HelpOthers.org: Anonymous Acts of Kindness

My Children Lift A Heavy Heart

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

My son, daughter, and I have been trying to write to people in our family and friends who are going through difficult times. So, recently we decided to make personal note cards for this purpose. My children sat down immediately and wrote to my brother with cancer, my sister with a sick husband, and an elderly friend living in a nursing center. I was so proud of them for being so thoughtful!

Then, my son went out of the room and I heard a lot of whispering between my daughter and him. Well, my sister was over and had mentioned that a very close friend of hers (an elderly lady battling breast cancer) was having a birthday. Knowing that she loves angels, he and my daughter found a beautiful picture of an angel online, they printed it out, and he made her a gorgeous birthday card to cheer her day.

The next day she called him and told him that her day had started out very tough. Then, when she received his card, it completely changed her entire day! She couldn't thank him enough.

I was so proud of him and of my daughter. It just proves that when we take an extra few minutes out of our day to let someone know we are thinking of him/her, it can make all the difference in the world! It changed that sweet, and very sick lady's entire perspective on her birthday!

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A Saturday Well Spent

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Today my heart is full of joy and gratefulness for my family and for the beautiful people I encountered today. My husband worked all night as a police volunteer and got home at 5.30 a.m. in the morning and then left at 4 p.m. this afternoon for another shift. My daughter spent the morning with some friends and neighbors raising money for a very famous charity in our town and also helped one of her friend's dad raise money for a sponsored climb of a mountain in Morocco.

And what did I do? Well, I bought some cakes for my daughter and her friend and gave a smile card to the gentleman that was selling the cakes, plus a card that said, "May all your days be filled with Love." I went to the library and left the cards inside the magazines and books and on the shelves so people could find them. I went to one of the charity shops in town and I saw a lady that is always there, I guess one could say that she is a professional volunteer and she is always smiling. I heard her mention the lottery for some reason so, I went out and bought her a thank you card and a cake and inside of the card I put a lottery ticket. I wish I could have seen her face.

I went to my favorite coffee shop and I left more cards in the magazines. They had some organic vegetables for sale on a small table outside with an "honesty" cup for payment so I overpaid for my lettuce and carrots and left some cards inside the cup. The I came back and picked up the girls and gave some cash to my neighbor to sponsor his mountain climb and took the girls out for lunch.

And now I am home feeling the bliss of a well-spent Saturday.

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Morning Walk

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:17:39 -0800

It was a beautiful morning and I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and go out for a walk. I was feeling grateful for the fresh air, sun shining, and birds chirping and all of a sudden came across this sign on the sidewalk! It said "good morning, go on an adventure, make a stranger smile".

What a wonderful and unexpected message to read! Random acts of kindness come in so many different shapes and forms, I'm scheming of how to pay it forward this week!

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Be Open. Be Ready. Look for Opportunities to be Kind.

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:12:55 -0800

Today I prayed for ideas on ways to be kind.

My first opportunity came at a restaurant. A little girl dropped a dollar and walked off. I picked up the dollar and ran after her, giving it to her mother. "She dropped this," I said.

Then at the store, there was an elderly man looking at firewood. He had a cane, and I couldn't see him carrying the firewood by himself, so I approached him and asked if he needed help. He said that he was just looking, but he seemed grateful that I asked.

Inside the store, I found a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Uncertain who to give them to, I got into the check-out line. I only had two items, but a man came behind me with one, so I let him go first.

I bought my mother her favorite candy bar, and I had the flowers but no one to give them to. Before I could reach my car, I spied a woman maybe in her mid thirties coming in my direction. With a big smile on my face, I skipped up to her and said "Ma'am, these are for you!"

She looked around and back at me and said, "Me?"

I said, "Yes, they're for you. God bless you, and have a wonderful day!"

I then turned and walked away. My mom, who was waiting in the car, said the lady had a big smile on her face... and she (Mom) enjoyed her chocolate bar.

Be open. Be ready. Look for opportunities.

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Starting A New Life With Smile Cards

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

I have been trying recently to help a young girl who begs on the street.

Well, a few days ago she shared some good news with me. She has been offered a job in another town! It's about 150 km away and she will be moving there in a week or so.

Realizing that moving and starting a new job would require several things she couldn't afford I picked up a $50 Walmart gift card and gave it to her along with ten Smile cards.

I explained that this was actually two gifts. The Walmart card was one gift but the smile cards were her way to pay it forward in thanks for all who had helped her. I explained that the best gift of all would be the joy she would find in using those cards.

Her smile, the heart felt thank you, and the sincere look of gratitude on her face were all the thanks I needed.

I will probably never see her again but the warmth I felt knowing she now has the opportunity to start a new life made it all worthwhile.

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Broken Bodies, Broken Minds, Amazing Spirits!

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Yesterday I went to the nursing home to visit my step mom’s grandma.

She just got out of the hospital recently where she underwent some serious operations. I wanted to surprise her after work so I stopped by for a quick visit.

When I got there she was happy to see me. We hugged, kissed and exchanged greetings. Then I heard a woman crying. It was my great grandma’s roommate. The curtain was drawn so I could not see her. She started calling out a name that wasn't mine but she was definitely talking to me, begging me to go to her side of the room.

I ignored her at first and continued visiting with my great grandma. Then she started begging and saying, “Please, come see me!" So I went to see her.

When I drew the curtain back she looked so old and frail but flashed me the biggest smile! She opened her arms wide for me to hug her so I bent low and gave her a hug. She held me so tight and would not let go. I had to force myself to pull away from her and I hated doing it. I sat on her bed and talked with her for a few minutes. She kept calling me by the other name but I did not correct her. She told me stories like I had been there when they happened.

Eventually I went back to visit with my great grandma. Then the other woman started crying again, saying, “Please, come back." She eventually dozed and when she woke up again she said some of the most beautiful and heartwarming prayers I have ever heard. My great grandma told me how they prayed together at night.

I stopped by the nurse’s station and the nurse told me that the lady suffers from Alzheimer's, otherwise known as dementia. I mentioned the name she had called me. The nurse told me it was the lady’s daughter’s name. Then I understood why she wanted me to go visit with her.

It was a heart-breaking experience but it gave me a new perspective on life.

We will all get old someday. Some of us will have broken minds like my great grandma’s roommate and some of us will have broken bodies like my great grandma. But what was beautiful was the fact that both ladies, one 86 and the other 90, did not have broken spirits.

As I was leaving I promised I would go back and visit the lady, even after my great grandma moves back to her home state.

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Lonesome Boy At A Gas Station

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

I have been fortunate enough to come from a family that has always been there for me, no matter what. Like all other families we have our differences of opinions, our fall-outs, our arguments, but we always make up and all is well again. Even in my high school and college days – misbehaving in abundance – I had supportive parents who would discipline me, but always left the door open.

I was at the gas station filling up one day when I saw a boy in his teens. (I was a college student then.) I noticed there was something not quite right about the situation. He sat on the corner with his head hanging low. Then he saw a guy walking by and proceeded to ask him for change. The guy mocked him and laughed at him.

I was so saddened by this. I walked over to the boy and asked why he was out on the street on his own.

He told me he had been kicked out by his mom and dad and had nowhere to go. I was so upset but I managed to say, “Well, I think you should try and work things out with them but, until then, here’s a twenty.”

I walked away with tears in my eyes for the lonesome boy and a newfound appreciation for my parents, and the doors they always left open for their children.

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