Random Acts Of Kindness

[FineLinen]

World Kindness Day

10 Amazing Stories For World Kindness Day, by DailyGood Editors

 

[renniks]

This was a horrible proposal [that the eight-year-old Albert join a friend in killing birds with a sling... but I dared not refuse for fear he would laugh at me.

So we came to a tree which was still bare, and on which the birds were singing out gaily in the morning, without any fear of us.

Then stooping over like an Indian on the hunt, my companion placed a pebble in the leather of his sling and stretched it. Obeying his peremptory glance I did the same, with frightful twinges of conscience, vowing firmly that I would shoot when he did.

At that very moment the church bells began to sound, mingling with the song of the birds in the sunshine. It was the warning bell that came a half-hour before the main bell. For me it was a voice from heaven.

I threw the sling down, scaring the birds away so that they were safe from my companion's sling, and fled home.

And ever afterwards when the bells of Holy week ring out amidst the leafless trees in the sunshine I remember with moving gratitude how they rang into my heart at that time the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill'

Memoirs of Childhood and Youth by Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Is it a sin to kill animals? This strike's me as an very wrong application of the commandment. If you eat meat then you're guilty of breaking the commandment, if you apply it this way. But of course that is not what it means, it's about murdering human beings.

 

[FineLinen]

The time our bike broke down in Laos

We were in central Laos riding on a motorbike from the infamous Konglor Cave back to Thakhek where we had a flight the next day. About 15 minutes after passing a town our motorbike’s fuel line broke. It was hotter than Hades and we hadn’t seen a car pass in quite awhile. We realized we were in a real jam and decided to not panic and start taking turns pushing the bike back towards the town we passed seeing how we had no map and no idea how far we were from a town in the direction we were going.

We kept calm and kept taking turns pushing until one truck stopped.

A local man and his wife came out while their young son stayed in the truck and watched. None of us could understand each other, but he knew we were in trouble. He rearranged his truck to fit the bike and hauled us to the nearest town to get help. Even working on the bike with the mechanic until it was fixed.

After everything was all said and done, our bill cost us a measly $4. We thanked and offered our generous family money for the ride and helping us out. They were reluctant to take it, but you could see the happiness that filled their eyes.

They didn’t have to stop, they didn’t have to help us, but they did. That’s something that we both will remember the rest of our lives and hope to pay it forward one day.

 

[FineLinen]

"I would like to have engraved inside every wedding band BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. This is the Golden Rule of marriage and the secret of making love last through the years." - Randolph Ray

"Research has shown time and again that people who give to others, in small and large ways, tend to be happier and live longer. I want to live a long and happy life. How about you?" - Lisa Desatnik

 

[FineLinen]

"The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete. People even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody."

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

 

[FineLinen]

"You can tell people all day long that you really care, and many will still not believe you. Yet give some genuine kindness on a regular basis and you won’t have to tell them anything; they’ll know." -Ralph Marston-

"Send loving-kindness to somebody that we have difficulty with. This is a very interesting place because it’s very difficult. It’s a very powerful place because that person, in some ways, symbolizes the difference between love or loving-kindness, which is conditional, and that which is on uncondition that which goes beyond having our desires met, having affection returned, having people treat us well. It is that person that defines the line between that which is finite and that which is infinite. Yet it’s not easy. Very often to think of this person and you enmity, or anger, or fear, whatever. As a suggestion, when we begin that part of the practice, in the spirit of doing it in the easiest way possible, it’s probably better to start with somebody where there’s mild irritation rather than the person who has hurt you most in your life." -Sharon Salzberg

 

[FineLinen]

“A tree is known for its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” - Saint Basil

“Loving kindness is a form of love that truly is an ability, and, as research scientists have shown, it can be learned. It is the ability to take some risks with our awareness-to look at ourselves and others with kindness instead of reflexive criticism; to include in our concern those to whom we normally pay no attention; to care for ourselves unconditionally instead of thinking, “I will love myself as long as I never make a mistake.” It is the ability to gather our attention and really listen to others, even those we’ve written off as not worth our time. It is the ability to see the humanity in people we don’t know and the pain in people we find difficult.” -Sharon Salzberg

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

“A tree is known for its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” - Saint Basil

“Loving kindness is a form of love that truly is an ability, and, as research scientists have shown, it can be learned. It is the ability to take some risks with our awareness-to look at ourselves and others with kindness instead of reflexive criticism; to include in our concern those to whom we normally pay no attention; to care for ourselves unconditionally instead of thinking, “I will love myself as long as I never make a mistake.” It is the ability to gather our attention and really listen to others, even those we’ve written off as not worth our time. It is the ability to see the humanity in people we don’t know and the pain in people we find difficult.” -Sharon Salzberg

 

[PeterJames0510]

Ahh! Kindness Boomerang, recorded closer to my neck of the woods growing up (recorded in Redbank, NJ) and not primarily a Christian song ... yet, we should be known for this simple stuff that the world tries to do without God!

 

[FineLinen]

“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” - John J. Powell

"To belittle, you have to be little.” -Kahill Gibran

“It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters,” - Amit Ray

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

Living kindness is not some hypothetical idea. It is the artful, daily expression of kindness, compassion and deep respect for all beings regardless of differences in faith, belief, culture, gender, social status and ethnicity. This is kindness with the power of mindful action behind it. Rather than being reduced to a "random acts of kindness" bumper sticker, this kindness is uniquely boundless, purposeful and empowering. It is also more open and forgiving than the self-sacrificing kindness that I learned about in Sunday school. Living kindness is a vehicle by which our love, equanimity and other vital values make contact with the real world. This is kindness where it counts. -Donald Altman

“Just for today, I will let go of anger. Just for today, I will let go of worry. Today, I will count my many blessings. Today, I will do my work honestly. Today, I will be kind to every living creature.”

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

“But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one’s deepest as well as one’s most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” - Dinah Craik

“You have a unique gift to offer this world. Be true to yourself, be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests you and keep away from people who bring you down. When you treat yourself kindly and respect the uniqueness of those around you, you will be giving this world an amazing gift… you!” - Steve Maraboli

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

 

[FineLinen]

"Every single time you help somebody stand up you are helping humanity rise.” - Steve Maraboli

“Nothing,' wrote Tolstoy, 'can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” - Gretchen Rubin

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."

 

[FineLinen]

"I would like to have engraved inside every wedding band BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. This is the Golden Rule of marriage and the secret of making love last through the years." - Randolph Ray

“When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do. ” - Rachel N. Remen