kindness

Hayden, a 16-year-old McDonald’s worker in Morristown, Tennessee, went viral for an act of kindness after he paid for a customer’s meal when the customer’s card was declined. The customer, Mosier, had tried to pay with a card, but the $8.00 charge was declined. Before Mosier even knew what was happening, Hayden had whipped out his own debit card to pay the bill, saying, “I got you, don’t worry about it. “Mosier recounted on media space, “I said no no, just void it, please. Hayden said, ‘No sir, I got it.’ The only cash I had was 4 one- dollar bills, I made him take the 4 bucks and told him I would be back.” However, Hayden wasn’t backing down. He wanted to pay something forward and ended up having the final word when he left a surprise for Mosier in his meal bag. A little kind gesture may be all that’s needed to brighten someone’s day. If we each pay forward the Universe’s benevolence upon us, the domino effect of kindness will surely reach the lengths and breadths of planet Earth.

In Vietnam, Huynh Tieu Huong, known as the “Mother Teresa of Vietnam,” has adopted 346 children after overcoming a challenging childhood as a foundling abandoned by her parents. She runs a non-profit organization that provides love, education, and medical care to orphans and homeless children. Huong’s early life was marked by hardship; after being rescued from abusive adoptive parents, she wandered until she found a baby girl on her doorstep at age 19. While she travailed to make a living for herself and new found baby, the Universe kept rooting for her, leading her to meet a benefactor who helped her establish a stable life. In 1993, she began volunteering with the Vietnam Relief Association and founded the Que Huong Charity Center in 2001, which has since grown to support over 300 children. Thanks to support given by donors and volunteers, these 346 children are all able to receive education, safe places to sleep and play, and the proper medical care to ensure they reach adulthood healthy.  Despite her difficult past, Huong dedicated herself to helping others, expanding her efforts to the U.S. through the Mother Huong Foundation. Her story portrays resilience and compassion, as she continues to make real undeniable impact in the lives of countless children in need. After surmounting the cruelest hardships in post-war Vietnam, everyone on Earth would understand if Ms. Huong had instead used her success to build a life of luxury, indulgence, and security. Instead, she dove headlong back into the world that made her, making a difference to others in a way that never was possible for her. Regardless of what we go through, or have probably been through, may we continue to look at others with a deep sense of compassion. For in this lies true happiness and fulfillment. Let’s keep T.A.L.K.ing.

Mr. Chen Si, known as the Angel of Nanjing, has volunteered to patrol the Yangtze Bridge every day, and over a 21-year career, he has saved 469 people from committing suicide. One of the most famous bridges in the country, it is also the world’s most popular location to commit suicide. Almost daily there are people lingering alone or wandering aimlessly along its sidewalk, and Chen engages them in conversation to test whether or not they are prospective jumpers. Sometimes that’s all it takes, somedays though, it sometimes requires an awful lot more. South China Morning Post reports that it started for Chen back in 2000, when he saw a desperate-looking girl wandering on the bridge. He was worried something might happen to her so he brought lunch for them to share and started to chat with her. He eventually paid for a bus ticket for her to go home, but realized that this was something that must happen all the time. For the past 21 years, he’s crossed the bridge 10 times a day on his electric scooter wearing his red jacket with the words “cherish all life” written across the back, he’s charismatic, he’s determined, he can be almost rude, in a certain Chinese way, in his efforts saving people’s life, and he’s become an expert. He’s caught suicidal people who’ve been pushed into depression and suicidal thoughts by many reasons we may not be able to rightly pin point. He has spare rooms in his house to keep those he pulls off the bridge in a safe environment. Here’s a story that serves as a grand awakening for us all—a reminder to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. In these challenging times, many individuals are facing struggles that we may not fully understand. It is our collective responsibility to contribute positively, each in our own way. These small acts of kindness can create a powerful domino effect, spreading compassion across the globe like never before. Be Inspired to Try A Little Kindness – this day, all day and every day.

These incredible before and after photos show the transformation of a teenager who was given free surgery to correct her extremely bowed legs. 14-year-old Valerie—who surgeons declined to fully name—developed bowed legs at the age of four and had such low self-confidence, she convinced her parents to pull her out of school. She joined her uncle’s tailoring shop as an apprentice and worked hard, despite the fact that her harshly-angled legs arched outwards from her hips, making it difficult for her to walk. The talented seamstress was busy sewing when a customer told her that a hospital boat operated by the charity Mercy Ships had docked near her West African home in Cotonou, Benin. Mercy Ships operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing humanitarian aid for terminally-ill patients. It has operated in more than 57 developing nations and 18 developed nations around the world, with a current focus on African countries. Valerie boarded the charity’s ship Africa Mercy and was one of 76 children and teenagers to receive free surgery during the boat’s 10-month stint. During her knee operation, surgeons removed a wedge of bone from the outer sides of both knees, resulting in her legs bending inward. While Valerie underwent approximately four months of post-surgery rehabilitation, she dedicated her recovery time to learning how to read. Now that her bow-leggedness has been corrected by the surgery and months of physical therapy, she can walk, run, and fulfill her plans for returning to school. Bow-leggedness is a deformity marked by outward bowing at the knee, which gives the limb the appearance of an archer’s bow. The chief cause is rickets, but it can also be caused by skeletal problems, infections, and tumors. Although Valerie did not disclose the cause of her condition, she cannot contain her excitement over returning to school. “School will be great,” she added. “People will say—‘Is this the same girl? Her legs are straight’!”

A group of strangers in Hermitage, Tennessee, quickly came together to help a woman trapped in a flipped car. Near exit 221 off Interstate 40, bystanders rushed to the scene where a silver vehicle lay overturned in a field. The group, consisting of eight men and women, successfully righted the car and assisted the woman, whose airbags had deployed. Carolina Carlos, who recorded the incident, noted that the woman was unharmed and that the group remained until emergency services arrived. Carlos explained that she filmed the rescue to demonstrate the kindness and solidarity among strangers. I find hope in the community, especially when faced with all the negativity in the world. It’s uplifting to witness people coming together to help one another and show such good intentions. It is indeed beautiful when people unite to show love. Let’s stay kind, let’s stay humane.

The benefits that arise when our kindness is accompanied by honesty, enriched by contentment, and free from any sense of entitlement; are so enormous that tongue and pen may not sufficiently capture all. 65-year-old Dianne Gordon has been walking 2.7 miles to and from her job behind a deli counter every day since her Jeep broke down and she didn’t have enough money to fix it. One day she decided to stop at a gas station for a snack and noticed a plastic bag. Inside there was a lot of money; turning it around there were some greeting cards, and a lot more money. Just doing what she “was taught to do” the grandmother of two called the police, who sent an officer to take custody of the sum. Gordon could have walked into any dealership in the state and driven something off the lot that day, but new because the money wasn’t hers, it wasn’t correct to take it. “If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” she told the Washington Post. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was, return something that didn’t belong to me.” Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department telephoned Gordon later that day to tell her they had used the information on the cards inside the bag to track down the owners. The happy couple was “overwhelmed” by Gordon’s honesty, as was Keller’s wife Stacy Connell. “As a police officer’s wife, I typically hear the bad things, so this was obviously heartwarming,” said Connell. “I was hoping we could help her get a car, since she could have walked into any dealership and used that money.” Connell set up a GoFundMe, and in just 6 days it raised four times, as much money from people wanting to reward Gordon’s act of selflessness as she had found in the sealed bag that morning. Grateful for the money and the words of encouragement from all the contributors, who celebrated with comments like “there are still good people in the world,” Gordon said she was stunned by the outpouring of generosity, which at the time of publishing, raised $82,000 and then closed. On February 8th, Friends of Dianne wrote: “Dianne officially signed for her new Jeep Compass yesterday at Szott M-59 in White Lake Township. Along with the new car, she also got an extended warranty, maintenance, insurance, and plates/tabs.” There was also an inspection done at her home to evaluate some much-needed repairs that will be done very soon. All of these positive outcomes were a direct result of her honesty and thoughtfulness towards the feelings of the person who had lost the money. It’s a beautiful story that shows more often than not, honesty pays.

When rough seas forced the cancellation of the last ferries out of Port Townsend on a busy holiday weekend, a group of stranded passengers faced the prospect of sleeping on the streets. However, their dire situation was resolved thanks to the kindness of a ferry terminal worker William Patterson .As the wind picked up on Saturday evening, the Washington State Ferries had to cancel the final sailings from Port Townsend to Coupeville due to the rough conditions It was in the early evening that 79-year-old Kip Goodwin and his wife from Hawaii had finished calling every hotel and Airbnb in the Olympic Peninsula’s Port Townsend—they were all fully booked for the summer holiday season. Neither had they luck at the YMCA or Red Cross—even the campgrounds were unavailable. Fearfully looking at each other amid the sound of howling wind, Patterson interrupted their worrying to tell them they would all be staying with him and his wife Arianna. Nestled among the pines on the Admiralty Inlet, Port Townsend is serviced by the United States’ largest ferry network, but the Port Townsend-to-Coupeville route, which Goodwin and the others were hoping to take after a day trip to Port Townsend and Whidbey Island, was canceled after winds picked up and the ferries had to remain tied to their moorings. All three round trips were canceled, starting at 6:45 pm and on to 9:00 pm. Arianna Patterson joked with the Seattle Times that her husband always threatened he’d bring a “straggler” home one day. William called and asked if they could make space for the Goodwins. “I said, ‘We have enough space for two, no big deal,’” Arianna said. “Then he called back and said, ‘We have eight or nine other people.’ I said, oh.” Like the Goodwins, most of the passengers were over 60 years of age, so the Pattersons were just happy they could get the visitors out of the weather. At the home, there was space on the couch and an extra bed, but pretty quickly people were on the floor, borrowing blankets that their hosts had from their time welcoming foster kids. Early the next morning, William went out to the cafe he runs along with his work at the ferry terminal to make pastries and coffee for them all. “It was unbelievable,” said Fred Dente, 79, who lives in Langley and was visiting with his wife and their two friends from Hawaii. “It was the way humans should treat humans. In this day and age, it was exceptional.” That morning was bright and brisk, and at 7:00 AM, the ferries departed. I need not over emphasize the way they felt as the entire atmosphere carried the waves of immense happiness and gratitude.