Neighbourly Kindness Starts A Commitment To Kindness

A couple of months ago I was renting a house to work from. I was fairly well set up, but didn't own a lawn mower and after a week or two realised I would have to find some way to deal with the growing grass! Funds were short, and I was on a fairly tight budget which didn't extend to paying a lawn mowing company.

I was thinking about this one Sunday as the "Mr Whippy" ice cream van pulled up outside on the street. I hadn't had a Mr Whippy ice cream for years, and on impulse I grabbed my coin purse, shook it to gauge affordability, and headed outside. On the pavement were three young boys aged around 10 years playing. I think a couple of them may have been from next door, but I was new there and hadn't really met anyone yet.

It was a hot day and I asked them if they'd like an ice cream. "Yes, please," they replied enthusiastically. At that moment a fourth boy joined them from the neighboring house. Yes, please, he'd love one too!! As the universe would have it, there was just enough change to cover five ice creams. 

As I left the van, I heard the lady serving the boys say, "that was a really kind thing that lady did for you boys. Don't forget to thank her." I smiled as I went inside to carry on working.

I left for work that evening, and didn't return until the Tuesday morning. As I drove into the drive, I realised something was different.  Yes, my lawns had been mowed and my gardens had been weeded. I felt this enormous warmth rush into my heart and a smile stretch across my face. 

Instinctively, I knew my neighbors had done this for me, and went to thank them straight away.

How would they know that this act of kindness not only made a big difference to me.

- Posted by thebigkind 

Doing Something Out Of The Ordinary

I have just done something out of the ordinary, and it felt fantastic. I found myself with a couple of hours free and nothing to do so I  decided to go to a low cost supermarket and made up 3 bags of food costing about £10 each. I then proceeded to drive to a very deprived part of my town where I knocked on the three most shabby looking doors and waited.

Once the door was answered, I simply said: "I know things can be hard sometimes and we all need a little help, I hope this comes in handy." I handed over the shopping, smiled, turned around and walked away. The look on the people's faces was priceless. The food fed the people and the gesture fed my soul.

As always, "we make a living out of what we get but we make a life out of what we give!!"

- By Etseth 

A Tale of Two Tags

Some months ago, my husband and I had tried tagging some military personnel and it had not materialized. Imagine our surprise when we landed at the same airport last month and noticed that there were military personnel waiting around in order to be shipped to some frontier. We literally rubbed our hands with glee and decided to tag them - and hopefully manage to complete it. Here is the story of the two tags - and both the tags (irrespective of the end result) left a great impact on us.

Tag 1 (6  months ago):

It was the end of our vacation and while we were waiting at the airport for our flight home, we noticed that there were a lot of military personnel waiting to be shipped out.  We had a thought - why don't we tag them with all with a beverage of their choice before they boarded their special flight.

So we went to the McDonald's in the airport and approached the manager. He was a young man and was initially a little puzzled that we wanted to tag the soldiers anonymously with a free drink. He was, however, sporting enough to want to help with the tag. Checking with the airline, we figured that there were about 127 soldiers in the airport, and we handed the manager about Rs. 3,500/-in cash to pay for a beverage for each of the soldiers.We asked the McDonalds manager to approach the carrier and make a PSA to the soldiers to step to their counter for a free drink - as a thank you from the country's grateful  citizens.

The manager approached the airline who refused to make the PSA as they could not understand why we wanted to do it. So the manager told us that he will go ahead and inform a couple of the army people waiting in the lounge and ask them to pass on the message to other army personnel in the lounge. So we walked back to where we had left our luggage, feeling a sense of warm glow.

Just our luck - the airline decided to make an announcement that the army personnel should board their flight immediately. And it was with a sense of disappointment that we watched them leave. We were disappointed that none of the army people had been tagged as the announcement came immediately after the manager had approached the first army person. However the manager said that he felt very warm and touched to see such a gesture, and gave us a free ice-cream (his way of paying-it-forward) ;)

Tag 2 (Fast forward to last month) :

At the end of another trip, we landed in the same airport to take our return flight home. And voila! The karma of RAK had sent a whole contingent of army people who were waiting in the airport for their flight. So we immediately went to the nearby snack shop where they sold pre-packaged snacks and sweets, explained the Smile Card concept to the manager there, and requested for his help.

He caught on to the idea at once, and asked one of his colleagues to select the snack items that could be used for the tag. While his colleague prepared the snack bags, we paid for 25 snack bags. We then asked him and his colleague to go around the airport offering a snack bag to each of the personnel stating that it was a thank you from all the citizens. We did not wait to see how the tag went, but I do hope it brought about a smile in a couple of hearts :)

- Unknown

Even Difficult Times Can Be Kind Times

Good sense might have suggested I stay in today. There was snow on the ground and we really don't have any money to be spending right now. 

But, there were a couple of things I needed, so I gathered what cash I had together and hopped on to the bus to the next town (hoping it wouldn't slip off the road on an icy patch.)

Once in town one of the first thing I saw was a brass band! They had taken over an empty shop and were setting up to perform in the window. I didn't get to hear a toot out of them, but I did see they were "busking" for donations. The money raised would buy gifts for local needy children.

A I slipped a note into the collection bucket the woman holding it finished a sentence to another man with the words, "... even the bad times are good." The she smiled at me. I said, "God bless." She said, "Thank you - and God bless you!"

A few steps closer to the shopping mall, I saw the Big Issue seller. (Big Issue is a magazine sold by homeless folk.) I've talked to Gabriel lots of times and I know his mother, back in Romania, has a heart problem. I hadn't seen him for weeks. Sure enough, he'd had another emergency phone call and had rushed to Romania fearing he might not get there in time to say goodbye. Thankfully, his mother, while not exactly well, was back in her home. 

But for how long he didn't know.

So, we talked a while, then I bought a magazine for way above the cover price. Contributing, I reckoned, towards his next European dash. He shook my hand and said, "God bless you, my friend!"

Well, by the time I reached the shopping mall I didn't have enough money left to buy what I'd set out for. I wandered around for a while, window shopped and people watched. On my way back to the bus stop I counted my money. Not enough to do anything with, but too much to waste. So, I bought Gabriel a tea and a doughnut. On a day like this one I thought he might appreciate the warmth.

He really did!

So, heading home, I could have counted it a wasted day. I'd set out with a little money. I came back with none - and nothing to show for it. But! Some children I would never meet would get gifts. Gabriel's hands would be warmer. I had the happy realisation that my mum was well and only half an hour's walk from my house should I need to get to her. And two people had 'God-blessed' me.

How did I feel? I felt just like the Salvation Army woman had said - "Even the bad times are good!"

- Author Unknown

Three Words of Wisdom: "Don't We All?"

One evening I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was, what society would consider, a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of the "don't want to be bothered" times."I hope he doesn't ask me for money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop and he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very nice car," he said. He was ragged but had an air of dignity around him.I said, "Thanks," and continued wiping off my car.He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside me said, "Ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say yes, but I held true to the inner voice."Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke three words that shook me.
"Don't we all?" he said.
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. -- Cal
by jaydeebug