This is going to be a bit of a throwback to 2012, but if you know Joe Bereta, you’re likely aware that he was a part of SourceFed where he, at one point, had a news segment called Feelin’ Good. As you might’ve guessed already, it covered news that was all about them good vibes.
Anywho, one bit that naturally evolved from all of this is Joe’s excessively physical and just out there exposition of good—nae, ecstatic— positive emotions, followed by him saying “feelin’ good!” many times. Like this (4:00).
All of this just to explain exactly how you might end up feeling after reading this listicle.
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I'm a wheelchair user. At a baseball game, a little girl came running up to me and climbed on to my lap. Her mom was apologetic but I told her it was fine, no worries-- looking at the girl's face, I could tell she had some kind of developmental disability. Mom explained to me that the little girl's grandfather used a wheelchair and she missed him. I rolled around a little to give her a ride, she giggled and had a good time, then she climbed off and went back to her mom.
I was in an abusive relationship and it ended with him beating me up very badly. Broken ribs, bruises and cuts all over me. He was arrested, but the process and aftermath was hell. It was spring and the weather was warming, but for weeks I wore long sleeves and high collars to hide the cuts and bruises. Eventually everything healed and faded except one very deep bruise on my upper arm. I had had enough of hiding them in shame so one day I said f**k it and wore short sleeves. I was standing in line in Walmart and noticed this rough biker looking dude staring at me. I thought he was checking me out or whatever. Then he asked me how I got that bruise on my arm. I stumbled answering and he outright asked "Did somebody hurt you?". For some reason I decided to be honest and not lie in shame so I said out loud "Yes, somebody hurt me." He looked at me me and in the kindest voice said "You did not deserve that. Whoever it was will get what's due to them one day." For some reason, that was a turning point for me. I knew then that I was going to be ok. I knew that no matter how things turned out legally, that I was going to be ok. I never saw that man again, but I honestly think he was an angel sent to give me a message.
Somewhat related. BACA dudes were some ofthe scariest-looking, kindest men I’ve ever come across.
On my honeymoon in Greece we nearly got stranded driving our little scooter back from a day trip. Finally found a petrol station in this village but it was during afternoon nap/siesta time. We apologised as best we could in the little Greek we knew. The guy obliged but looked a little annoyed. He casually asks where we are from and we tell him New Zealand.
His face lights up and is amazed because he had never met someone from NZ before. He asks us what are we doing so far away from home, we tell him that it’s our honeymoon.
He tells us to wait there and comes back with a bottle of wine that’s obviously worth more than the €6 of petrol we are buying. He refuses for us to round up the bill or for us to buy anything.
He just tells us “honeymoon is honeymoon, be happy, go”
Hands down one of the best highlights of our trip.
While it is so easy to fall into a spiral cluster-truck of bitterness, it turns out being kind and caring is the better thing to do. Not only because it’s the socially right thing, but also because there are mental health benefits as well.
The Mental Health Foundation, the UK’s leading charity for everyone’s mental health, discussed this at length, explaining that there’s actual hard science behind good deeds.
A few years ago, I was experiencing deep depression. My life was a mess, my apartment was a mess, I was a mess. For a moment, I decided to just go to the park and sit for a while, as I was really at the end of my rope and had zero idea on what to do.
Out of nowhere, a kid, possibly about three or four years, comes and hands me three yellow dandalions and runs back to her mom.
I don't know why, but I always remember that. That day, I went home and cleaned my apartment and made it more tidy. I wouldn't say that my life miracurously changed, but I will say that, that one moment of kindness, that neither the kid nor the mom probably remember, was one of the most memorable moments in my life.
**Edit:** You guys realize you are making a grown up ugly cry, right? I mean, that must be criminal.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and rewards!
I once took my son to a local science center for a day of fun. I also have cerebral palsy. I get around well enough. Sometimes I use a wooden cane, but I'm alright unsupported. I rock a mean limp and have terrible balance, but if you were to see me walking around most would just assume I had been injured at some point.
While walking around I spotted this woman with a young daughter of maybe 7-8 using a walker and sporting a pair of leg braces. The mother and I locked eyes a few times throughout our free roaming day until eventually our kids started interacting with the same exhibit. We were standing there watching them and I turned to the mother and before I could even speak she said:
"Cerebral palsy. You too, huh?"
We ended up spending the rest of our day together chatting about our lives and experiences and going over the many advancements and therapies that have been developed since my childhood.
She ended up telling me at the end of the day that seeing me being a single dad to my son and being so independent in spite of my disability gave her a lot of peace of mind. She said she worried a lot about what her daughter's future might hold in terms of her independence.
It was just an all around really nice experience.
I was in Walmart one day and some dude was blocking the aisle where the item I needed was located. I then heard him ask a Walmart employee where the cabinet liners were. She proceeded to say she wasn't sure and started to send him to the wrong location.
I nosily piped up: I know where they are. If you want to follow me I will take you to them because I just bought some last week.
The man: Oh, ok. Thank you.
He followed me to the opposite side of the store and I showed him where they were. He thanked me again and I hurried back to the other side of the store to get what I needed.
Five minutes later at the self checkouts the man showed up and I saw him just hanging around with his bag of purchases on his arm. When it came time to pay he stepped up and insisted on paying for my items. I thanked him profusely.
At the time I only had $35 in my bank account and was trying to purchase food for the week. This man who I was so annoyed with helped me so much. I still tear up when I think of his kindness. I am a single mother of two wonderful kids and this was my miracle.
To be on the same page, the MHF defined kindness as choosing to do things that help you or others, motivated by sincere intent and feeling. This includes things like volunteering, doing things for a good cause, random acts of kindness, and the like. It can be as simple as offering to make a coworker a cuppa java or paying for someone’s food order while they’re in the restroom.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon just came out in theaters. I had been planning to go see it on my next day off. I didn’t have a car so relied on the bus. The day of the movie came and there was a snow storm. I walked downtown to get the bus but there was a sign saying all buses cancelled due to snow.
I was super bummed out and walked over to the local coffee shop. I ordered a coffee and was telling the owner how disappointed I was that I couldn’t get to the movies. There was an older woman sitting in the shop and she overheard us.
She looked at me and said ‘I really want to see that movie too. Let’s go, I’ll drive’
So that the day me and a perfect stranger went out to lunch and to see a movie together.
About a year later I started seeing this guy in town and his downstairs neighbor was the lady who took me to the movies all those months earlier. We had stopped by her house for her to get a sweater before the movies. I told the guy ‘me and your neighbor went to see Crouching Tiger together’
He was like-that was you? She went on and on about how cool it was to go to the movies w you.
I had just lost my job and my dad had his card stolen. He was waiting on the bank but completely out of food and living in an old, run down RV. I would have figured SOMETHING out. I’d die before I let him starve. Right as he’s almost in tears talking to me about it, someone knocked on the door.
A lady had food for someone in an RV, but those people had vacated the parking lot and she wanted to know if my dad needed any. (Some sort of local helping hands org.)
There was everything from canned goods, to fresh meat, milk, pasta. Everything. She had bought it with her own money and didn’t want it to go to waste.
I’ll never forget the timing, or her generosity.
More than 20 years ago, when I was still a teenager, I was on vacation with my parents. There were a lot of problems and fights I couldn't handle and it came to the point that I had a suicide attempt. I snuck out of the hotel roo, crying rivers, and tried to jump off a railing in the courtyard of the hotel. A cleaning lady must have seen me. At the moment I was on the other side of the railing, the lady pulled me back to her side, took me in her arms -very firmly and lovingly- stroked my head while crying and told me that everything would be okay. Every pain passes. I could never say thanks, but this lady changed my life and I never had such terrible intentions again. She gave me something no one else could do at this moment. Thank you, stranger woman.
Besides just feeling downright good, partaking in acts of kindness (whether random or planned) creates a sense of belonging among people and reduces feelings of isolation. Volunteering is a perfect example of this because, as a volunteer, you belong to an organization that doubles as a community that reaches out to other communities. Bonding all around. And all the face-to-face interaction only adds to the experience.
I was in a bookstore and heard a young girl ask her mother for a book. The mother answered, 'I think that's a movie you can see on TV. You can watch that; you don't need to READ it.' (It was the book Chocolat.) Being a voracious reader who also never had support for my book addiction, I was enraged, so I bought the book, found the girl in the stacks, handed it to her, and whispered, 'Keep reading.' Her eyes lit up. I don't know who enjoyed that moment more, but it might have been me.
I was traveling from the South of England to the North of Scotland to start a new job the next morning. I had taken a train up to London and was supposed to get on an early morning flight from Heathrow. The bus to the airport however, was cancelled and I had to make my own way using a series of night buses. However it was about 2:30 a.m. and my phone was dead, and I had never used London's night buses before.
I was young and a little scared,standing in the middle of Victoria trying to figure out the faded bus schedule when a woman came up to me and asked "Are you alright love?" And I explained through tears that I thought I was going to miss my flight and didn't even have an oyster card.
She looked up my route on her phone, wrote down all the possible variations of buses and trains that I would need to take, including the times. She waited with me the entire time, like twenty minutes, THEN when the bus came up she paid for my fare( no cash on London buses). I got out and looked to her and she shrugged and said " oh I'm not getting the bus, you just looked like you needed someone."
I think about her every once in a while, and I'm incredibly grateful for her.
EDITED for clarity
I've shared this story before, but I'll never forget this experience.
When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which one I wanted to get and then decided after I'd gone through them all.
One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, "Promise me that you'll keep reading." I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. She smiled and walked away and I went back to my piles able to pick out an extra 10 books to take home.
It was just a small act of kindness for her, but for me having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued love of reading. This was probably 22-23 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book.
My childhood pediatrician saw how much I read in his waiting room… he let me take home my favorite book home. Still remember him with incredible fondness 30 years later.
Another huge benefit is that acts of kindness provide perspective. The MHF references studies that conclude awareness of our own acts of kindness and things that we feel grateful for have great potential for boosting general feelings of happiness, optimism, and satisfaction. In turn, this leads to a more positive outlook on life and your own predicament in it.
Once I worked at a bookstore. Saw a big heavyset dude in overalls come in and I assumed he’d beeline right to the gun magazine section of our store (rural area so you kind of got a feel of where people would go once they walked in) so I didn’t initially pay him much attention. I turn around from checking a person out at the main register area and he’s standing there waiting his turn patiently. So I asked him what he was in need of, and he mentioned he had a book on order held back for him. He said it was the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Kind of caught me by surprise that a man that looked like a country bumpkin was picking this particular book up, and in my head I assumed it was for his wife. Found the book and started ringing him up and started chatting with him, and realized the book was in fact for him. I’ll never forget what he said because even though it was such a small moment in life it changed me a little bit. He said, ‘I think it’s important to read books like this about other cultures than ours. The news always makes the Afghan people seem so bad, but his (Khaled Hosseini) first book Kite Runner gives a good glimpse of what life was like over there and made me think twice about how I was judging those people.’ Talk about making me feel like an a*****e, here I was judging him for how he looked and he goes and pulls this on me. I purchased Kite Runner that day and read it and it set into motion a lot of thoughts I had about how I judge and look at others. To this day I try my best to see the position others might be in before I judge them unfairly. And I often fail at not judging people based on how they look, but I now try to remind myself when I do how unfair it is. It was only a 2 minute interaction with this man that I had never seen before and will never see again, but damn if it hasn’t likely made me a better person as a result.
Judging people based on how they look is normal, you categorize them. If you woudn't, everything would be a new experience and overwhelming. The part that shows you have grown is the part that comes next: your ability to understand you have categorized, and the ability to not act (negatively) on that and be able to adjust your first assumptions.
I have bright hair (currently teal) and moved from Orlando to a very small southern town. I get "the look" a lot, especially from older people. I was walking through the parking lot of an Ingles one day and an old lady (maybe 70ish) yelled out to me "Your hair matches your shorts! THATS SO CUTE!!!". It kinda made my day haha
Once we moved into our new place, a neighbor kid knocked on my door. When I answered he asked if I had any kids. I told him that I didnt. He goes "AW MAN!! I just need friends!" and ran off lol.
I guess this can be perceived as pathetic by some people and thats ok but I used to go to school with a bunch of horrible people. I'm disabled so I look and walk weird. Every time I'd go out for lunch to my favourite food place and see them, they'd hurl insults.
Anyway, I was standing in a long queue and they were behind me. There was an old lady (maybe like 70-80) behind them. They were making fun of my walk (I sorta cant walk straight bc I had a stroke as a kid) and this old lady called them a "bunch of cruel twats".
It was really kind of her to stand up to them. I always will remember that.
Honestly some people are total idiots but I'm glad the old lady stood up for you.
All this positivity piles up over time to create a long-lasting effect that ultimately improves our self-esteem and makes us more confident about stuff. And that applies to both those who offer kindness and those who benefit from it.
Just make sure you follow three basic concepts when you make the decision to channel more kindness towards others: do something you enjoy, keep others in mind, and don’t overdo it. Easy enough, right?
When I was 18 I had a friend in the hospital with brain cancer. His time was limited. I visited him when I could. He was kind of hippie alternative punk. I wore a leather jacket and had long hair. I walked to his room, a nurse saw me. Without saying a word she walked to me and gave me a long comforting hug. That's how I knew he passed.
For context, I'm a fat lesbian. While grocery shopping, I saw a man about my age (mid-20's) who was clearly putting a lot of effort into his appearance and it was working. He had two-toned dyed hair (one half blonde, the other black), was wearing some well-done makeup that I couldn't do, bright purple jeans, good tattoos, etc. Overall, the look worked, and he'd clearly put effort into it.
I said excuse me and mentioned that I thought he looked very happy and confident and good. The dude began crying in the middle of the supermarket. I felt so guilty for reducing a stranger to tears like that, but he explained it was because I'd made his day and he very rarely got complimented. Made me sad-happy at the same time, but mainly happy. :)
I'm sitting at a red light with my wife and son. I'm directly behind a yellow school bus full of kids.
Some of the kids were just being kids and making faces out the window at cars, etc. A small group of kids were gathered near the back of the bus looking at us.
All of a sudden, one kid does the "Gangnam Style" crossing the wrists and bobbing the hands up and down part.
I do it right back to him, with a huge grin on my face. Then I do the part where you stick your arm up in the air and twirl it around while moving your head back and forth.
By this time just about the entire bus was watching and as the light turned green I heard them absolutely erupting with laughter.
Best red light ever.
Whenever kids wave in traffic I wave back, they always seem so happy to get a wave back lol
Kindness does, however, come with its challenges that stem from a number of factors. A major factor here is personality. Everyone has one, with all the pros and cons included. But instead of focusing on the negatives, try to credit yourself for the things that make you great. It also helps to do some self-reflection and to find people you’re compatible with to help with letting your kindness out.
i was walking home from work one day and there were two young guys cleaning out back of the local cinema. one was singing a bit (i think it was a disney song). his mate told him "she's going to think you're a weirdo", so i joined in and sang the rest of the song with him while i strolled down the street. never let someone else narrate your story.
I was in the Navy. It was the disco era. A group of us, in uniform, were waiting for transport. Some random guy calls out 'In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas...' (the Village People's song). Little did he know that WE knew the whole song, and the moves from the video. SHOWTIME! He got the whole performance.
I was flying between Melbourne and Brisbane and found myself sitting next to a nun not much older than me. We chatted for the whole two hours about life, death and infinity. It was really pleasant, much more than I thought it would be.
As we were landing, after we exchanged goodbyes, she looked me straight in the eyes, touched me on the arm, and said, " God bless you".
I felt uplifted and strangely humbled, especially as I am an atheist.
I think it's probably because it is said with so much more meaning and good intent, then just a casually expression. Also, she looked you in your eyes, she saw you. Sometimes you meet people who really "see" a person. It's the genuine interest and attention they have for you, without prejudices and something more. That's special.
I was about 15 and crying on a step downtown because social anxiety was really a struggle for me. After a while, a girl of about 20 stopped just to ask me what was the matter. It took a lot, but I just opened up to her as she gently held me on her shoulder and wiped my tears away. As I smiled before we went our separate ways, she promised me that things would get better. I was skeptical at first, but I always remembered our words whenever I was feeling sad. I really think she might have saved me from suicide. Leah, thank you again. I will truly never forget you!
Worrying about what others think is another big challenge. If you focus on what others think, insecurity and fear might start coming out. However, working on accepting yourself, feeling comfortable in your skin and overcoming confidence and self-esteem issues can go a long way in terms of pushing away the tide of negativity coming from your own thoughts of what others might think.
I was working at a local supermarket doing some construction and this little girl walks past with her dad. She stops and calls out: dad look, a girl builder. Had a little chat with her and she goes in to the shops. On her way out she runs back and has another chat with me. She was four years old. Very bright little one. It was just very heart warming how she recognised something like a female working in a male dominated industry. I had a really bad day dealing with the builder who was being a bully because I couldn't be there first thing in the morning due to having to drop my kids off to school first.
My last job was working for the TSA. It was a pretty miserable job and most people didn't like you. I was just having a horrible day filled with personal issues and work issues and this nice older lady asked if I was ok. I had the standard, yeah I'm doing fine. And she asked if I could use a hug. I had a blank stare for a second, and then just hugged her. Probably the nicest thing anyone ever did for me when I worked for there. The world needs more people like her. ❤️
1.5 years ago, I had AAA come to to my house to give my dead brother's car a jump. Our Mom had just died. That saintly AAA guy saved my life that day.
I was traveling to the National parks in Utah. In the hotel parking lot I noticed I had a flat. I was very flustered because I was worried about the cost of replacing the tire on top of the rental company charging me extra
As I was struggling with the tire, a group of Hispanic men came over to help me out to replace. They offered me a corona beer, and we all shared a beer, and they took me through the process, guiding me but still having me do most of the work on my own as a learning experience
They refused a tip at the end.
Edit-
I’ll also add that this was a formative moment for someone growing up in the wealthy white south. Growing up my only interactions or memories with people that were Hispanic were moments like my parents not letting us play outside when the neighbors had a Mexican lawn crew out, my parents complaints when the spanish speaking waiter messed up our order, etc.
Even though I wasn’t racist, that moment made me stop and think of my parents and people I grew up with in a different light. It made me go from “All races are fine” to “Wow my parents and the people I grew up with are a major problem”
Off topic but is this an Artificial Intelligence generated image? Take a look at the right hand through the rim, not on the tire?
Remember that kindness begets kindness, and that kind of mindset might just be the pivot you need to take the next step, which is to start from the smaller expressions of kindness: making eye contact and smiling, addressing people by their name and not forgetting to listen to hear instead of responding. In fact, sometimes just listening and not speaking can go a long way. Take a lesson from Forrest Gump.
There was one year where I was in Spain on holiday with my family. We were staying in an apartment complex that had crane machines to win soft toys and prizes.
So one day my sister and I are downstairs playing on the machines but we didn't manage to win anything and ran out of money and a man who was sweeping and mopping the floors comes over and unlocks the machine and hands us both a Winnie the Pooh toy. Was one of the nicest things someone's done and I still remember it 20 years later.
Usually such machines are programmed to really close the hooks and grab a prize every n times. If you observe the machine while people tries to win you can guess how often this happens. Then you just play at the right moment. Unless it is set on random, you'll win every time. A friend of mine got her little girl the whole collection of Looney Tunes stuffed toys
On our one year anniversary, my husband and I went to a Restaurant and were sitting at the bar. A couple celebrating their 15th anniversary day right next to us. We got to talking and we ended up having a great conversation for 2 hours. The wife got up to go the bathroom and while she was gone the waiter came to collect our checks. He immediately returned our card to us and told us that the couple had paid our bill. (The wife didn’t actually go to the bathroom and was I stead paying our bill). She also wrote us a lovely note that we still have 5 years later!
For my 1st Christmas in the Navy, 1968, I took the train home from Chicago to New York. On my return trip, I went to the dining car, and basically ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, as I had limited money after 10 days of leave. I was seated with an upper middle-aged couple, and we had a nice conversation, until they got up to get off at Paoli, Pennsylvania. After they were gone, the car steward came over and asked if I wanted anything else, I said I couldn't, and he told me that the couple had told him to feed me. He asked how I wanted my steak. I had a great meal. I went back to my coach seat, and rode through the night, comforted by now having the money to go to breakfast. When I did, it too was paid for. The Conductor told me that the man was a director of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and had told them to look after me. He said that if there had been any space in a sleeping car, I would've been given it, but the train was full.
Driving on the highway, the car in front of me suddenly swerved to take an exit, and then tried to swerve back onto the highway, almost sideswiping me in the process. Luckily there was no one to my left, so I veered into the left lane and avoided an accident. A few moments later I’m passing her, and she very sheepishly looks up at me, kind of anticipating and expecting someone to cuss her out.
Well, I had just learned a new road trip trick. Flipping people off is stupid, but giving them a thumbs down REALLY stays with someone. It’s the “I’m not mad I’m disappointed” of the road. I had a huge a*s thumbs down queued up for this driver, but when I saw her face I immediately knew she didn’t mean to, she was embarrassed, and she already felt bad enough. So instead I flashed her a huge smile, dramatically and jokingly wiped sweat from my brow, and gave her a giant thumbs up. She smiled and laughed and honestly it’s one of my favorite moments in my life.
And if you want to start off even smaller and inch your way to victory, there’s also that option too. Be the one who says good morning in the office when you arrive, make someone laugh in a water-cooler conversation, help your parents with some household chores, praise someone for their work or ideas—heck, just complimenting people can put a smile on their face and break the ice inside you to do great things.
I was in London and was supposed to be flying home that day. Walking down the street with my two suitcases towards the tube station nice and early on my way to Heathrow with plenty of time. Silly me didn’t realize that when the signs said there is going to be a tube strike on the day you fly home, that means the tube is COMPLETELY CLOSED. I thought it just meant delays or something. I don’t know. I start walking toward the bus station a few blocks away desperately trying to come up with a Plan B.
A young man comes up to me and offers to help carry my suitcases. He asks where I’m going, and I say Heathrow which is an hour away at this point and time until my flight is running short. It starts raining. He says you’ll never make it there on time on the buses. He calls me a cab, then finds a little awning where we can sit and wait for the cab and stay out of the rain. He lets me use his phone to transfer money to pay for the cab (mine didn’t have service outside my home country). We just sat and chatted for 30 minutes waiting for this cab, and he made me feel so much less panicked. I just couldn’t believe the kindness he showed to some random person on the street, and I’ve never been able to find him again online to thank him.
Londoners have a bad reputation in the rest of the UK for being unfriendly. My experience is that, if you need help, they will step in and offer it.
When I was 16, I’d taken my mom’s old Pontiac Bonneville to the movies and I was in such a hurry that I forgot to turn off the lights. When I came out, the car was dead but someone left a set of jumper cables on the hood with a note that said, “I hope you make it home safely”. I’ve never ever forgotten about that. Since then I’ve tried to pay that kindness forward anyway I can.
Edit: Thank all of you for the awards. I was about 20mi from home and this was before cell phones were affordable so that person saved me that night. For those asking, I'm assuming the person came out and saw my lights on and maybe even saw them running low/flickering and knew there was a possibility they would burn out before I made it back to my mom's car. Even if my battery hadn't died, it was a nice gesture.
I had a knock on my door and when I opened it, there was a stranger with a gift card to a local garden store for me. Apparently her kid had been pinching tulips from my garden every day to give to his mom and they wanted to pay for them, once they figured out whose garden they were coming from.
I had thought squirrels were doing it and had regretted planting them the year before, not being able to enjoy them! I spent the gift card on more bulbs!
There is, however, one thing that is an even smaller gesture of kindness that means a lot to us, and that is your engagement in the community. So, be sure to leave us a comment sharing your takes on kindness and stories of good deeds in the comment section below. Remember, kindness begets kindness. You might be the first domino to initiate that in the comments.
I was in the hospital, knowing I'd be there for at least a week, and possibly more. I was sick of hospital food, so I went downstairs to go across the street to the hospital Subway. I was pretty far back in the hospital - sixth floor, backside of the building, labyrinth of staircases and hallways to get out the front door. The walk from there to Subway took almost fifteen minutes, even though it was just across the street. I waited in line, got up to the counter to order, and realized I'd left my wallet in my room. (I ordinarily keep my wallet in my back pocket, but there was no need to in the hospital since I was in my room most of the time.) I was exhausted mentally by that point from the stay, told them I'd forgotten the wallet, and turned to make the trek all the way there and back again. All of a sudden, a nurse behind me bought my food for me, saving me the trip (and the money). I thanked him profusely. That was years ago, but I will never forget that act of kindness.
I could not even begin to pick a single one.
In August of last year, I loaded a bunch of camping gear onto my bicycle and spent the better part of the next seven months riding 5,300 miles around the US. Along the way, every single person I met wanted to be a positive part of my story in whatever way they were able. Many kind locals opened their homes to me for a night, providing me a warm bed, a hot shower, and their wonderful company over a delicious home cooked meal. Neighbors in the next campsite over would see me ride into camp on my bike with all its gear, and they'd come over to ask about my travels. I'd give them a summary of my trip up to that point, and the plan for the rest of it, and they would invite me to join them around their fire to trade their food and beer for my stories. It was absolutely incredible z and not a single day went by where I didn't feel the warmth and hospitality of at least one person.
When I started the trip, I was most looking forward to the beautiful natural scenery I would ride through, the National Parks and such I would camp in. And indeed, there were many such highlights of the trip. Watching the cliffs of South Dakota's Badlands glow pink in the evening light. The bright red leaves of autumn juxtaposed against the pure white backdrop of an early snowfall in the mountains of Montana. A mountain goat in the North Cascades of Washington, and waking up to the yips and howls of coyotes in Joshua Tree. Those are the types of things I most looked forward to.
But they aren't exactly what I look back on most fondly. Because there much more important detail of that evening in the Badlands, for example, is the fact that I shared it with some neighboring campers around their fire. After riding through that snow storm in Montana, a local opened his home to me for the evening, and the next morning, he allowed what was initially planned to just be an overnight stop to turn into a rest day while I waited for better weather. I never would've noticed that mountain goat had I not seen two other people looking at the top of a cliff with their binoculars. After I asked what they were looking at, we were chatting for quite a bit. They mentioned the they'd been coming to the North Cascades every year for 25 years and that was their first time ever seeing a mountain goat, but even so, they were eager to lend me their binoculars so they I could get a good look. And in Joshua Tree, I watched those coyotes run right past the campground while I was coming my breakfast on my neighbors' stove. My little stove had stopped working my first evening in Joshua Tree, so they allowed me to borrow theirs every evening and every morning so they I could have a warm breakfast and dinner.
I traveled across some very different parts of this country, and not just geographically different but culturally different as well. I met people from all walks of life, people who love spending their entire life in the urban chaos of San Diego, and people who prefer the quiet communities of small town Montana. But the one thing they all had in common was their desire to make my time in the areas they call home as warm and welcoming as possible. And for that, I will forever be indebted to each of the hundreds of people I met on my travels.
I think that it's wonderful that you got so much from your trip. These memories will last your lifetime and down through your children's and grandchildren's lifetime as well!
I had been living and struggling in NYC for three years, when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I decided to move back down south to be closer and help out. It was a huge, scary, life-changing decision and I didn’t know if I was making the right call—I had been working in book publishing and trying to follow my dreams but it just wasn’t what I thought it would be.
On one of my last nights in town, I got into a cab to meet someone for dinner. The eerily prophetic cab driver just looked at me in the mirror and asked, “you are leaving this city for good?” I told him I was and he said “yes, you have met many fancy animals with human faces.”
As I got out of the car and said goodbye, he said “well, we have met before 1,000 years ago or so, and I expect we will again.”
I think about that guy a lot. And yes, moving was the right decision!
“yes, you have met many fancy animals with human faces.” Omg! That's brilliant!
I was using crutches at the time after an ankle injury. Got off the tram to go to uni and hobbled straight into a surprise Melbourne spring storm. Guy with very limited English walked me from the tram stop to my class, holding an umbrella over me the entire walk (about 10 minutes). One of those lovely, warm fuzzy memories.
I was going to a Starbucks to eat with a friend I met days ago. Suddently a stranger about my age asked me how to go to that exact same place, so I told him that I was going there too and we started a conversation while walking. When we got to the Starbucks, we sat at different tables and I waited for my friend. He didn't appear (because he had had some problems and finally he couldn't go). I asked the stanger if I could eat with him and he accepted. Now we are friends and we sometimes talk through our mobiles.
Edit: Grammar.
Nope, English isn't my first language but I'm still learning!
I was desperately needing a taxi while traveling alone one night on a freezing cold evening in Russia. Maybe -25 Celsius. I only knew a few words in Russian. I stood on the corner of a busy road for hours trying to hail a taxi. I had no idea what else to do as I just could not find a hotel or hostel. A man drove up to me and asked where I needed to go. I knew the word “train” in Russian and how to say “I don’t speak Russian.” He drove off because we just couldn’t really understand each other. About 30 minutes later he drove back and handed me his phone. I put it to my ear and it was his daughter speaking in English telling me that her father would drive me to the train station (which was about 15 miles away). This kind man drove me out of his way to the train station and if it weren’t for him, I have no idea what would have happened to me that night.
Edit: spelling
My husband was away for work for 3 months , and I lived far away from family. My son is 3 he is 100%, and doesn’t sit still, I was exhausted working parent doing it all!. My son and I went to eat at chick fil a one Saturday, we never go to sit in restaurants, because he can’t sit still long enough. But I was craving a spicy chicken.
We sit down in a booth and my son was acting as he does, and not sitting still. I’m about to leave and pack it all up to go, because he was disrupting this family sitting behind us and I didn’t want to ruin their meal.
The mom sees I’m struggling and invites my son to eat with them. They had a few older kids (5-7 ish) My son sits with them and eats, and they entertain him for 20-30 minutes. While I sat in my booth eating my meal in peace.
It was the nicest mom move that a mom has ever done; she saw the struggle I was having and tried to help. Her kids even shared their chicken nuggets with my son! It was so sweet.
Once went out to a restaurant for a meal, earlier the same day we found out that one of my partner's relatives, someone they were close to, had killed themselves.
We thought it would be a good idea to get out of the house and distract ourselves.
Our waitress was lovely and spoke to us throughout the meal as it was quiet and she seemed fun.
At the end of the meal, and many wines, my partner was visibly emotional (not crazy, just sad looking) the waitress asked us if we were ok and saw that my partner was upset, so she asked again. We told her what had happened, she was shocked and it was obvious she really felt for my partner.
A few minutes later, she came over with some limoncello shots and said "it's on the house" which was unexpected and lovely, we protested a bit but she said "I'm managing tonight, it's little things like this that make me like working here, because I can make your night a bit better" what a legend.
It gets even more lovely though - we asked her for the bill shortly after, and when it arrived, it read £00.00 - she had discounted the whole bill, putting it through as wastage. We were shocked and had a tearful goodbye with her after many protests and finding it unbelievable.
We'd had a 3 course meal, wine and beer, loads of sides - we went to town and she just covered it because my partner was sad. I'll remember it forever. She could have kept herself to herself and ignored us, but that moment of kindness meant to much to us that day and turned it from a s****y day to a less s****y day.
I was a teenager hanging out with some friends at a Waffle House. The only other person there was a very large, scruffy, middle aged man at the counter. He looked like a biker maybe. He waved us over to him and we went over there. As a young woman, I assumed he was up to something creepy, but we went over there. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of colored paper napkins and then proceeded to fold paper roses for me and my friends including the guys in our group. He wasn't a creep, just an origami enthusiast, and I learned not to judge a book by its cover.
I used to be terrified of flying. I had to be drunk and on Valium. I flew when I was six days sober. I had no clue how I was going to make it through the flight.
I was seated next to an off duty pilot. He spent the entire flight explaining to me what the noises were. I love flying now because of this.
Aw I was also once sitting next to an off duty pilot. The stewardess gave him plenty of chocolate and he gave almost all of it to my husband and me (it was my husband's first time on a plane) :)
I was once travelling through an old town, when I stopped at a small shop to buy some packaged water. I was in my tweens at that time, so I jumped out of my car and went to buy, a very old man sat at the shop, once I bought everything he took out an ice-cream and handed it to me, as I was about to take the bottles with me he picked the bottles himself and walked with me to the car so that I icould have my icecream. He was very old and scaly, very thin too. And once he saw that I had a younger sister he rushed back to the shop to bring out another icecream for her. I insisted that he take money for it. But he didn't take it and just smiled. Maybe we reminded him of his grandchildren I presume.
I was really drunk and started puking in the trash can in the women’s bathroom since there was a line to get to a toilet. One of the girls in line held my hair up and rubbed my back, telling me I’d be okay. I drunkenly told her I loved her; I may also have been crying.
Wherever you are, Bathroom Girl, I still love you
Some of the best friendships come from random girl bathroom encounters.
This happened when I was around 9 or 10. I was out riding my bike with my mum, and halfway through the trail, my bike breaks down.Anyway we couldn't carry the bike back home since it would take hours, so we were just stranded in that field. There were a few people on the trail who saw our inconvenience, but either they didn't have any bike knowledge to know how to fix it, or they couldn't be bothered to care.
At least an hour had passed before this old man, and I mean like real old (he looked to be around 80) approached us and fixed our bike free of charge. He got his hands down to the grease, and eventually after a few minutes I could start peddlin' again. I thought that was a really wholesome moment, his kindness and coolness to our situation. And that's why this memory sticks to me I guess.
I had the starter in my car "c**p the bed" in the center lane of I95 outside of Richmond VA. I was en route to North Carolina with my 3 kids, aged 6 and under. I managed to get my car to the breakdown lane and not 10 minutes later, this man and his wife stop. They fed my kids, replaced my starter and sent me on my way. I will NEVER forget that-it was 20 years ago.
I work at a private race track. It’s a country club, but instead of playing golf, you get to drive your car really fast.
Last year we were approached by a local church who was hosting the Chaplin division for the Ukrainian National Police for a week long tour of different police agency’s to see how chaplaincy programs work in the US. Our local sheriff was one of these departments they chose to visit and our facility is a lot more fun to have meetings at than their little podunk station.
On the day of their visit, a church van shows up and 12 happy Ukrainians hop out. No one spoke much English except for their captain and a translator. First they had their meeting with with the sheriff, then it my turn to give them the tour of our facilities.
We have a really cool downhill skid pad, an extreme outdoor go kart track, and a really fun 2 mile car circuit. We separated everyone into small groups to rotate through the activities. One of my coworkers was taking them on rides at the skid pad, the other one was shuttling them back to kart track, and I had the distinct pleasure of turning hot laps on the big track.
Now let me tell you, nothing in this life will ever be as fun or full of pure joy like having a car full of Ukrainian police officers doing 120 mph and they are all laughing and cutting up in their native language, using what little English they know to encourage you to drive faster.
This was one of the most wholesome experiences of my life. They were so happy to be with us. Each officer had a gift that they would give you (pens, brackets, patches,etc) with the Ukrainian police logo on it. They would shake your hand and present a gift to any new person they met. It was so much fun and I still have a lot of their little trinket items on my desk.
If their were ever a day in my career that I would rate as the perfect 5 out of 7, it would be this one!
(My [video](https://youtu.be/4Whcev_i274) intern followed us around all day for anyone interested. I am the man bun for those wondering)
Went to a bar to meet a date and got ghosted. So I'm sitting at the bar drinking alone and saw a woman being harassed by a drunk guy. I intervened and she acted as if she'd been waiting for me. The drunk got lost and the woman and I sat together at the bar for a couple hours. We had a really great time, lots of smiles and laughs. There were sparks for sure. She asked for my phone and started talking selfies, so I took it back from her to get some better photos. Probably captured 50 or so, some really candid ones and some silly poses. After we laughed about the photos, she got up to leave. I asked for her number and if we could go out sometime, but she declined. She thanked me for the wonderful night and said something along the lines of "let's just leave it at this and enjoy the memory." Somehow I felt ok with that. I kept her photos for several years and every time I saw them they instantly brought a smile to my face. I never even knew her name but it was one of the best dates of my life.
You did a very good thing for her by rescuing her from the harrasser. I hope you learnt an important lesson: that this didn't mean she now owes it to you to go out with you, or that she was now automatically attracted to you. She needed that safe space to not have someone else trying to hit on her.
My card declined at a fast food place a couple years ago. The manager saw it happening and came up and gave me the food anyway. It may have come from a "f**k this establishment" mood rather than the unrelenting kindness of his heart, but either way it really made my day.
There was a time once, about 2 or 3 years ago, when a young woman near me, who was talking on her cell said: "I miss my mom". She was sad. I had a family trauma, prior to tgat day, and my eldest son and I had become estranged. I missed my son, and at that moment, my youngest son was in the hospital from the related traumatic incident, and I was also sad. My daughter, my bff, was also in shock and right by my side during this time, and I was there for her, too. Anyway, I digress.
This woman - who was similar age as my kids, ended her call. We were walking in the same direction, several fett apart. I just looked over and said, "I miss my kids, too, hon. I know your Mom loves you." She started crying, i just walked up to her and gave her a Mom hug. She cried so hard. I was crying. We just stood there and cried, in the middle of the city. Total strangers. I kept telling her that love never dies. Even in death. Love is eternal. We finally composed ourselves. Hugged and went our way. I still think about that day.
This is kind of a long story, but bear with me. A few years ago I was at the grocery store, after watching my favorite NCAA b-ball team lose their game at the sweet 16. I was obviously upset, and looking to drown my sorrows with some more brews at home.
As I left the grocery store I passed by a man who was obviously both physically, and mentally impaired. I noticed that he had a backpack on the back of his auto-wheelchair, and a whole gallon tub of ice cream had fallen out. So I put down my twelve pack and zipped his ice cream back into his backpack. He muttered something to me, but I couldn't understand what he was saying.
Feeling good about myself, I turn to walk out of the store, and As I leave I hear a "SSSSCREEEE!!" scraping noice on the floor like nails on a chalkboard. I dismiss it, and then again, I hear a "SSSCCCREEE" so I turn around to go talk to him, which again, I can barely understand.
When I get to him I quickly notice that he's holding the front wheel to his wheelchair in his hand, and asking me to fix it for him. I took it in my own hand and examined it. It was a broken metal piece, and there was no way I could fix it. "Where Are you trying to go?" I said calmly the first time. A completely unintelligible answer followed. "Can I help you?" I said a bit louder this time. I finally made out the words, "bus." and so off we went to the bus stop across the street.
His wheelchair was not only low on battery, but since he didn't have a wheel, I had to hold it upright AND push it forward at the same time. It was also very very heavy. It was not fun in any sort of way, but I was there to help, and by gone I was gonna do it.
So we get to the bus stop. It's not that one. "S**t" I thought to myself. "I thought this was almost over, and I'd have my GGG points for the day." So we went across the street and down a block and go to the next stop.
By this time I'm starting to pick up on his verbal and physical cues, and can tell a little bit more of what he's saying. He wants me to wait with him for the bus. His name was Carl. He had something around his neck, but didn't want me to take it off, but i could see his name. After about 15 minutes the bus finally arrives, and I help load him on and pay his fare and get him strapped into the wheelchair section. I sort of explain the situation to the bus driver, and he just looks at me with this bewildered face. "What the hell am I gonna do with him?", he says.
This was really the point where the whole situation started to hitting me deep. I could hear Carl muttering some words that I couldn't make out, and I could have left feeling great about myself as a person. After all, it's not like he asked me to take him home. But in all of his mutterings, I could tell that Carl needed *my* help. The bus driver couldn't take him home. Through all his disability, he looked at me, human to human, right in the eye, and I knew he needed help. Even though he didn't say it, I knew what he wanted me to do. All men in the world were equal in that moment.
I turned to the bus driver, and said that I would go get my car and follow the bus to his stop. (If I could have just fit him into my car I would have) Of course it was a long way away, and in the opposite direction.
As the bus driver waited for me I got in my car and turned to follow the bus. I muted the music in my car, and then I started crying. Like a baby. How could I have thought something as stupid as a basketball game was actually important in life? How could I actually be so bummed about something so trivial? Here they are, people all around us, 24/7 who need help. And I watched basketball, and then got mad at a loss. What does Carl have to deal with every day that I don't? My emotions are petty and first world. I cried harder than I ever had. For humanity I guess. My own loss of it.
So we finally got to his stop, in a bad area of town, and get Carl's address off of his namebadge. It's not close either, and I have to do the balancing act with his super heavy chair again. I get to his street and it's on top of a huge hill.
"F**k it, let's do this", I think to myself as I start making my way up the hill. Just then I was hit with the most magnificent energy from the inside out. I started taking faster steps, and all of a sudden the weight of the chair disappeared. Eventually I started jogging, and Carl and I were both laughing hysterically at each other as I pushed him up the hill to his house.
After some shenanigans with his neighbors, we finally got a key to his home. I pushed him in to his room, and got him onto his bed. "Thank you" he said, in his same, now familiar, muttered tone. "Thank you." I turned to leave, but once more turned back around. "You're welcome Carl, and don't forget!" I unzipped his backpack, took out his gallon of ice cream, and put it in his freezer. He smiled, and I left.
The next day I called his caregiver, and set him up with a new chair. I still smile every time I pass by that same grocery store and see Carl wheeling around in his shiny new ride. :-)
TL;DR- Personally Delivered ice cream to Carl's freezer
I went once to a supermarket to buy some groceries for my last week in college. I was about to pay when I realized I had forgotten my wallet, so I told the cashier I would leave everything and come back in about an hour. A man in a nice suit who was behind me in the line heard the conversation and said he would pay for me.
I was too surprised with it and first gently denied his offer, but he insisted and just handed his card to the cashier and wished me a good day. It was only like $25, but that really made my day. I was so thankful because that saved me a lot of time! And this man was so kind during the whole event.
I was just at a super stressful time in my life—my housing situation was precarious, I was seriously underemployed, I was working too much, and the 2016 election was literally a day away and I was so worried about it. I had done an event for work and on my way home I stopped to get some gummies from a 7-11. I just like gummies, okay. Anyway, there was some kind of problem with their card reader. It literally broke while I was in line, so when I got to the front they couldn’t take my debit card and I had no cash so no gummies for me. I left them on the counter and sadly walked away. I lived around the corner from this 7-11 and was walking home when I heard someone behind me yelling. I turn around and there’s this big black guy chasing me. I stop and he comes up to me and hands me a bag of gummies.
“Can’t go without gummies,” he said. I thanked him—profusely. I regret not hugging him. I went home and cried because I was so happy about these gummies. Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of money in my bank account and these gummies were probably going to be the last thing I bought before my next paycheck. It was such a small thing, but it meant so much to me. I’m crying now thinking about it. I’m so grateful to that man.
Edit: I’m on mobile and it’s terrible
I moved 1000 miles away from everything I knew after graduating college 16 years ago. Back then I was pretty homesick, struggling in my career and figuring things out so I felt pretty lost in life.
One day I was walking around downtown Orlando when an older man probably in his mid 80’s stopped me. He handed a piece of paper that he was carrying to me and said “You seem like a good person with a good heart. It will be alright.” Then he just walked away.
Looking down, that piece of paper was a copy of a handwritten page by him filled with dozens and dozens of sayings, illustrations and quotes from all over the world regarding love and hope. Tears came immediately and I put it away to read later that day. It stayed on my wall in my home for the better part of 10 years until I moved again.
Now it’s been 16 years since then and sure he’s moved on to the next world by now. I still have that page, take it out occasionally and think about that wonderful man from many years ago who taught me about pure and genuine random acts of kindness right along with love and hope.
He was an absolute blessing to me and to our world. Thank you good sir. You were a beautiful soul.
Edit: Thank you so much for all of these awards and acknowledging this man and his heart. I’m so deeply honored to have been able to share his memory with you all and how he changed my outlook on life. With the state that everything is in now, I can’t tell you how much I needed to both share this compassionate moment and also remember it myself. I’ll try to post the page as soon as I can pull it out from storage but it may take me a little bit. You all deserve to hear those words too. Remember, no matter what happens in our lives, hope and love will always prevail. Hugs.
My SO and I went out to Montana to stay in a fire watch tower for a week. Turns out my SO's fear of heights was worse than I thought.
Instead of staying inside the car as an alternative for the whole week, we decided to take a road trip instead and headed to a couple of national parks. The second was Yellowstone National Park, and it became full while we were waiting in line.
We walked outside the building to see what we'd do next and an older woman came up to us and offered a spot on her lot. She said her daughter was going to be visiting but not until the next day.
We agreed and she also gave us her daughter's shower tokens so we could (finally) shower. We had a lovely chat, made her some hobo pies and hobo pizzas and loved on her little dog named Carlos.
She said my SO and I were clearly in it for the long haul and it was so nice to see each other so in love.
...It's nice to remember this. We both are going through a bout of depression and remembering this gave me some hope.
A couple of weeks after I bought my new (to me) car, I was sitting at a stoplight and the woman in the car next to me shouted to me “that’s a great little car! I used to have one and loved it!” So I shouted back in agreement saying how much I loved it. She then told me she had the same exact one but had to get rid of it recently for something bigger. I remembered how the car salesman told me the only reason the previous owners traded in the car was because they needed something bigger. So I said, “Well, this could be your car- I just bought it!” She asked me where I bought it and when I told her she said, “Ahh! That’s my car!” We were both laughing as the light turned green and we went our separate ways.
Happend 2 weeks ago.
I was sitting in my car At a red light and this little girl and her dad crossed the street. She was on Rollerblades and waved everyone. Apparently I was the only one who waved back and she and her father got super happy.
When i went to San Francisco in 6th grade we rode the trolley everywhere and i waved at everyone and it made me so happy every time people waved back
This happened just last week, but I was out at the store (with a mask on of course) and I smiled at this old man who passed by in front of me. Obviously it’s hard to tell if people are smiling with a face mask on, but it’s a force of habit. Anyway, he stopped and said, “I don’t know how, but even with a mask on your smile is contagious”. It was such a sweet compliment and it made my day.
Edit: My first award, how kind!
Only with a genuine smile do your eyes smile. Pay attention. If someone is smiling at you and their eyes are not smiling, they are fake smiling. Only when you are genuinely smiling do the muscles around your eyes move
I started going back to the gym. First day saw a personal trainer and took some preworkout. I was pushed pretty hard and by the time I left, I was dizzy, light headed and nauseous. On my drive home my symptoms got worse and progressed to the point where my arms and legs went tingly to numb, lost fine motor control, hyperventilating and my speech became nearly unintelligible. My hands locked up and I couldn’t open them or move my fingers. I was essentially temporarily handicapped but I was still thinking straight.
I pulled over, hazards on, crawled out and onto the curb, fumbling about dialing 911. The operator couldn’t understand me and I didn’t know what was happening to me and was panicking.
A woman pulled up behind me, got out and asked what was happening, if I was okay. I shook my head and handed her the phone that says “911” on the screen. I did my best to tell her what was wrong but she could also see the state I was in. She told the operator what she saw, where we were. She got me a blanket from her car and wrapped it around me and stayed with me until help arrived.
I looked up at her and managed to say the most defeated, desperate **thank you** I could muster before she left. I recovered shortly after and didn’t need to go to the hospital, but was still picked up by family.
Bless that woman, wherever she is.
This was a seizure. A mild one at that. A serious one would have entirely incapacitated OP and this wouldn't have ended the same...
I've posted this before...
I was in Paris a few years ago with my sister and we had an early flight. We had been taking the metro the whole trip and felt comfortable with taking it to the airport in the morning. We left ridiculously early, got on the first line, rode to where we needed to swap lines, did so, went a few more stops and the metro just stopped. An announcement came on, everyone cleared off, and we got off, assuming there was either an issue or something we didn't understand.
We go up into the station, which we realized was Gare du Nord, and the station is PACKED. People are running around, screaming, total chaos. I have my train ticket in my hand, and Google directions to the airport pulled up on my phone and I started scanning the lobby for someone that my gut says "kind eyes, might work here, def not going to get you murdered". I see a young man wearing a construction vest just standing around not contributing to the chaos and I approached him, asked if he spoke English. No, but between the two items I've presented to him, he gestures for us to follow him. We go up an elevator, then back down, down a few different corridors, and he leads us to a train and gets on, gesturing for us to follow him. We stand on the train for maybe 10 minutes, then another announcement and everyone clears out. Again, he gestures for us to follow him, and we get on another train - this one clearly shows that it's going to CDG, which he points out to me a few times.
People keep packing into the train, he takes a somewhat protective position behind me and my sister. Time for the doors to close now, this takes several minutes as the train is overflowing with people and women are screaming as we somehow pack everyone in and get the doors shut. Several times I look back at this guy and ask "okay?" and he answers "okay" every time.
Finally the train gets going, folks are getting off at various stops and we're able to get a little space again. He eventually gets off, again, pointing to the map indicating we were headed towards CDG. I keep thanking him over and over. We get to CDG and make our flights.
Turns out it was a workers strike that caused all the chaos on the metro. Truly a terrifying experience, and I have no idea why the guy helped us out but we would've never made it to the airport in time if he hadn't.
I liked that you started with "I've posted this before..." because the trolls who criticize are forestalled. I was on my first trip to London in 1970 or 1971, in my Navy uniform, and I saw an obviously American family come up out of the subway at Hyde Park Corner, looking confused, the man looking angry and frustrated. I guessed (rightly) that they were looking for the Underground, and asked if they needed help. The man saw my uniform, not me, and told me to go away. So, I walked away, saying loudly, "Look for the red circle with a bar on it to find the underground trains. Subways are only underpasses." I looked back and the teenaged girl gave me a smile and a wave.
Years ago, I used to spend a fair bit of time on sites that randomly paired users who were using webcams.
I was struggling after being sexually assaulted as a freshman in college - I couldn't sleep, so I'd often pop onto these SFW webcam chats at night so I wasn't alone.
One night, I met a wonderful German man. I can't recall his name, but we clicked immediately and spent 4-5 hours together. He was the first person I told about being assaulted. He comforted me and we stayed online for so long because we wanted to watch the sun rise together.
We didn't exchange contact information, so it was simply a beautiful, healing night with a kind soul halfway around the world. I still think about him all these years later.
Thanks, German friend. ❤
Edit: a few words. Typing in the morning isn't my strong suit. Also, thanks for the award!
This reminds me of a random girl who gave me her socks in a club. I had taken off my heels because they hurt and then got glass in my foot. She took off her shoes and socks and gave me the socks to wear to protect my feet
Reminds me of a story my daughter shared. She was in choir. After a Christmas performance she and a few friends decided to walk, I don't recall where. My daughter's feet were hurting from the heels she wore. Her friend "Mark" traded her his sneakers and wore her heels, even though his feet were larger than hers
Was working at a store that sells electronics. Younger kid came in and said he needed a laptop for his new business. I said what’s the business. He said it’s just a clothing line, but all the jobs are given to people in recovery. And I said that’s very admirable, and I couldn’t help get teary eyed. And he said has addiction touched your life? And I said both my parents are addicts. He said “mine too.” And then I said do you want a hug? And then we hugged for like 20 seconds and both cried a little. I sold him a laptop, wished him well, and I felt really warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day. He was a good kid.
I'm a really big fan of mechanical keyboards, but my country's money is really devalued, so the keyboard i wanted (90usd) was worth more or less a month of rent. I commented this on a post and then this guy just comes and says "i have one of those but never use it, it's yours if you pay for shipping". So yeah, he just gave his keyboard to a complete stranger on the internet cause he couldn't buy one. Awesome dude <3
On my second flight ever, we hit wind shears while we were landing. I had only flown once before (from Detroit to Chicago so super quick) and it was fine but I always had this weird fear of flying from I don't know where (maybe the idea of being in a metal tube in the air I don't know).
We are landing and then suddenly we aren't and the plane is falling. Some overhead bins opened and s**t is all over, people start screaming. I now have a pilot friend who tells me that we probably only dropped maybe a foot or so but it felt like we were falling towards the ground which wasn't so far away because, as I said, we had been f*****g landing.
I don't scream. I don't pee myself. I just grabbed the hand of the guy next to me and said something like, "I hope there's a cool afterlife." This guy was a seasoned flier (I learned later) and he immediately starts to talk in this soothing, Dad voice. He keeps talking until we level out and the pilot says something like "Gonna try that again, hit some wind shears lol!"
We got rerouted to Cleveland, about three hours from the Detroit airport. They offer to fly us home on another plane but no way in f**k am I getting on another plane. Dad-guy says, "I can rent us a car and drop you back at home in X because I live in Y." Nowadays me would be terrified but I was 22 and said, "Sure!"
He rents a nice car that he charges to his company (one of the big bank types, I forget which) and we drive home for three hours. He has a car phone (it was 1994) which I thought was the coolest thing ever so he tells me all about how they work, calls his wife and I share in the magic of the car phone. Nothing bad happens, no touching, no nothing. Drops me off at home, refuses to accept any money (because he charged it to his work) and drives off into that good night.
I used to take a bus from north California to so cal every other month to see a girl I was dating at the time. She ended up cheating on me, but I made the trips anyway to try and salvage what I could of the relationship. During those bus rides i felt like an idiot, 6-8 hours of riding alone in a bus full of strangers to go see a girl who had slept with another guy in the hopes of her possibly not doing that ever again and making up for her mistakes...a naive long shot if there ever was one. During one of my bus rides I sat next to a girl who had just come to California from Germany. I’m not usually one to strike up conversations, but she kind of noticed how spaced out I was and asked me if I was okay. We started talking the whole way, she told me about her family, her school, her favorite tv shows, I told her mine, and we even pulled out a laptop and watched the pilot episodes of each other’s favorite shows. I opened up about my predicament and how stupid I felt, she told me I was handsome and attractive and from what she can tell from our conversations, a decent person and it was stupid for my girlfriend to cheat on me, and that I was a fighter because I was still trying to give her a chance. All of this came out towards the end of the bus ride and we parted ways shortly after, I never saw her again, but what she said was the confidence boost I needed to hear and the human interaction I didn’t know I wanted.
For context: in high school I was a semi-competitive runner. When you go to the state meet (in my state) you're given a *really nice* shirt---perfect athletic wear, fits nice, has the big "state track meet" emblem. Everyone likes this shirt, and people that qualify for state are a little proud of owning one.
Anyway fast forward to college. I'm having a really bad day for reasons unremembered, and I'm wearing this shirt. I'm walking to class and I spot this (very) attractive girl walking in the other direction also wearing the state shirt.
I guess I stared for too long (looking at the shirt... obviously) and she noticed. I usually flick my eyes away in this situation, but didn't. She held my gaze for a split second, then I saw her eyes flick down to my chest breifely (noticing *my* shirt) then back up to me. She gave me this massive smile, and continued walking.
That made my day significantly better.
I have been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, and anxiety and I was at the pharmacy trying to get my meds filled but my card kept declining. A couple of the meds have major side effects if I skip a dose so I really couldn’t go without them. I was frantic and trying to figure out what was wrong with my card when another lady smiled and swiped her card for me so I could get my medication refilled.
There’s nothing like having trouble getting your anxiety meds to make your anxiety worse.
One time working at a gas station , there was this about late twenties middle eastern guy who hardly spoke English but was very polite . All He bought were 3 30 cent chocolates that were next to the register and some gas . He gave me a chocolate and said something to the affect that he gives chocolate to his friends and went on his way. It was very sweet and always stuck with me
I was in Edinburgh, traveling alone. I met some guys at the hostel and we went to a club, but it was weird, so I came back to the hostel. The hostel is on the Royal Mile. It's 2am and there is a girl doing poi juggling. I did some poi juggling myself, so I stopped to watch, and when she stopped, started talking to her. I asked here where she was from. She said Brazil. So, being a stereotype guy like I was, I asked here whether she knew capoeira. She did.
So, on Friday night, on the Royal Mile, me and a stranger did capoeira. It was more than 20 years ago, and I still remember it. It was awesome
I had to Google this: “Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian cultural practice – simultaneously a fight and a dance.” Now I’m imagining these two fondly beating each other martial arts style.
Politely let a random nice lady enter the tram before me, and when we both boarded we had a bit of a chat (I can't for the life of me remember what it was about), she was really really nice and kind, and she ended the convo with a "I hope God is with you" before the left the tram. I damn near almost cried because
1) i think she was Christian (she had a cross necklace), and I'm Muslim, and this is a majorly Muslim city, so she worded that really nicely to fit bith her religion and mine
2) 10 minutes before I met her, I found out I would be flunking my first year at uni, and that just absolutely crushed me. I was on a tram to go to a consult with a professor for the exam I just failed (that exam meant I would be retaking the year).
Actually, by some sheer luck, some new laws got instated and I was able to pass to the next year.
(It all went to s**t after that but oh well, life happens)
In the winter this old guy is crossing the street and ends up slipping and falling on the ice. Me and another guy ran over to help him to his feet and made sure he got across safely. The other guy was a pizza pizza delivery man.
"Pizza pizza delivery man" I'm guessing worked for Little Ceasar's.
This happened to my mom in New Orleans
so we went to the air port to drop off our rental car as We were going on a cruise and my mom left a Bag with some make up she had bought that cost it may be about $100 and the person that used our luggage cart after us found the bag and turned it into Security and then the head of security for the airport came to our hotel and dropped it off even though our hotel was about 45 minutes away from the airport in the opposite direction from the guys house
This was very difficult to read, no commas, no full stops at all 😵💫
About ten years ago, me and my sister (as young adults) had a little girl on the bus to Disneyland sign something and take a picture with us because we needed a signature from a *real* princess on our trip to make all of our friends at home jealous. I thought little one was going to die of excitement, she was so cute. But once we got done with our autograph, she lectured us saying, "You know, you two could be princesses too! You're nice and you are at Disneyland, you just need a crown." We were fresh out so she conducted our coronations right then and there :) I'll have you all know that I am *princess* Gardenia_Guardian, Louisa said so. Also, her parents were so f*****g nice they tried to buy us lunch afterward. It just warms my heart thinking about. I hope she's still growing up happy and sweet.
So basically first time in New York (and in the US), waiting for a green light to cross the road. The stranger turns to me and says, "Hey, how are you?" "Fine, you?" I ask. "Pretty good," he answers. Then the light turns green. "Have a nice day," he says, turns into opposite direction and goes away.
I mean, the guy was just standing there to wish me a nice day. Maybe a common thing for NY, but a strange and wholesome experience for an Eastern European.
Tourist to local in NYC; Can you tell me where the Empire State Building is, or should I just go fark myself?
so the day before my last gcse (2019 student) i was rushing around trying to buy gifts for my teachers (i was close with them all). here in the good ol’ north of the uk it tends to rain when it’s least wanted and i ended up getting drenched in my school uniform carrying a fatload of presents. then a really nice lad handed me an umberella and said ‘here take it, you need it more than me’ i’ll forever remember that guy and i hope he sees this :’).
On my honeymoon, we went from Venice to Slovenia. At the first train station in Slovenia, it was literally me, my wife, 1 employee in the ticket booth, and a Finnish couple, the man inebriated to the point where I kept muttering, "Please don't vomit on my honeymoon."
We had like a 2 hour wait for our train. So naturally the drunk guy started a conversation. His name was Alex. The only place in America we had ever been to was Santa Barbara. And man.... We talked a LOT. At one point, we danced. And before we left for our train, he gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was the best interaction I've ever had with a stranger, and I have no doubt in my mind he doesn't remember it.
I gave a kid a Coke cola and turns out he was a immigrant from south Mexico (the bad part) and he got his mom and dad to thank me for it and we became friends for a little while
I got the wrong soda out of a machine a while back, and tried to give it away. The climate of fear now is so pervasive that no one would take it, in spite of seeing me just get it from the machine. Sad.
Was on the tram without a ticket and there was a ticket inspection, I pretended I had one but couldn't find it.
When we were at the point that he wanted to issue me a ticket, a bus stop came and a good soul dropped her ticket on my lap as she walked by.
Saved me 40 euros.
I met a kind stranger on reddit when I talked about my blood family not using my name and pronouns and they said, "Yo bro message me let's talk." And they've kinda adopted me?
My father was in hospice, and there was a large communal kitchen for family and friends to use while visiting. This guy Ronnie was the personification of “badda bing badda boom;” loud Italian-American guy. He made a c**p ton of meatball subs for everyone and went around to all the hospice rooms giving them out to people. It was a really nice gesture for all us grieving families. I think he said he had a restaurant in North Carolina. Thanks Ronnie!
Certainly not as wholesome as the stories I'm reading here, and not the story that would normally come to mind whenever I see this type of question; but something I remembered just an hour ago, out of the blue.
As the holiday was coming to an end, the "animateurs" (people who looked after children while the parents were away), gathered all the kids to give a little speech. I was no older than 6, and I'd been crushing on this similarly quiet kid throughout this vacation. As the supervisors/animateurs started talking to us about the ending holidays, about friendship and memories; we quietly stared at one another from across the room. While our eyes were locked, the boy started getting teary eyed, and so did I. We never spoke a word to each other, but I remember how strong a connection I felt to him.
As the room cleared, we stayed put and kept looking at each other in silence, like the two little weirdos we were. Animateurs told us to leave and, before parting ways, we gave each other the most sorrowful smile 5-6 year olds can muster. I was inconsolable for weeks.
Edit to add: our only "interaction" (no words were exchanged) was when he gave me his farewell bag of candies.
Also edited spelling, not *animator* but *animateur*. Sorry for the confusion.
The Center of Youtube. It is impossible to search up because the name is in Japanese and is gibberish according to my Japanese speaking friend. Everyone who gets the video in recommended is called “A Main Character of Life” by everyone else in the comments. People post their life’s issues and people help. It is the most wholesome YouTube comment section. There is only one rule: you cannot share the video in any way, people have to find it themselves.
Some days, BP really gets you in the feels. This is one of those days.
Ah these were really heartwarming to read (: About 10 years ago, I had a massive argument with my Nan whilst in the US (she's a cow but no time to explain lol) so I was crying on my own in the hotel room when the maid came in. She spoke no English, I spoke no Spanish, but she talked with a soothing mother's voice and held me as I sobbed. She then coaxed me into helping her change the bedsheets and tidy up to presumably take my mind off things. I think about her a lot and how she was everything I needed in that moment. Her sweetness and kindness transcended the language barrier.
I love moments like these. I had it happen once when waiting with my kids to see santa. My middle kid had a feeding tube (mic-key). She was standing, her kangaroo pack (bigger than her) in the stroller. She ended up getting sick, and yanked the tube, it sprayed orange disaster. Most of the other parents gave me dirty looks, snide remarks, the usual about "that kid/family/mom". But 3 of them instantly ran over to help. One went and got cleaning assistance. One helped calm my kiddo down, closed her button and shut off the pump in what felt a second. One of them shot back snarky comments to the jerks while we got the situation under control. Honestly, it was a rough day before that anyway. I was walking a thin, sagging, wire, holding on by a broken toe. I got a lot of flack in public for daring to use her pump, or leave the house with her (and my other kids). Those 3 had no judgment and wasted not a second to help. I was so used to judgment. Adults can be cruel, but also sometimes kind!
I'm 16, and sitting on the front steps at my aunt's house (long story why I'm living there). I'm crying because my cousin and her little friends have been bullying me yet again. It's her birthday and I'm resigned to being miserable. Little girl next door (who is only down occasionally as her folks are divorced) notices and asks what's wrong. No problem she says --it's my birthday and I'm having a party too! Come hang with us! I know it sounds difficult to believe. And I don't remember your name. But if your parents lived near the coast of NC around 1991 or so, thank you.
I was a kid, living in a VW bus with my mom and her partner. We were in west Texas in the middle of winter, and very much on the run. We stopped at some chain roadside diner to warm up. They ordered hot water, and a bowl of soup for me. The waitress picked up on what was going on. She spoke to her manager, and paid for us all to get the buffet. Laura changed my perspective on kindness that day. I wouldn't be the same without that moment . I hope she reads this story one day and knows what she meant to us. I will always always feed someone in need. Edit: Early 90's, if she opens to see this and remember.
I (a woman) made a career change at 38 that involved me going to technical school with a bunch of 18-19 guys. (I never felt more like an adult.) At the end of the quarter, you have to take state exams to certify before you can move on. One guy was really struggling. Practically he was fine, but he was bad at written tests. He had taken this one test three times. I knew he just took it again and I asked him how he did. He said he passed and I slipped in to instant mom mode and said "Great, I'm so proud of you!" I got to witness this tough young guy break down because apparently that was the first time anyone told him that. I started a small study group and he got two more tests, enough to land his dream job.
For me, at the playground as a first grader I wanted to play with some boys on a spinny thing but they said no girls were welcome. Anyway, another boy came to us and he said that doing a thing like that wasn't kind. We became best friends for a while until he switched schools.
A few months ago there was a PTM and I have this thing where I cry for the most basic things so I was crying after the PTM even though nothing much happened. My parents got called to speak with the coordinator over some stuff that happened in the last week and I was sitting outside and crying. A random lady just sat next to me and told me that everything will be fine. She tried to distract me by asking questions and all that. After that we left and I saw the lady smiling at me kindly outside the school gates
I got to the nail salon for my pedicure and there was an elderly woman sitting on the bench, seemingly not well. Okay. About halfway through my pedicure I asked what was up. Apparently her caregiver had a medical problem and was taken away by ambulance. I was outraged. So, you're just gonna let this little old lady sit here??? I took her home and discovered her name was Marcedes (the painter) we became good friends. She was 96 when we met and 101 when she passed away. I did go back to have my pedicure finished, but switched salons after that.
As a practicer of RAK, I read these hoping maybe I was one of the helpers. Makes me want to do it some more.
Some days, BP really gets you in the feels. This is one of those days.
Ah these were really heartwarming to read (: About 10 years ago, I had a massive argument with my Nan whilst in the US (she's a cow but no time to explain lol) so I was crying on my own in the hotel room when the maid came in. She spoke no English, I spoke no Spanish, but she talked with a soothing mother's voice and held me as I sobbed. She then coaxed me into helping her change the bedsheets and tidy up to presumably take my mind off things. I think about her a lot and how she was everything I needed in that moment. Her sweetness and kindness transcended the language barrier.
I love moments like these. I had it happen once when waiting with my kids to see santa. My middle kid had a feeding tube (mic-key). She was standing, her kangaroo pack (bigger than her) in the stroller. She ended up getting sick, and yanked the tube, it sprayed orange disaster. Most of the other parents gave me dirty looks, snide remarks, the usual about "that kid/family/mom". But 3 of them instantly ran over to help. One went and got cleaning assistance. One helped calm my kiddo down, closed her button and shut off the pump in what felt a second. One of them shot back snarky comments to the jerks while we got the situation under control. Honestly, it was a rough day before that anyway. I was walking a thin, sagging, wire, holding on by a broken toe. I got a lot of flack in public for daring to use her pump, or leave the house with her (and my other kids). Those 3 had no judgment and wasted not a second to help. I was so used to judgment. Adults can be cruel, but also sometimes kind!
I'm 16, and sitting on the front steps at my aunt's house (long story why I'm living there). I'm crying because my cousin and her little friends have been bullying me yet again. It's her birthday and I'm resigned to being miserable. Little girl next door (who is only down occasionally as her folks are divorced) notices and asks what's wrong. No problem she says --it's my birthday and I'm having a party too! Come hang with us! I know it sounds difficult to believe. And I don't remember your name. But if your parents lived near the coast of NC around 1991 or so, thank you.
I was a kid, living in a VW bus with my mom and her partner. We were in west Texas in the middle of winter, and very much on the run. We stopped at some chain roadside diner to warm up. They ordered hot water, and a bowl of soup for me. The waitress picked up on what was going on. She spoke to her manager, and paid for us all to get the buffet. Laura changed my perspective on kindness that day. I wouldn't be the same without that moment . I hope she reads this story one day and knows what she meant to us. I will always always feed someone in need. Edit: Early 90's, if she opens to see this and remember.
I (a woman) made a career change at 38 that involved me going to technical school with a bunch of 18-19 guys. (I never felt more like an adult.) At the end of the quarter, you have to take state exams to certify before you can move on. One guy was really struggling. Practically he was fine, but he was bad at written tests. He had taken this one test three times. I knew he just took it again and I asked him how he did. He said he passed and I slipped in to instant mom mode and said "Great, I'm so proud of you!" I got to witness this tough young guy break down because apparently that was the first time anyone told him that. I started a small study group and he got two more tests, enough to land his dream job.
For me, at the playground as a first grader I wanted to play with some boys on a spinny thing but they said no girls were welcome. Anyway, another boy came to us and he said that doing a thing like that wasn't kind. We became best friends for a while until he switched schools.
A few months ago there was a PTM and I have this thing where I cry for the most basic things so I was crying after the PTM even though nothing much happened. My parents got called to speak with the coordinator over some stuff that happened in the last week and I was sitting outside and crying. A random lady just sat next to me and told me that everything will be fine. She tried to distract me by asking questions and all that. After that we left and I saw the lady smiling at me kindly outside the school gates
I got to the nail salon for my pedicure and there was an elderly woman sitting on the bench, seemingly not well. Okay. About halfway through my pedicure I asked what was up. Apparently her caregiver had a medical problem and was taken away by ambulance. I was outraged. So, you're just gonna let this little old lady sit here??? I took her home and discovered her name was Marcedes (the painter) we became good friends. She was 96 when we met and 101 when she passed away. I did go back to have my pedicure finished, but switched salons after that.
As a practicer of RAK, I read these hoping maybe I was one of the helpers. Makes me want to do it some more.
