Acts of kindness you've experienced recently?
I wanted to share this nice little story that happened just minutes ago. I'm putting this on a post because perhaps people would like to share their own stories for the vibes.
I went for a quick grocery run. On the way back, I realized that I did not have my wallet in my pocket anymore. It wasn't in my pocket and it wasn't in the grocery bag.
The walk to the store was quite short but I did not see it after backtracking. A guy spotted me looking for something on the floor and asked me what I was looking for. With some diligence, he verified that I was indeed looking for a wallet and he pointed me to a barbershop close by. There, two guys were looking for me by searching my name on Facebook using the ID in my wallet.
I thanked them (in the local language, neither my first nor second language) and went about my way because I didn't know what else to say. I felt like I could have done more. Like thanked them with more words or given them a small reward etc. I was overwhelmed by the unusual situation that I didn't have any time to think.
I got home and searched for a non-monetary token of appreciation but by the time I came back they were already gone. I didn't even think they were going for a haircut.
Anyway, that was a super nice experience even though I kinda feel bad for not having shown more appreciation. I was already at the point of transferring money out of my card but I was lucky enough to have found such kind souls.
Anyone have similar experiences recently or otherwise?
I'm a teacher and I experience random acts of kindness pretty much every day. Kids from older years come up to me to say hi and chat, coworkers come say hi and chat, my immediate colleagues create material when not asked, etc.
I've also been kind of blessed this year, one of my favourite kids ever always comes in my class during dinner (I often eat there alone just to have alone time) and he's asked me if he could come.
We've had 4 dinners in about 8 days now and we've played online games like Bob the Robber lol the cellphones are banned in the school the whole day so it's fun that I can do that for him. His simple joyful and happy presence brightens my day every time. It also helps that he's super bright (he had multiple 100s last year) and kinda mature for his age (13).
I know it doesn't quite fit the usual "act of kindness", but I like to think it does.
Can't say I've had any directed at me lately, but I have been doing my best to be kind. As I was entering Harbor Freight the other day there was a dude on crutches trying to open the swinging door and come out with a cart of items.
I held both sets of doors for him and also offered to help him load his stuff into his car. He looked surprised and politely declined.
An older woman at the store asked if I could help her reach something on the top shelf, which I happily obliged.
Sounds maybe like I'm boasting of my own kindness here and perhaps I am, but I just haven't been the recipient of any particular kindnesses lately, so figured I'd share the opposite.
We could look out how for occasions to be the next person's random act of kindness. If every random act of kindness generate 2 more, we'll soon be swimming in it, world peace, infinite love, transcendent humanism.
I'm only half joking.
I spent almost an entire day with Apple support to fix a problem with my aging ipad. It was tedious and unproductive. They made an appointment for me with a store that’s about an hour away for the next day. I get there and it too is unproductive. The person just wanted to do all the stuff I had done with apple support already. I was feeling pretty grumpy by the time I was walking back to my car. I’m sitting there in my car thinking about the waste of time and gas, about how I can’t afford a replacement, and what a jerk the guy had been in the store when I look up and notice a large plastic crab on the hood of my car looking back at me. I get out of my car, look around, don’t see anyone, and pick up this happy looking crab, and feel freaking happy too. This crab is awesome! It was obviously 3d printed, has articulated legs and claws, and has a wonderfully serene looking face. It sits in my car and every time I look at it, I get a bit of that feeling.
This is beautiful. I don’t have a happy plastic crab but I still got a small piece of the feeling. Thank you!
Last year I was going through a hard time with finances and work and had to move into a smaller apartment and sign a longer lease just to make sure I could pay all my bills. One thing was that I was paying $180 per month for parking for a while, then the new location was $90 a month. Better but still not great.
The parking lot I had the paid spot in was on the other side of a fence from a local pizza spot. One day earlier this year, I was getting out of my car and noticed someone come out from the pizza shop and walk toward me and say something I couldn’t hear. I walked over to talk to him for a bit. He told me he was the owner of the pizza spot and that he actually owned the parking spots along that fence where I was parked.
I was thinking, “great, now I can’t even park where I’m paying to park…” But before I said anything he asked me how much I was paying for the spot. I told him and he said (something like) “Well, there’s no need to do that anymore since they’re mine but keep parking there.” I thanked him and we went our separate ways. I was a little confused.
I lived across the street and learned in our conversation that he lives in the next building over from mine. I had been ordering from them about once a week already because of laziness but I don’t think he knew that or made the connection at least.
That saved me $90 a month which isn’t much but it really meant a lot to me that he did that for seemingly no reason at all. What a nice guy. I continued ordering pizza from them once a week, even when I wasn’t feeling lazy, until I moved 2 weeks ago.
I'm sitting at work on Friday afternoon. As our HR manager is leaving for the weekend she says, "you are literally the only person in here. Go work from home."
This was not the act of kindless because I told her I can't because policy reasons (at least what I was told). The act of kindness is she's going to try to get it so I can.
When I got to the dining table this morning, I discovered my spouse had left me a package of Mexican chocolate cookies from the local bakery. He's fond of random gifts of that nature. Even after 30+ years together, it still gives me the warm fuzzies to find a surprise offering of something I like.
Is your husband a cat?
My two cats also leave me random gifts (usually formerly warm and fuzzy), that I do not welcome and often discover by stepping on them. I'm sure their intentions are kind towards me...
I've been struggling lately professionally - it's been a huge adjustment starting a new job, especially when I'm starting it late compared to everyone else and constantly playing catch up.
It isn't one big act of kindness, but the multitude of smaller, thoughtful gestures that has meant a lot to me. The myriad minor supports from my colleagues have been invaluable in ensuring my success so far, and without that I'd be drowning.
I still have a lot of imposter syndrome, and am filled with self doubt constantly, but I'm making a conscious effort to learn and grow throughout this journey. My latest challenge has allowed me to discover and meet a variety of individuals from another department, as well as the processes involved, which will likely prove useful in the in the future.
Final note: I'm glad my wife has been able to bear with me through these sudden changes, long hours, and my lack of presence over the last few weeks. It will likely continue, but she's been accepting of it all and I love her for that.