different ways. He’s been the best.
Ahhh … just what I needed! I’ve been dogged all day by my habit of focusing on an UNkindness done me. You know how it goes … “Can you beLIEVE she did/said that? To ME?!” Oh just stop it, small self! Now I get to reel back the day and focus on the better. Let’s see … a stranger … the checkout girl at the grocery at lunch. Yeah, she was kind. I made some kind of joke and she smiled and laughed. So did the bag boy. Raised his eyebrows, nodded his head, both saying, “me too!” Me too. Best phrase for connection out there.
I think that the most recent time was the simple gesture of a stranger in my neighborhood waving as they drove by while I was walking to the mail box yesterday afternoon. I know the neighbors who live immediately around me, but this may have been a neighbor who lives further away or else someone who was visiting the neighborhood.
For the past 10 years I have been working on changing a long-standing habit of avoiding making eye contact with or greeting strangers. In some cultures, perhaps it would not be appropriate in all contexts to make eye contact with or greet a stranger, but in my town I think that is an appropriate and beneficial thing to do. My avoiding this had to do with my fearfulness and soon it became very habitual.
I have really been working on looking at someone in a car if I am at a crosswalk as a pedestrian, and waving them to go first or else giving them a wave of thanks if they are yielding to me. I try to smile and send them lovingkindness. It really gives me a jolt of joy and connection when they give a friendly wave back. I also try to greet other pedestrians, and look for opportunities to greet people in the grocery store, whether to motion them to go first through a crowded aisle or to thank them for letting me go first. I often wave to people in my immediate neighborhood even if I don’t know them, but my default when I am feeling tired or vulnerable is still to avoid eye contact. Yesterday, I almost avoided eye contact and then happened to look up and see this stranger waving at me. I was moved by the simple gesture of connection and gave a wave back.
Thank you Elizabeth H. You are adding goodness to the world each time you make that eye contact. What a difference it could make if we all did this.
It is also very much good for everyone’s mental health to laugh and smile, I learned that this year at a work wellness event : )
Elizabeth, you’re naming one of the things I most appreciate about walking or riding my bike in my town. We moved here 4 years ago and one of the first things I noticed was that pretty much everybody we pass will make eye contact and smile or say hello or comment on the weather. It creates that fleeting bond that makes me feel like I belong.
I recognize that eye contact isn’t comfortable for everyone and I wouldn’t force it, but when it happens it feels good.
People smiling at the airport today !
I was at Wal-Mart about a year or so ago. This guy had about $500.00 of his own stuff on the conveyor, turned around and looked at my $50.00 dollars worth of stuff and said, “let me pay for his as well.” We spoke, I thanked him and it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted and didn’t even say pay it forward. That was a beautiful gesture.
Definitely the strangers who stopped to help me in mid-January when I crashed hard on my bike on black ice. They were in the first vehicle that went by after I went down and stopped to help me. They put my bike on the sidewalk, offered to help me over to sit on the curb, and waited with me while I called my husband. They would have waited with me until he came but I thanked them and said they should go since he was only about five minutes away. If I hadn’t had someone to call I believe they would have taken me to the ER. So much kindness and so needed in that moment when I was very shaken up and in pain.
Those sound like some wonderful people who stopped to help you when you had your bike accident, Barb C! Stories like this restore my faith in humanity.
I realized the question was about the last time I was moved by kindness. This crash was such a big event that it has stuck with me and was the first one that came to mind.
I’m fortunate to give and receive small kindnesses all the time. This is a reminder to give them more attention in the moment, which would then allow me to feel moved by the experience and make them more memorable.
One kindness I do notice every time: When a driver passing me on my bike moves over the full lane to leave plenty of room. Most drivers here do that and I appreciate it so much. It leaves a safety buffer. (It’s also state law but I doubt many people know that it got changed a couple of years ago.)
As a fellow biker, Barb, I really appreciate what you say about sharing the road. When that occurs I often think we are all taking care of each other out here on the road.
There are little kindnesses all the time. The trick is to be open to them. Embracing kindness tends to open you up to these little acts, and in this world, you get what you give. Holding a door open, letting someone go ahead in a line, a wave, a smile, go a long way.
Kindness changed my life. I had the opportunity (well, it was actually imposed upon me 😁) and I saw people in their most vulnerable and challenging moment, offer kindness to others and me. This became a guide for me. I wanted to be like that. I wanted to offer kindness even when it scared me. Even when it made me feel uncomfortable. This changed my life and it changed me. When I feel overwhelmed or unsettled, I try to remember that my only goal is kindness.
Mark Twain
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”
Dalai Lama XIV
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. And be kinder than is necessary”
Charles and Michelle, I took a screenshot of your quotes. I want to refer to them again and again. Thank you both.
Your reflection on kindness makes me think of a Cinderella quote I love – ‘Be kind, have courage and always believe in a little magic’
Yes, I truly believe that kindness is key!
Be kind. So simple but yet so powerful. Thank you, Charlie T.
Love the quotes, Charlie!
Reading them together
was especially impactful for me.
Reading about kindness
in your sharing and inthe others
has warmed my heart.
I was especially moved by your Dalai Lama quote.
♥️♥️♥️
Thank you, Charlie!! Kindness is important for all of us to pass on…Thannk you forn your experiences and thank you so much for the quotes. I always learn dsomething from your posts.
What a moving story about your opportunity to see people offering kindness in their most vulnerable and challenging moment, Charlie T! If you ever feel moved to share more about it, I would love to hear.
Thank you for these quotations and your goal, Charlie.
The kindness of another shopper at the grocery store this week. At five feet tall, I cannot always reach what I need when it is on a high shelf. She assisted me and shared that her Mom has the same issue having lost height due to age. She had such a warm and compassionate energy and I could feel the love she has for her own mother and was sharing with me. Today’s quote from Ram Dass maybe think of another Dass quote, “We’re all just walking each other home.” How powerful it would be if our egoic minds could truly embrace that perspective!
Amen to you and Ram Dass, Carol. Thank you.
Carol, Thank you for that Ram Dass quote…it is beautiful and I can just picture it in my mind. Something to remember for sure. Blessings to you.
A few weeks back I was rerouted because of emergency equipment in the street. The street I was routed to is more of a neighborhood. In one of the front yards was large pink elephant, and a pink flying pig. Also in the yard were several painted wagon wheels. It definitely put a smile on my face after a small I convenience.
The person ahead of me in the Starbucks drive through paid for my order.
I thought about who this person was. I never saw them and did not notice their car.
Doing something nice for someone and not getting any credit for it.
Being generous with no thought of recognition.
I was surprised and very touched by this. ♥️
Did you pay it forward to the car behind you?
Oh you received a “pay it forward’ – love it!
I try to make note of it any time I go out. When someone holds the door for another, when someone says bless you if another sneezed, when a car lets the other into their lane, when a compliment is given, when they smile at another. The world can be a cruel place, but there’s still moments of pure goodness and that’s what I have to remind myself.
so very true!
So wise and uplifting to tune into this Jenifer.
I also wanted to mention if anyone would be interested in doing a group video call? Maybe once a month? Just a space to talk and reflect. or Maybe do a simple meditation and discussion? Let me know what y’all think 🧡
Good idea:)
Sounds like a nice idea : )
Sounds good to me Jenifer.
I’d be interested in this. I joined a women’s group early in the pandemic that became such a warm community even though we only knew each other through the shared experience of signing up for a movement/meditation experience that met several times. We continued with monthly calls after the course ended.
Good idea.
On a crowded, standing-room -only city bus, a young man asked me if I wanted his seat, and cheerfully and gladly got up when I said “yes, please.” Heart-warming since this not as common an experience as I would expect. People are tired and just want to sit down.
I love that this young man was paying attention. Thank you, Maeve.
I was at walmart one day and a young man asked me if I needed a grocery cart. I completely forgot about that. I had my hands full. Certainly unexpected and kind!
Maeve, Sadly that gesture is often rare these days.
Just yesterday…I had just come from cardiac rehab and had to make a stop at the mall. I cannot tell you the last time I was to the mall. I am not a shopper and this time of year…I stay away!! However; I needed a gift from the kitchen store. As I was walking from my car…a older man (most likely my age!!_) called out “Hey Girly that is a grat coat”….I turned around and smiled at him …and said. :Just a few days ago I said to my husband that I needed a new winter coat…he said “WHY? Everytime you wear that coat you get a compliment”….Hmm.. that is true…but the zipper is giving me trouble and it is getting worn…I have a thousand reasons why!!! The gentleman and I walked to the door of the mall together…we both said how we did not like the cold anymore. I asked if he traveled during the winter…”We can’t – my wife has alot of medical problems- but I would love to”. I said that I had recently had a heart attack–but was grateful that we would still be able to travel…He said that is great…and “Let me get the door for you” and then another door…That small act of kindness and that conversation made my heart sing. Nowadays not many men open a door for a lady- stranger or not…and that was a great gift to me…The doors are very heavy- and having someone to chat with was wonderful. I saw him again and he said “I found my wife”…YAY! I said… the lady smiled and along our way we went…everyone with a smile.
Pure sweetness, Nannette. Thank you.
I’m not a man but I hold the door for whomever I can 🙂 Your story is uplifting Nannette.
yes I do also all the time!
love this- heart warming!
What a lovely encounter!
The first time I went to this yoga studio that my husband gave me a gift card to try… they have a sauna business inside and I was chatting with the manager, a very nice lady from Spain. We had a great conversation, and she gave me some free passes to try the sauna since she thought it would help us destress. The passes were a nice gift, but her taking time to just sit and talk to me for a bit was the best part. My husband and I are trying to get out more, but we haven’t made any new friends yet, so I appreciate being able to connect with someone outside of chatting with a cashier at the grocery store.
That’s great! Yes takes time, some communities have a newcomer’s group. But I also find libraries have a lot of activities going on thru out the year.
When one moves, it takes time to become part of the community. Glad you were able to connect with the yoga studio manager.