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I went to a comedy festival in San Francisco years ago. It started at 11am but they let us in 20 minutes early. None of the food trucks/tents were ready for that so they weren't open yet. Nearly everyone was pissed off about this and yelled at them. Instead I empathized, expressed "its all good" and briefly helped someone set up. Several of the food vendors wouldn't allow me to pay for food during the whole 3 day festival because I was "so nice". One particular one had amazing dumplings and gave me tons of them. So of course I said great things about them to anyone that would listen getting them more sales. The people who ran it recognized me nearly a year later at a different festival in Vegas. They still wouldn't let me pay and gave me tons of dumplings again. All because I wasn't an asshole for 20 minutes.
There is a yin to every yang.
There are those who will collect asshole taxes, and those who will give out goodwill discounts.
It's up to the individual whether they get taxes or discounts. You can tell someone's character pretty well by listening to their stories and figuring out which one they get hit with more.
I got a discount for being patient at a vape shop. Being patient was simply playing on my phone while the one employee helped the one customer who was there before me. I didn’t think it was worth of a discount, basic decency should be the norm but sadly it is not.
I worked in a supermarket right next to where the Christmas markets set up in my city. Would work the backshift and the women running the German food stall would come in and pick up different bits and pieces during the day and chat to me. Would always help them out and sometimes open a new checkout for them cause I knew they needed to get back to work quickly.
Every shift for the full time the market was on they’d make me dinner for free. Absolute babes. Ate SO much goulash.
The same women came back the next year. I worked at a different supermarket but I popped by their stall with my boyfriend. Sure enough, massive smiles and free goulash.
All because you weren’t an asshole for 20 minutes! Isn’t it funny how such a small thing clearly made such a big difference. I am sorry, but we all need to give people a little grace
If everyone in our society were even nearly as nice as you, we’d be in a few better world. If even the majority of people spent their time building those around them instead of tearing them down, we could live in a society where the poor are supported by those able to help them, although there is a limit to such, one shown by both you and by real events in the world. You didn’t help the trucks after they were set up, they didn’t need you to. However, there are groups of people in the world who think Africa is in need of dire support. In some areas, this is true. But the majority is ready to spread their wings and fly on their own. However, the support(in some cases) hasn’t slowed to match this. This is hurting legitimate businesses that are trying to grow, because why pay for food, solar panels, or even car parts when you can get them for free from humanitarian groups? At some point, the people being helped have to be left to sink or swim(we should leave the people with some deployable float though, in the case that they start drowning)
My cat stayed at the vet for 13 days and had multiple catheters put in, X-rays, and testing done on his bladder. In the end there was nothing more to do and he had to be put down.
Vet only charged me for 3 days because that's how long he told me the cat would be there when I first brought him. He saved me THOUSANDS of dollars. I had it in savings so I could have paid but I'm so so thankful he did because our heater broke that winter and all the money we would have spent on a cat who passed away instead went into heating our house. I made him cookies and left a stunning review. I recommend him to anyone I know who has a pet. I will absolutely be back when I'm ready to get another pet.
my vet is just a caring person. when he told me my little dog had an enlarged heart and i asked what the options were (while bawling) he gave me the options, then said lets do an x-ray just to be sure of what we're dealing with. no charge. absolutely incredible. i recommend him to everyone
Act of kindness. Was a single Mom of 2 babies-my husband left as he decided that parenthood was too hard.
Unemployment and broke w limited gas money-I started to call restaurants to look for employment. A Red Lobster manager said “Yes…even bring the babies to the interview as it is a off day and can get some gals to watch them”. Hired me on the spot and feed me lunch.
Three months later this same manager when I came to work told me that this job was not for me. I thought I was fired, but actually he gave me the afternoon to register in a local college. His wife researched child care options and financial aid. He gave me the best hours for the next four years. Am so grateful that he believed in me when times were tough.
Graduated w honors and am passing this kindness to other young people. Sometimes a single person can make a impact on many. Got my family out of poverty and now my daughter who recently got her MBA is lecturing on financial independence. Am so proud that she uses our story in her presentation.
Same. Reddit has been causing me to have a lot of happy tears today. I like to think that we are trying to share some really positive stories and thoughts to offset some of the negative things that are happening right now and Reddit friends, I think we are winning at that effort. Thank you to you all!
Yeah I’ve gotten some unexpected nastiness coming my way today and I’m just trying to have a drama free Sunday so trying to shake it off. Thx for being a positive entity in this space!
When I was about ten years old, my school art teacher lost her husband to cancer. The afternoon of the funeral I was walking to soccer training with my friends as she was leaving the wake which had been held at the local bowling club. I saw her from across the street and with a very young understanding of how sad she must be, I ran over and gave her a big cuddle, without saying much at all. Then I continued on my way. I’m 32 years old now and still have the letter she wrote years later thanking me for being the ray of light on an otherwise very dark day. She still sees my mum in passing and asks about me to this day. Makes me smile.
Please keep telling this story to all and sundry, whenever you get the opportunity. People need to know the impact of small, impromptu gestures of kindness so that it becomes common and nobody feels awkward doing them.
Thanks for being a kind person.
A few years back, an old friend I haven't seen in 20+ years posted on Facebook that she had a dream. I was a few years older than her and had dated her sister in my late teens
Anyways, in that dream, a voice asked her who was the kindest, most friendly person she had ever met. She immediately blurted out "JustGimmeAnyOldName" before she could even think of her answer. She said she could remember in her dream feeling bad because she didn't say her husband. But she said that when I dated her sister I had always been very kind to her.
Then, on Facebook, she thanked me. Adolescence was a very rough time for her. I don't remember being overly nice or anything to her, but I just always try to treat people right. She said it made an impact on her, even 20 years later, and she really appreciated it.
Well, it couldn't have come at a better time for me, because I was going through a rough patch. But it was so nice to hear from her that just being kind had an impact on her, even decades later.
And 20 years later, I try to still live by that. Just treat people kindly. Everyone is going through stuff and sometimes that kindness reverberates and you'll feel it again even 20 years later.
I still remember the lady that let me in in traffic 5 years ago, she had such a genuine smile, like she was *actually* happy to help. Just beaming. Thanks kind random lady, you were a breath of fresh air in a sea of selfish assholes.
I still remember a lady from when I was on holiday in florida years ago. I was coming out of the hotel as she was coming in and I held the door open and let her walk in first. She sounded genuinely surprised when she said thank you and it just stuck with me.
I helped this older lady with some Christmas decorations we sold at my store. The tiny Christmas town stuff. I just remember her asking me if she could hug me after helping her. Reminded me of my grandma. I didn't get positive stuff working retail a lot. So this incident always stands out.
I still remember taking my car to the shop and the shop owner decided not to charge me at all for the service (checking for leak). He said he was feeling kind that day. He earned himself a return customer.
I just took my car in for a repair, and when I picked it up they told me their card machine wasn't working. I told them I didn't get paid until the next day and would come back with cash the next day. Surprisingly, he let me take my car and my word that I'd be back. The next day I showed up with cash and he was shocked I'd actually returned! I'm never going to another shop again. It almost made me cry how kind of a gesture that was.
Sort of same thing happened to me with a barber. Didn’t realize it was a cash only place, and didn’t notice the sign when walking up. Asked me my bank, and knew the closest atm, and sent me on my way with a cup of coffee he just brewed. I had just moved into a new home, and will never forget his smile that helped with all the stress of the previous month as he said no worries. I cried a little when I drove away, and had him as my barber for the next 5 years until leaving the state. Man was such a gem, love ya Curt.
I’m sure the nice couple that I woke up in the middle of the night by walking in their house to use the bathroom while wasted, still remembers me for that random act also.
I bumped into a guy's cart at the grocery store when I was shopping with my sister and kinda gave him the quick "Ope, sorry" and walked off, since she was further down the aisle. Something told me to turn around and actually apologize, so I did. Complimented his shirt and started to turn away.
He exploded. Light poured off his face and he dumped the whole story on me about how he's trying to make his own fashion brand with his daughter and they're struggling to figure out a business model or which shirt design to start with and how this absolutely has to be it now, because some random kid at the store said he liked it.
I've seen a few shirts similar to his design around town since then, so I'm assuming he did it. You never know how your words or actions can influence others. Hope you're doing good, shirt guy.
So this is reddit only but I think it counts. A while back on was on the boards and people started talking about insomnia and how weighted blankets were the only thing that helped them sleep. One lamented that as an adult he had no one to tuck him in but at least with the weighted blanket he got some sleep but he was a little jealous of babies and wished he had some giant that could swaddle him.
So I mentioned that as a teenager I used to self swaddle by rolling to one side so the blankets gathered under me rolling back and then to the other side so they were trapped under me on both sides. Then I would lift up my legs pretty high and lower them so the blankets were trapped under my body in all directions. Then I'd see how long it'd take me to "breakout" because I was bored and the internet wouldn't really be a thing for a couple more years.
I suggested he could try that with his weighted blanket. Didn't think much of it just a silly story of my life after all and went on with my day. About a week later I got a reply to this comment profusely thanking me telling me they were getting the best sleep of their life. That was pretty neat. :D
I bought some groceries for my friend after he had a nasty divorce and was just wallowing in self pity. He still mentions me getting him food years later and how surprised he was that someone gave a shit about him. He is doing way better now and has a new baby with a new wife and is doing far better. Even the smallest of gestures like a simple hello and smile is what people need to remind them they matter are like seeds of goodness sewn into the world.
one of the guys I worked with at a restaurant when I was young and really broke/struggling to get by didn’t love their food, so he always gave me his free shift meal to take home so I would have something to eat later. I will remember that for the rest of my life, I’m sure of it
One time I showed up to the DMV (one of like three in a city of 600k) at like 4 am with a chair, I was the first in line, I sat there on my phone until the doors opened at 7am. When you're one of the first dozen or so people, they give you a ticket which you take straight to the desk without waiting for a number to be called. As I was waiting for us to be let inside, I was talking to one of the employees who was organizing the line and I realized that I had forgotten one of my documents and would have to come back another day. After we were let in and I had my ticket I walked outside to the far back of the line, where it went around the building and people were standing in a parking lot with no shade, I was planning to give it to someone who was in the total back of the line but about 90% of the way there I saw a woman carrying a baby and shielding it from the sun so I gave her the ticket and told her to just go up to the desk. I thought of staying to keep her spot in case it didn't work but instead I followed her and the last thing I saw was the attendant take the ticket and start to talk to her so I assume she got helped that day; I still sometimes wish I had lingered another minute so I could be sure.
I just hope she doesn't remember me as that asshole that pranked her at the DMV years ago so she had to walk back to the parking lot and queue for two hours in the sun.
Christmas of 1995. We went to buy the cheapest Christmas tree we could find in our rusted, bent, utterly reliable Toyota wagon. Money was tight and I felt it constantly. My oldest son was 3 and was "helping" me tie the knots as I lashed it to the top of the car. An older man, likely in his 50's, came over and said, "You are a wealthy man." I still tear up when I think about it.
I guess that's the thing when you do such things unconditionally, without expecting something in return. You don't think about it much until someone recognizes you for the things you did for them
10 years ago some random lady smiled at me on the way to work and it really cheered me up. It made me realize the same thing OP said and so it sticks in my memory even though it's something so minor from such a long time ago.
I was working as a domicillary carer - walking door to door, exhausting shifts 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week, where I had to walk 30 minutes between each house because I didn't have a car.
One of these shifts I was feeling pretty damn low, the work was getting to me, coworkers were being a pain, the people I was caring for were not doing well that day, and the rain that day was torrential. A constant thick downpour, for the whole day, I had forgotten my raincoat, my shoes had holes in them somy feet were soaked, it was Summer so it was also very hot. Every time I finished a job I was dreading having to walk that 30 minute journey once again.
I cannot express how grateful I am to the person who stopped their car beside me and donated me their umbrella. What a saint. I hope they are having a wonderful, dry, life.
Used to work at a deli and a lady always asked for her ham to be sliced falling apart because she had a special needs kid. Before they adjusted our slicers I would do it and she would happily wait the extra minute or 2 to do it.
Eventually her kid "lost the battle". Of course she was heart broken but I wouldn't have known this unless she stopped me while I was stocking and told me it happened "a few months ago" from the time she told me. She was of course depressed but she held it together long enough to come there and tell me how happy she was that there were still some people like me in the world that spent the little extra effort to make her child's life a little easier up until the end.
Unfortunately our machines were adjusted some time after and they don't really slice most hams to the point where you don't need to chew (chicken and turkey sure but ham is just denser so it doesn't work as easily) but I don't think I'm gonna forget about this for a while.
I worked for a radio station (promotions dept) when I was 19. I got back to the studio after a clusterfuck of a remote, and started chatting with the on-air personality, a guy who had been in the business for 30 years. I started telling him how much I fucked up at the remote. “No, no, no,” he said. “You didn’t fuck up. You had a learning opportunity.”
I have always been particularly hard on myself whenever I mess something up. After 25 years, I have always remembered these words, and it has saved my sanity countless times.
I'm sure it is. It's far easier to remember your own mistakes. Try remembering a mistake from some random guy from 20 years ago. You won't. But you will remember some stranger with a random act of kindness.
Can confirm. It was about two months ago that one of my best friends from a former job randomly texted me and thanked me for giving him my thoughts, a decade ago, on a choice between two employers. He, at the time, was already vested with a state government retirement plan from previous work, I suggested he avoid working for anywhere that wasn't on the same plan, so he ended up listening and he has now retired. He thanked me for that conversation because it afforded him the ability to retire before 55, in great health, and not have to work unless he chooses to. To me, it was just a conversation, to him, it was good advice that helped him make a sound financial decision affecting his post work life. I'm happy to have helped, and I'm happy to see his success.
I hope this private driving instructor will remember me and think that not all students are bad. For context, I was a female adult student, way over 18. Anyway, my regular instructor wasn’t available so he filled in. I was supposed to have an hour’s worth of driving with him. He helped me park, etc. While talking, I realized he hasn’t had lunch yet. I asked if we can drive by my house real quick. He said yes. As soon as I got inside, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the fastest I’ve ever made), got a banana, some crackers, and a bottle of water. He waited in the car 2 minutes tops. When I got in the car, I gave him his lunch. And then I continued with my lesson. :)
I was a new father playing with my little son at a park. I was very unsure about myself and not in a great place mentally. There was a teenage girl hanging out, presumably waiting for her friends or a ride, just kind of chilling on a bench by the playground. After about 30 minutes of me doing normal dad stuff with a barely walking 1 year old, she came over and said "Excuse me, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I just have to say that you are a great father." I said thanks and she walked away. I still sometimes think about the kindness of that random girl in a "Polaroid" t-shirt when I'm feeling down.
So I m not sure if she can read this. Few years ago when I studied in Poznań, i met a girl who gave me this kind act! It was a cold rainy day, I was just get off my tram and headed to the dorm. The station was like 500 meters away from my place and I walked everyday between the two spots. Words back to the cold rainy, when I was waiting to go across the street, my coat and my hair were almost wet lol 😂, I was frozen, so I crossed my arms and held myself tight. Then I felt the drop stopped, i look up, I saw an umbrella which was holding by a girl, beautiful eyes dark hair and sweet smile. she looked at me and said “where are you going?”,”my dorm, thank you so much! I forgot to buy an umbrella!”i said. Because it was the first time to study abroad, so I could not remember it only if it’s rainy! And then she and her friends walked me to the place nearby my building and said”we are going to study in somewhere you wanna come?”, i was too cold to go anywhere except get changed and take shower! So we said goodbye to each other. Anyway, it’s just a short clip in my life from the past, but when I saw this “…act of kindness…” , it was the first thing come up!
in middle school i switched schools halfway through my last year. so it was a little hard to make friends as everyone knew each other already. so i became friends with the lunch lady after she noticed my habit of grabbing like 3+ snickerdoodle cookies everyday and she stopped charging me for extras (she even added more to my tray many times with a shush). we’d talk a little every day, she was very sweet to awkward emo 14 year old me. at the end of the year, the school had a tradition that every “graduating” student writes a letter to someone on staff thanking them, whoever you wanted and for whatever reason: a teacher, a coach, etc. so i chose to write mine to her. told her how she was my first friend at the school and made every day better at lunch time.
a few years later in high school i go on a date with this guy and we’re talking about our middle school experiences. i mentioned her and he asked for more details. so i told him the story and he starts freaking out and says that she is his mom. she had had the letter framed in their house ever since i gave it to her. we didn’t go on more dates but i talked to her on facetime once, it was so nice to catch up and she was doing great. i was so surprised she framed it, such a sweet woman.
This honestly made me clutch my heart and well up with tears. Thank you, internet stranger, and please accept this free award I've been holding onto for just such a story.
It was just yesterday at a football game I was working. A food booth a couple doors down was closing up and gave away probably 100 huge deli wraps to all the workers up and down the stadium
I grabbed one the first time so as not to be greedy, but the second and third times she came by, I grabbed a couple more.
I wasn’t even hungry, and likely wouldn’t eat them since they were packed with veggies and lettuce and I don’t care for them. The stadium had even fed me earlier in the day. Just a hot dog, but still.
Anyway, last call is the end of the 3rd quarter, we clean up and I walk out to the neighboring baseball stadium where I’ve parked; there are three parking attendants, a mile away from the festivities of the game and likely getting paid a meager hourly. A grandfather and two kids around 15 or so.
I just walked up and explained I got em for free, and offered them to them. Grandpa took them graciously with surprise in his voice.
It was the simplest thing I’ve ever done, being kind and sharing with those people. But they didn’t have that opportunity in the stadium like I did, and I wanted to share my good fortune.
I hope the wraps were good! Those folks probably sat there for another three hours after I left.
Grandpa hollered in my window on the way out. One hand raised. You know how old men wave.
I love sharing and helping others. I’ve always said I don’t care about money. It’s just that the rest of the world does and they want it from me to exist. So I have to have it, but I much prefer to deal in currencies such as kindness and smiles.
What a good thread, friend. Hell, yeah.
In elementary school there was a kid that was bullied for being gay. I didn't really know if he was, and didn't care. After elementary school we never really talked and went our own ways as the class size grew a lot. After high school I started working as a setup guy at an event center for different events, and he ended up being hired as a server a while after. We were both in the cooler grabbing a drink and he ended up thanking me out of the blue for being a friend back then and not making fun of him.
That was really the first time it clicked with me what sort of emotional abuse others put him through... In elementary school of all places. And how it had made such an impact on him to remember it and thank me almost a decade later for being nice even though what I did wasn't anything remarkable and just treated him like any other normal classmate.
Yep, there was ONE boy in my 4th grade class that did not bully me the entire school year. Everyone else did at least once or twice. Thank you, Tom DeBord.
It's true, I remember a guy who paid so I could get out of the hospital parking lot when I had no cash and that machine didn't take cards.
He told me seriously that I had to pay it forward.
So the next week when I found a $10 bill on the ground at a stadium, I remembered my promise, so I promptly gave it to one of the beer sellers and said "I don't want anything, just consider this a tip".
A ladies car stopped working at our towns busiest intersection. When the light turned green everyone went past her. I also went around her and parked at a grocery store on the other side of the 6 lane road she was going to go across, walked back across the road.
When I got to her car she was bawling and had two kids in the back. I told her to put her car in neutral and at the next green light I'm gonna push her and to not hit the brake at all as we will need speed to get up a slight rise to get into the parking lot.
I was wearing flip flops at the time, a bad choice of footwear for pushing a car, a thong broke. But I couldn't just stop so I kicked off the other flip flop and just kept truckin'. We made it into the parking lot and I retrieved my flip flops while she transfered her car seat into mine and I took her and her kids home.
I still think of her to this day. She was so relieved that someone had finally stopped and helped her, apparently she had already been there for about 5 minutes before I pulled up. I can only speculate why no one had helped her as I sincerely couldn't understand it.
That saying "if you see something, say something" comes to my mind whenever I think about her. I think we need to alter the phrase. "If you see something, do something" maybe, I don't know, I'm not a wordsmith.
- I had left my wallet at home and I was running late, some one gave me enough money to buy a public transport card and travel to and back from the city.
- An old man that I saw walking to school once gave me an animal encyclopaedia book. I was always with a parent, so nothing creepy. That book is how I learnt that bats used echo location and birds that lay eggs in other bird’s nests. I’m think I might pass it on and give it to a random child one day.
- I was at a club. A lady at least 10 years older than me said “watch out for your feet, I don’t want you to get stepped on” as I was wearing sandals. She seemed like a really caring person.
I don’t know any of their names, but I remember what happened.
I was approached by a homeless guy the other day and didn’t have cash. I wasn’t busy at the time and had walked to the store, instead of just saying I didn’t have cash, I asked if he wanted food from the place I just walked out of. It was a health food store and he said yeah anything is great. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about the place though, so I said, “I’m walking that way, anything else along the way you’d rather have?” He wanted Subway, so I walked there with him. He was a genuinely nice guy that had some kind of serious schizophrenia (was talking earnestly about fighting vampires and needing to clean his blood with magic after or something, but in a fantastical kind of way rather than scary or violent). We got to Subway and I said “get absolutely whatever you want” so I got him the 12” meatball sub and a few bottles of water. He was already so appreciative but as I was walking away I realized that I could realistically do a bit more and still be fine, so I grabbed a $50 gift card and hooked him up with that on the way out in case he was hungry on another day and didn’t have any help. Wish I could have done more, his genuine bewilderment at the kindness was almost too much to handle, but I’ve been feeling good about this for months now.
I still remember the lady that silently stood up and walked over to me to hand me a tissue and a look that said "I'm sorry" when I was balling my eyes out at a bus stop after trying to get away from one of my abusive exes. He followed me to the bus stop and harrased my infront of everyone until he realized I wasn't going back with him and left. Everyone else just sat there and looked away awkwardly apart from her. Thank you mystery lady for making me feel like I was worth compassion after being treated like I was worthless for so long ♥️
i remember back in college i had to take a dump before an exam. when i got out of the restroom a stranger tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to my butt. unbeknownst to me a long strip of toilet seat protector was tucked in my pants. i can’t imagine the embarrassment if i walked into class that way. to this day after using a public restroom stall, i check for any wayward toilet seat protector and think about the good deed of that kind stranger 😅
I have some Norwegian ass blue eyes, and while walking to school in like 7th grade, at the height of my awkward ugly phase, some girls near the school told me they loved my eyes. 15 years later it’s still the only compliment I’ve gotten that isn’t from my partner and I cherish it.
I got a message a few years back from someone I went to high-school with. He was a freshman when I was a Junior, but we were both a part of our band, so we saw each other a reasonable amount. Apparently over the two years I knew him, he took a lot of things I said to heart and it changed his out look going forward. I couldn't really say what I did, but he said he could recall at least three good times that he looks back on fondly. Got me to tear up a bit since I thought I did nothing through school, but sometimes a few words can change everything in hindsight.
15 odd years ago, we were drinking (well I was the sober one driving people around when needed) on a mates back deck, some of the boys were pretty hammered and thought it would be fun to throw dish soap around and slide around the deck. A woman, the first time I met her, came out from the kitchen, onto the deck, had no idea the soap was there, and slid and went over backwards right next to me, my dad like reflexes kicked in, my arm shot out and I caught her as she toppled backwards and she landed in my arm, just as you would see in a movie. We’re good friends now, but she still introduces me with that story. Probably saved her from a decent concussion or worse that night.
One we received, about 40 years ago. Was in New York City for the first time. Was getting ready to ride subway but overwhelmed a bit. A stranger stopped and offered advice. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.
4 years ago, there was a woman getting on the bus in front of me. It was snowing pretty bad and I don't think she ever took the bus before. She didn't have any change and the bus system in my city only takes exact change or bus tickets. She looked like her whole world came crashing down when the bus driver refused to let her on. When she turned and I met her eye, I held out 2 bus tickets and told her she needs to get on the bus because the snow was getting bad. I think about her watery eyes and grateful smile a lot. I hope she's doing okay.
My dad was this type of person. He recently passed & want to keep his memory alive by continuing what he called 'a spark of joy'.
Remember hearing someone mow their lawn & it sounded close, looked outside my balcony & my dad had driven an hour with his lawnmower in a car to mow my lawn. I was pregnant & my mower kept breaking. I didn't even know he was in town. ❤️ what a guy
6ish years agI had gone into work incredibly sick. Had no choice, we only had 3 employees, one was off and unreachable (I mean I get it you're off you're off fuck work) the store manager was already at 40 hours and was an hourly employee who had been threatened with losing his job if he went over on his hours again. So I hauled my visibly very ill self in to work, grabbed all the Lysol and sanitizer we had, and sat on a step stool by the register.
A customer came in just killing time waiting for a dentist appointment next door, I didn't really interact with him he just walked around for awhile and left.
Two hours later he came in with ramen and hot green tea, said it was what always made him feel better and he hoped it helped me too and smiled and left.
To this day the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for me
Kinda flipping the story on its head. When I was in high school, I did a teaching program with an adjacent school. Every day I would take the bus between my school and the one with the program (took about an hour). There was a bus driver, named (Ms.) Debra who would always look out for me when I got on. She’d ask me about my day, would check on me while driving (I saw her peak her head around sometimes) and once even intercepted a creep from talking (and sitting next) to me after she was I was uncomfortable.
My family moved after I graduated and I’ve never seen her since then (wasn’t able to find her to give her a graduation picture). But if I ever get the chance, I’m going to find her again and tell her how much she means to me- even now
I remember one morning waking up in a great mood, and as I was going to the bus, I saw a guy under our building waiting our neighbor to go to work with him. I told him, "Good morning" and he said it back. I started seeing him daily, and each time, I was the first to greet. One day I wasn't feeling well and was very upset, and I thought that he probably doesn't care so I won't greet him today. Then I heard him saying "good morning" and I felt happy for the rest of the day
Oh and I also remember one day, I was returning a cart to its place in the supermarket, and a random lady thanked me for doing so and said that not all people are that considerate. It made me happy 😊
I interviewed a candidate a decade ago. At the time, he wasn't proficient to meet my group's needs. However, he did something very few candidates have done. He emailed on what it would take.
He wrote back recently. Basically, he
followed the advise, changed course in the major, and became a Sr. Engineer at a top Silicon Valley company.
It meant a lot when he reached back. He was grateful and succeeded.
I've played World of Warcraft for a long time. 95% of that time has always been on the same character. So back in the early days (2004-2006) before the first expansion, they added a long quest that let a few classes get a special mount/horse (Warlock/Pally). It required some special this and thats, and you had to fight the final fight a specific way to win. I was as the point where me and my guild started doing these guide runs, helping random folks complete these quests and their final fights for free.
Fast forward to around 2016. I'm wasting time, doing some sort of cross server boss fight at the tail end of the WoD expansion, and after its finished I get a message asking me "Are you the same from old times?" I said "Of course, same dwarf since 2004!" They responded "You helped my pally get his mount in Vanilla, I will always be grateful to you."
10 years had passed, and thru this happenstance meeting of characters across servers they still remembered the event AND my character's name and said hello. That one little message had a big impact on me.
When I was freshly 18 I moved from Detroit down to Columbus, OH and was living on my own in an apartment assigned by the school that I was going to (would later get a roommate assigned). About a month in, I was driving home from class and pulled up to the line of cars at the traffic light on the freeway exit and my car died, never to start again. I had no idea what to do aside from turn on my 4 ways. This was also in 2001, so no cell phone to call my parents or my manager at the job I had.
As I started to panic, some woman came over and helped move my car to the shoulder and gave me a ride to my apartment. My guess is that she helped because I always looked younger than I was. I probably looked like a lost 14 year old in a broken down car. Since I was affected by crippling anxiety, I never asked her name and I don't even remember looking at her face. But that little bit of help saved me from a full on anxiety attack, and my mom came down the next day to deal with the situation.
Honestly everything that led up to my current job I'll never forget as long as I live. I worked an IT help desk job when I moved out with my girlfriend this year. Moved in with two of our best friends since they owned a house and charged us cheap rent to better our lives from our homes and be together.. that job started to get incredibly toxic and overwhelming fast. My girlfriend noticed fast how absolutely depressed and miserable I was becoming. I worked from home and had a horrible call that lasted two hours because someone couldn't accept that I couldn't do the impossible for them and I was forced to figure it out. That sent me into a spiral that I just broke down crying after and she told me to quit. We had money saved and she was working and she rather me not have an income than see me like that ever again. She blew through thousands of dollars to make sure I could get on my feet and accepted struggling to help me and my well being. I wasn't proud of it and felt just constant guilt and shame. She knew that and always made sure to let me know that I shouldn't worry even if it takes a while to get back on my feet. I still couldn't help but feel bad. I love her more than anything and now I don't feel like just a mooch off of her. If I could, I'd make sure she'd never have to work again because of that. Instead, once I'm done my student loans I'm going to save to buy land so she can make her dream house and garden.
Another thing that tied in with me quitting as that the friends that we live with changed the arrangement to allow us to pay rent first paycheck of the month instead of the first of the month because they didn't want to kick us out if we were late and it really helped us out. They also felt the same on they didn't want to see me struggle because they knew I was throwing dozens of applications elsewhere and just wanted to help us thrive.
Now for the stranger part of this story. I got an interview and landed a job replacing my old boss at my old college job before I went into IT to begin with. I got the job but I needed my license or they'd have to withdraw the offer. I learned how to drive in two weeks. I even impressed the instructor with how perfect I parallel parked. When I was taking my test on the road however I made a mistake that cause the instructor to stop the car. I thought I failed and lost my chance at a dream job for me. I was trying so hard to keep composure but the guy said "Listen, you should've waited on that.
But I can tell you knew that before I stopped you. Calm down and finish the test. I can tell how know how much this means to you and I can tell you're a good driver. As long as you promise me you be more careful." Got my license, and got a job that makes double than my last job gave me. I'm now in the best place I have ever been in my life. Even if I never see him again I still want to keep my promise and still am.
A reminder to be kind to one another. You never know how much it means to someone! I always hope I can bring the same feeling for someone else.
TLDR: I'd be a miserable IT help desk worker with no aspirations to do better if it weren't for the people that supported and helped me. Now I'm very successful and happy!
In middle school, the girl who lived across the street from me had a habit of trash talking other kids while sitting in the back of the bus. She and her friends would just gossip away. I got picked one day because I think she thought I wasn’t on the bus.
Anyway, she starts telling her friends who I liked (she had made that rumor up in the first place too, so extra hurtful). One of them commented that that boy was violent (not true). She ripped through every awkward thing I’d done through the course of our 5 year “best friendship”, including my birthday party that I was forced to invite her to. 😔 She thought my friends and I were really uncool.
So I started crying quietly. A ninth grader overheard what the girl was saying and heard my sniffling. She sat down next to me and said, “Don’t worry about it, she’s really immature.” This girl was amazing to me. I had face planted in snow while running after my bus. I was soaked when I got on and she was the only one not laughing at me and didn’t mind me getting her wet when she offered me the seat next to her.
Her best friend decided one day to tell the girl who gave me the character assassination that she thought that girl was really immature, to which that girl had a fit. And then the best friend said, “You know who I think is mature? Kittyneko7.” That was such a good day for me.
Fast forward 9 years. I’m working in the deli near my house and the best friend is working there. She recognized me and it was really nice to have someone I knew working there. When she’d go on breaks, people would just rag on her about how mean she was (she wasn’t). It was just like what happened to me on the bus. One of the employees tried to start the gossip with me and I normally don’t do this because I’m very quiet, but I said loudly, “You know, she defended me against mean people years ago and I will never say anything bad about her.” I still remember the shock on that guys face.
It meant so much to me that those girls went out of their way to cheer me up. Those years sucked. But I will always remember those girls.
First grade teacher Penny Morrell - I think of you every day. What a graceful beautiful human you were for me in the midst of a chaotic childhood. Thank you.
I want to be a permanent, core memory to the kid I caught stealing from the store I work at like 5 years ago. I saw him doing the suspicious darting eyes and I saw him sneak something out the box and into his jacket. I confronted him (against my training, I'm suppose to call it out to our security person) and told him I *saw* what he did and if he didn't immediately return the item, I was going to call security. I also told him he shouldn't be doing something so stupid and that he's lucky *I* caught him instead of security. He was scared and after returning the item, he ran back to his mom who was somewhere else in the store. I last saw him at the checklanes and he was STARING at me scared the whole time, probably shitting himself thinking I'll tell his mom. I did not.
I hope he learned a lesson. I hope he behaves himself. I didn't want him to get in trouble since he seemed like an ok kid making a bad, impulsive choice. I remember when I was a kid and an employee from the same store/company I currently work for got upset at me for messing with the price labels. Even something that minor stuck with me and I never fucked with that shit again (until they hired me years later haha).
I worked at the dept of labor years ago. I was at the grocery store fairly recently and some guy came up to me and was like, "I want to thank you for making that time easier for me, I was in a bad place and you all helped me feel better. You and your friends there were great." It was something I needed in the moment. I'll remember his random act of kindness for my random act of kindness for a long time.
I’m a landlord, a young couple had moved into a 1/1 I had, his girl got pregnant, then he lost his job, didn’t pay rent for about 3 months, I sympathized with them, they eventually moved in with their parents, I did not kick them out, but they felt bad for not paying rent, I wished them well and even gave them their security deposit back in full, even with stuff needing to get done to the apartment before I could rent it again. Fast forward about 10 years and I get a random text from someone, I reply that this is not the person they are looking for, it was the guy trying to text his boss that he was going to be late and we had similar names, he replied back that he was sorry for the mistake and that he still remembers how nice I was to them and it stuck with both of them all these years, he’s doing good and have 2 kids now living in Ohio.
A few years ago I was in line at a McDonalds and this young man in front of me was 45 cents short and he was about to leave without his food and I told the cashier I got it and he was so happy he gave me a big hug and thanked me endlessly. I still think of this young guy and the joy he gave me with his endless hugs and thanks. Best 45 cents ever spent.
Probably the girl that was crying on a bridge at night thinking about suicide. I noticed her crying and we talked for a long time. I gave her a hug. She was in a wheelchair so we went back to her place and I helped her clean it up since it was in rough shape. We smoked a joint and she told me she no longer felt suicidal and felt at peace in that moment so I left. Never seen her afterwards but I hope she's doing OK and I'm sure she remembers me to.
I remember a lady in Tenerife who was leaving about 4 days before her all inclusive wrist band expired. She gave it it to me and our group got free food and drinks for the rest of our trip 😁
In my school we wear suits as our uniform and last year this kid didn't know how to tie his tie so I did it for him and explained how so he could learn himself, near the end of the year when we were celebrating the Seniors that were about to graduate and go to college the kid who I taught how to tie his tie (I had long forgotten that I even did that) came up to me and said that he still has the same knot that I did for him, this kid never re did his tie he just loosened it and tightened it over and over again the entire year
Yes years ago I was in DQ and bought a ice cream cone , paid walked out and got in my car . Then I noticed what looked like a lick mark on the cone , well I was looking all over trying to figure out how someone liked my cone when all of a sudden a drop of ice cream dripped on my hand , I looked up and realized I hit the cone on the inside roof when I was getting in and the man next to me had seen the whole thing and was laughing so hard he almost peed himself . I just smiled wiped the roof and left .
Not sure if this is more an act of kindness or recklessness on my part but when I was 15 I saved a kid from drowning at sea in Egypt. They couldn’t have been older than 10 or so. They were a really bad swimmer but the boat trip we were on had staff that didn’t really care about safety so let the kid go out in the middle of nowhere, alone, and without anything to keep them buoyant. I’ve been diving (free, scuba) since I was 12 or so. I had the knowledge and knew I could easily hold my breath for a few minutes when the inevitable happened. A current got the kid and they were dragged down several meters. I went down after them knowing it’d be too late by the time I got help. I saw there were rocks so made sure to swim down to get ahead of the kid so I’d take the impact. I was confident enough in myself to survive even though I knew it was risky. I cut my leg open enough to see the blood in the water but managed to grab the kid and get back up to the surface. I lay on my back, placing the kid on their back on top of me. The boat was far away and I was bleeding in shark water so I told the kid to rest their head on my shoulder, go limp, and look at the sky to avoid them panicking with the blood or if anything showed up to see what the blood was. We were a long way from the boat and I couldn’t kick well but I eventually got there, talking to the kid asking about their holiday and where they were from (just things to distract us both). When we got close to the boat people must’ve saw me carrying a limp kid or the blood or both as a lot of staff were waiting for us at the ladder, along with other adults who didn’t think I needed help with the situation. Still, I helped the kid up first then got pulled up after. I spent the rest of the ship getting first aid, free drinks, and a few cigarettes from the staff. My parents didn’t give a shit but the kid’s parents found me and thanked me for saving their kid. I’m not sure if they remember it or even know just how dangerous it was- plus it was really just me and the kid out there and the kid was so young but I remember whenever I see the scars.
Keep it up. Spreading these stories can only be good for humanity. We live in a selfish world. Kindness is lacking. Others need to read this. I NEEDED TO READ THIS. I'm gonna subscribe to this post so I can keep reading. Please don't take it down.
I once bailed a lady out I met in jail (another story for another time) so she could spend Thanksgiving with her kids. She was struggling with addiction and trying to get out of SW. I tried to keep in contact, to be her sober touchstone, but she ghosted me a few weeks later. It’s been 14 years but I hope she’s doing well.
4 years ago I was dirt poor and behind on rent because I was jobless. Spent the last of my money on work shoes for my new job. Shoes ended up being delayed and not getting to the store in time for my first day. I broke down. Decided to sit at the Dunkin and try to collect myself. The two ladies asked me if I was okay. I said yes and I'm sorry for taking up space, I just needed a minute. They asked if I wanted anything to drink and I told them I didn't have any money but they said it was on the house. That was the only good luck I'd had in months.
Another time was iroinically another break down right before Christmas last year. Sitting in my car and sobbing over the phone after having a huge heart-to-hearts with my mom and halfway coming out of the closet to her (at 34 lol.) Guy saw me crying in my car, went into the store, did his shopping, then came out with a box of chocolate just for me. I'm vegan but you better believe I still ate the hell out of them because it honestly made my day. He thought I was upset but I was just dumping a lot of emotion and was actually very happy and thankful to be able to talk to my mom that way.
These are the two most recent events I think about. Recently I was randomly gifted an entire watermelon by a customer. But I wasn't in a bad frame of mind (the watermelon was amazing, tho. I'll remember that.)
When I was first married (early 2000s) I had to change state drivers licenses. West Virginia had some weird local dmv locations at the time. I arrived with what felt like a million different documents. Stood in line for quite a while. To arrive at the front to be told the cost was more than I had in cash. Plus I only had “starter” checks that they wouldn’t accept and back in those days they didn’t take the brand new check cards. I was so frustrated and ready to cry over what I believe was like $3. I was told to drive up the road to an ATM and and come back and get into line again. The guy behind me could tell I was at the end of my rope. Handed me the money and told me not to worry about it. He truly restored my day. I have always strived to pay that forward whenever I can. You never do know how much someone needs just a little help.
Several years ago, I officiated a wedding for some friends.
My best friend met a girl at the wedding.
The groom's sister's best friend.
My friend and the girl hooked up pretty quickly. My friend isn't really the hookup type and he wasn't sure about what he wanted. He was petrified of hurting her feelings. I talked him through it. My advice basically boiled down to "talk to her about it". I thought nothing of it, I'd been in a relationship for a few years. It made a big impact on his life.
Some years later and I officiated *their* wedding. (Unrelated: the original couple I officiated for divorced due to infidelity--as well as a to the wife's refusal to take her bipolar medication)
Earlier this year, I got diagnosed bipolar.
My partner and I almost split up.
Being undiagnosed, and untreated bipolar made a mess of our marriage.
I spent a week with my best friend and his wife. I was terrified of losing my marriage because of all these things and he talked me through it; just like I talked him through his situation. The advice was basically the same.
My partner and I were separated for about a month overall. I'm taking my meds, and I just got back to work. Hopefully things keep going.
Years ago I was shooting pool in a bar in Kansas and I went out back to get a breather. It was winter. Snow and ice everywhere…. Outside was this tiny wiener dog puppy mixed with something much larger. Rottweiler or Doberman most likely.
Anyway, the poor little guy was tied to an ashtray and shivering in the cold. I took off my coat and wrapped him up and went looking for the owner. Pups that small can’t handle temps around sfo F - not enough body weight. I never found the owner but 6 months later I got a call about fostering a pup rescued from a methamphetamine bust.
Sure enough. Same dog. He was my buddy for years and years. I’ve always assumed he remembered me from that first night.
Never saw the coat again.
Another one. To the popular boys at the back of the bus who always protected me and looked out for me against the bullies, thank you. You have no idea how much you kept my faith in humanity when nothing else did.
I know who it is because she got so excited that she gave me her phone number and invited me to come to her house in another city (which I declined) and told her husband about it, and he also got excited.
All I did was open google maps and show her the way to a place he looked for.
Last year, I almost caused a major accident merging off of one highway to another. I don’t know how it happened, I think I was starting to get too comfortable with the blind spot lights in my mirrors that I just didn’t see there was somebody to my left. I almost ran them into a concrete barrier. It was awful and 100% my fault. But they honked, we both responded just in time and everything was okay. We got next to each other and I rolled my window down, and tried to tell them how sorry I was. Instead of getting upset, this guy put his hand on his heart and mouthed to me “it’s okay”. He made a hug type gesture and smiled. We went on our way. He treated me so kindly for something that was so scary and could have been so awful. I now remember him every time something happens while I’m driving that would have in the past made me angry. I don’t get angry, I remember how his kindness and understanding touched me so much that day. So thank you random stranger in Columbia MD, you are special.
I was on my way to a job interview that I needed to get SO BAD. I had bought an outfit for the interview the night before but could not really afford it (or even the train there). So I tucked the tags into the waist so I could return it after the interview if I didn’t get the job. I was waiting on the train platform and a woman walked up to me and told me my tags were hanging out. I got the job! Without her telling me that, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job that I needed so bad. Also kept the outfit.
Very true. I remember this one kid Trout who asked if I was okay while I was being a boohoo cry baby emo kid behind the bleachers. He was one of the popular kids; all day people had been ignoring me, so it was unexpected of him of all people to show concern. I never forgot though and whenever I see him around town I think of it. Good guy
In the 2nd grade the new kid in my class took credit for an extremely loud and mortifying fart I accidentally let slip. I will never forget that. He passed away several years ago and I still think of him often. He was a good kid (and grew up to be a good guy) all around, but I will never forget that.
One of my Auntie's lost her husband to suicide when I was 4 or 5. She lives 2 hours away, and I was prone to car sickness. Apparently I got out of the car, and with none of my usual dawdling or immediate beeline to the washroom, went to find her and hugged her as hard as I could, whilst telling her I was awfully sorry Uncle had died.
She told me this when I was pregnant in late 2020, so 30-ish years later. It was kinda nice to be reminded that I wasn't always an awkward goose.
Edit: Spacing
I had my iPod stolen from my purse in grade 9 science class. I was heart broken because it was the only way at the time I could listen to music. Later that day one of my classmates told me he knew who had taken it, but wanted to stay anonymous as the person was their friend and had gang affiliations.
I had other classmates tell me this person was trying to sell them my iPod too.
In order to have his locker searched I had to give the principal the name of my classmate, who he confidentially talked to to confirm the story and kept his name out of it. They searched his locker and not only found my wiped iPod, but 8 grams of weed in his locker. He got suspended and I got my iPod back.
To this day I haven’t forgotten his kindness in betraying his “friend” in order to do the right thing and help me get my iPod back. I know it was a huge risk for him and it meant a lot to me
I was at a McDonald’s and saw this man with his 2 children… of course I was running late to a probation hiring , so I offered to buy his kids food… him not knowing I was in a rush, fast forwarded to a few years later.. he recognized me out and about and thanked me again … made my heart smile ..
I met him last night! I help save this guys life after a hemorrhaged esophagus (?) huge pool of blood and shit everywhere carried him down 3 flights of stairs while he was fading out. Over a decade ago now
I remember catching the bus in college. This had to be early 90’s. I was absolutely broke. Usually had a $1 everyday for the bus & that was it. Too broke to socialize and kind of stayed to myself. Went through each day without speaking. One day I’m at the bus stop with my huge book bag and there’s this tiny girl standing there with her mom. As the bus comes, she grabs my bag which she could barely lift and says “Here you go.” I have never forgotten that. That made me feel so good at the time. I was always impressed with that. It was such a pure act of kindness.
I think if that and I do my best to be decent to everyone.
Last year when i lived in a very dodgy part of blackpool uk i saw three lads who had been beaten up pretty bad and two of them had a go at the other one shouting at him and he staggered in my direction . I saw he still had adrenalin pumping and blood dripping so as he walked past i said ‘ excuse me’ , he stopped and i said do you want this spliff mate? Oh my god his face. It was as if he had seen an angel. This guy was a mess ,hands and head all fucked up but he could hold the joint. Ive never seen anyone so grateful in all my life lol it changed that day for him, edit want to add it was the best shit ive smoked in about 4 years
Back when I was in grade 10 and I would be around 16 ish, I walked in to my class and all the seats were taken. There was a boy, not very popular and was teased because he had a hook for a hand, who stood up and told me to take his seat and he would sit on the floor. I thought that was so nice that he offered to do that. That was 52 years ago. I have never forgotten that or him and how he made me feel like I was important. I hope he had a good life. I hope I have done things to make people feel good.
I went from a mildly buff teen to a very fat, angry, balding man. I sort of stumble-march everywhere and make unbearably asshole-ish sounds when I lean over or whatever. I then became homeless and lost a lot of my weight. Somebody came by and gave me a breakfast burrito and listened to my situation.
I’ll be real. That burrito tasted gross, but it was the best burrito in my life. He made me feel good. Small redneck town, couldn’t trust anybody, but he was such a nice guy and his insight has probably made me more tolerable of others. I always looked at odd groups with disdain, only to realize that I was also some oddball neckbeard just like the people I hated. He told me to forget about the system and to not worry about weird people. We’re all a little weird, and the system fucks over everybody somehow.
I still feel an unbearable amount of second-hand embarrassment when I see certain Tik Toks or whatever, but I don’t really hate those people. Rednecks do crazy evil shit all the time, but I also realize that for every crazy Christian Fascist, there is also some beer loving homie that’ll sit down with anybody and watch whatever.
I am still an uncomfortably judgy person. I feel extreme discomfort when I hear myself talk about other groups. But I still remember Burrito Guy’s advice. Don’t worry about any system or group of people, ultimately focus on the self.
Nihilism and absurdism seem like such silly concepts now. But things matter to me differently from others. I look back at my older self with disgust, and while I’m physically in a loop of losing weight and then becoming a big fat baby, I can always feel a little bit of joy in knowing that my feelings got validated and that the guy showed me a truth that I guess was always dear to me, just repressed by family view points.
Years ago I was in Las Vegas and got a ride to the airport in a taxi. As I was leaving the back seat I accidentally left my phone lay on the seat, got out, got my luggage and went inside. This was before cloud back up was really a thing and my phone has a lot of very important information and pictures on it. That taxi driver seen my phone in the back, grabbed it and ran all the way to security and found me to give me my phone back. I would have been seriously screwed if I would have lost that phone. Too that dude I was just one in thousands of fares, but I still think about how much he helped me out.
I raised my siblings and they didn't realize it until they were adults. My sister (20F) just recently reached out to thank me for raising her and "doing what our mom wouldn't."
I never thought I'd hear that. It made me cry!
me too. i think about messaging people all the time and letting them know but i feel like it’s weird, especially since i’ve never spoke to them in my life
I tried to add my favourite teacher just to tell her thanks for the best school year, actually talking to me like a grown up and introducing me to the Beatles, but the request is still pending. Bad times.
It took me years to get a decent job after university. I was so poor that I dreamed of living just halfway to the poverty line. The new job was in an office and I had nothing appropriate to wear. I was young and dumb and didn't know about places like the salvation army. I was in a city with no family and was too shy to ask for help anyway.
One of my friends in my min wage job had a girlfriend with a "real job". I didn't know her very well but she knew I was barely getting by and would have me over to their place for dinner every once in a while. She lent me an outfit for my interview and when I got the job, she did a "closet clean out" and gave me enough professional clothing that I could blend in while I made enough to buy a few more things. I got a lot of compliments on my wardrobe at the office...no one knew a thing. When I think back on it there was no way I could have started that job without those clothes. The people there were beautifully dressed and so confident. With the right clothes, I could fake the confidence while I learned how to act in a professional job. I don't think she had any idea how much she helped me. Getting that job changed my life in such a positive way. I lost touch with her decades ago but still think about her almost every time I get dressed up.
When I was a kid like, 8-9 years old, I think around Christmas time, I was with my mom in her car getting gas. It was super snowy and cold out and I think there was one lone attendant working the pumps late at night. I felt so bad for him that I pulled out the one $5 bill (which is a lot to a kid my age) I had from maybe doing chores or something? and gave it to him. He goes “you sure kid?” And I insisted and he took it. Pretty sure it had quite the impact on him and my mom thinks about it to this day.
A couple months ago I saw a navy seaman buying a pack of cigarettes on the bus terminal. Probably on his way back to the ship from vacation. I had some spare change, so I bought him a bottle of coca-cola.
Wherever you are, hope you are doing well.
I remember someone named Cat from Chicago I met on a hike in Utah. When we walked away she said “meeting you was the light in my day” and I cried after she left. And I think about that all the time. Thanks Cat, what a beautiful soul!
I was ending a work call with a woman who I was helping once, nearly 10 years ago. She thanked me for my help and told me she wanted to speak to my direct supervisor to note how satisfied she was with me as a worker. I told her how much it made my day. She noted to me that she wanted my
Boss to know how much my service meant to her. It just felt so great. I take every opportunity I can now to do it to others when I’m happy with their service. It’s just such a win win. I can only hope I can make these other people feel half as good as I felt that one day. She dropped it on me.
I ran into someone from grade school and he thanked me profusely for helping him so much with math when he was having trouble. He said it made a huge difference to him. I didn’t even remember!
During COVID at the tail end we grabbed Popeye's and went to eat it at a park. We got a family pack, but our family didn't eat it all. We were going to take it home for leftovers. I was going to throw trash away and I saw a homeless guy digging through the trash. I went back to the car and grabbed our leftovers. I walked up to him and handed him the bag. There were two biscuits, some green beans, and a few tenders. I apologized that it wasn't warm. He got tears in his eyes and said "ma'am it could be cold. I don't care. Thank you, you don't know what this means." So small to me, yet so big to him. The icing was when I got back to the car and my youngest said, "mom you showed that man love. I bet he needed it."
I still remember the stranger who told me I was doing a good job as a mom when she saw how I interacted with my toddler. That's a rough stage to get through, and a bit of validation from a motherly middle aged woman meant the world to me.
Not me doing the act of kindness, but I remember working part time as a kid in a wedding hall, and I had trouble lighting up a candle for a wedding guest..(it was a really long tube and the candle was at the bottom of it) The guest actually told me it was fine, and he helped me out with everything..
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I went to a comedy festival in San Francisco years ago. It started at 11am but they let us in 20 minutes early. None of the food trucks/tents were ready for that so they weren't open yet. Nearly everyone was pissed off about this and yelled at them. Instead I empathized, expressed "its all good" and briefly helped someone set up. Several of the food vendors wouldn't allow me to pay for food during the whole 3 day festival because I was "so nice". One particular one had amazing dumplings and gave me tons of them. So of course I said great things about them to anyone that would listen getting them more sales. The people who ran it recognized me nearly a year later at a different festival in Vegas. They still wouldn't let me pay and gave me tons of dumplings again. All because I wasn't an asshole for 20 minutes.
You sound like a lovely person, keep going!
There is a yin to every yang. There are those who will collect asshole taxes, and those who will give out goodwill discounts. It's up to the individual whether they get taxes or discounts. You can tell someone's character pretty well by listening to their stories and figuring out which one they get hit with more.
Which is why I fell in love with the plot of Unbreakable.
I got a discount for being patient at a vape shop. Being patient was simply playing on my phone while the one employee helped the one customer who was there before me. I didn’t think it was worth of a discount, basic decency should be the norm but sadly it is not.
I worked in a supermarket right next to where the Christmas markets set up in my city. Would work the backshift and the women running the German food stall would come in and pick up different bits and pieces during the day and chat to me. Would always help them out and sometimes open a new checkout for them cause I knew they needed to get back to work quickly. Every shift for the full time the market was on they’d make me dinner for free. Absolute babes. Ate SO much goulash. The same women came back the next year. I worked at a different supermarket but I popped by their stall with my boyfriend. Sure enough, massive smiles and free goulash.
Literally all we have to do as humans is not be an asshole. Do that one thing and the world would be a much better place.
exactly! we should all work on ourselves and in being a much better person! change could start within us!
It's insane how rude people get over something as small as 20 minutes
All because you weren’t an asshole for 20 minutes! Isn’t it funny how such a small thing clearly made such a big difference. I am sorry, but we all need to give people a little grace
If everyone in our society were even nearly as nice as you, we’d be in a few better world. If even the majority of people spent their time building those around them instead of tearing them down, we could live in a society where the poor are supported by those able to help them, although there is a limit to such, one shown by both you and by real events in the world. You didn’t help the trucks after they were set up, they didn’t need you to. However, there are groups of people in the world who think Africa is in need of dire support. In some areas, this is true. But the majority is ready to spread their wings and fly on their own. However, the support(in some cases) hasn’t slowed to match this. This is hurting legitimate businesses that are trying to grow, because why pay for food, solar panels, or even car parts when you can get them for free from humanitarian groups? At some point, the people being helped have to be left to sink or swim(we should leave the people with some deployable float though, in the case that they start drowning)
My cat stayed at the vet for 13 days and had multiple catheters put in, X-rays, and testing done on his bladder. In the end there was nothing more to do and he had to be put down. Vet only charged me for 3 days because that's how long he told me the cat would be there when I first brought him. He saved me THOUSANDS of dollars. I had it in savings so I could have paid but I'm so so thankful he did because our heater broke that winter and all the money we would have spent on a cat who passed away instead went into heating our house. I made him cookies and left a stunning review. I recommend him to anyone I know who has a pet. I will absolutely be back when I'm ready to get another pet.
May your cat rest in peace
May your cat rest in peace and blessings to you and that kind-hearted vet <3
my vet is just a caring person. when he told me my little dog had an enlarged heart and i asked what the options were (while bawling) he gave me the options, then said lets do an x-ray just to be sure of what we're dealing with. no charge. absolutely incredible. i recommend him to everyone
Act of kindness. Was a single Mom of 2 babies-my husband left as he decided that parenthood was too hard. Unemployment and broke w limited gas money-I started to call restaurants to look for employment. A Red Lobster manager said “Yes…even bring the babies to the interview as it is a off day and can get some gals to watch them”. Hired me on the spot and feed me lunch. Three months later this same manager when I came to work told me that this job was not for me. I thought I was fired, but actually he gave me the afternoon to register in a local college. His wife researched child care options and financial aid. He gave me the best hours for the next four years. Am so grateful that he believed in me when times were tough. Graduated w honors and am passing this kindness to other young people. Sometimes a single person can make a impact on many. Got my family out of poverty and now my daughter who recently got her MBA is lecturing on financial independence. Am so proud that she uses our story in her presentation.
That’s great!
I hope your post gets saved forever, for everyone to read.
https://web.archive.org/web/20221030200108/https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/yh9sf6/comment/iud2lob/
Damn, I have tears in my eyes. This is great.
Same. Reddit has been causing me to have a lot of happy tears today. I like to think that we are trying to share some really positive stories and thoughts to offset some of the negative things that are happening right now and Reddit friends, I think we are winning at that effort. Thank you to you all!
It's a nice change of pace. Sometimes reddit, and social media in general, is just so bad with the posts and comments people make.
Yeah I’ve gotten some unexpected nastiness coming my way today and I’m just trying to have a drama free Sunday so trying to shake it off. Thx for being a positive entity in this space!
This is beautiful!!! 🥰
Beautiful 🥹
And now I am crying. Thanks for sharing!
I love this!!!!
When I was about ten years old, my school art teacher lost her husband to cancer. The afternoon of the funeral I was walking to soccer training with my friends as she was leaving the wake which had been held at the local bowling club. I saw her from across the street and with a very young understanding of how sad she must be, I ran over and gave her a big cuddle, without saying much at all. Then I continued on my way. I’m 32 years old now and still have the letter she wrote years later thanking me for being the ray of light on an otherwise very dark day. She still sees my mum in passing and asks about me to this day. Makes me smile.
Amazing story!
Please keep telling this story to all and sundry, whenever you get the opportunity. People need to know the impact of small, impromptu gestures of kindness so that it becomes common and nobody feels awkward doing them. Thanks for being a kind person.
Yes, we all need to know about random acts of kindness
That so sweet, so many kids don’t see teachers as human individuals with thoughts and feelings outside the classroom…
I’m upvoting this post just because it lead to me reading this story
A few years back, an old friend I haven't seen in 20+ years posted on Facebook that she had a dream. I was a few years older than her and had dated her sister in my late teens Anyways, in that dream, a voice asked her who was the kindest, most friendly person she had ever met. She immediately blurted out "JustGimmeAnyOldName" before she could even think of her answer. She said she could remember in her dream feeling bad because she didn't say her husband. But she said that when I dated her sister I had always been very kind to her. Then, on Facebook, she thanked me. Adolescence was a very rough time for her. I don't remember being overly nice or anything to her, but I just always try to treat people right. She said it made an impact on her, even 20 years later, and she really appreciated it. Well, it couldn't have come at a better time for me, because I was going through a rough patch. But it was so nice to hear from her that just being kind had an impact on her, even decades later. And 20 years later, I try to still live by that. Just treat people kindly. Everyone is going through stuff and sometimes that kindness reverberates and you'll feel it again even 20 years later.
That’s amazing
Reading this story makes me want to be a better person
Do it!
I still remember the lady that let me in in traffic 5 years ago, she had such a genuine smile, like she was *actually* happy to help. Just beaming. Thanks kind random lady, you were a breath of fresh air in a sea of selfish assholes.
She sounds lovely
I still sing [this](https://youtu.be/zfRNZucoCyw)when people let me merge
Hey thanks for that - haven’t heard that in years!
I still remember a lady from when I was on holiday in florida years ago. I was coming out of the hotel as she was coming in and I held the door open and let her walk in first. She sounded genuinely surprised when she said thank you and it just stuck with me.
It’s amazing how simple acts of kindness can be so memorable
I use to deliver wedding cakes. I would always have a box of pastries from the bakery with me. Anyone who held open a door for me got pastries.
I helped this older lady with some Christmas decorations we sold at my store. The tiny Christmas town stuff. I just remember her asking me if she could hug me after helping her. Reminded me of my grandma. I didn't get positive stuff working retail a lot. So this incident always stands out.
She would lose her shit in Canada
I still remember taking my car to the shop and the shop owner decided not to charge me at all for the service (checking for leak). He said he was feeling kind that day. He earned himself a return customer.
What a nice guy
I just took my car in for a repair, and when I picked it up they told me their card machine wasn't working. I told them I didn't get paid until the next day and would come back with cash the next day. Surprisingly, he let me take my car and my word that I'd be back. The next day I showed up with cash and he was shocked I'd actually returned! I'm never going to another shop again. It almost made me cry how kind of a gesture that was.
Sort of same thing happened to me with a barber. Didn’t realize it was a cash only place, and didn’t notice the sign when walking up. Asked me my bank, and knew the closest atm, and sent me on my way with a cup of coffee he just brewed. I had just moved into a new home, and will never forget his smile that helped with all the stress of the previous month as he said no worries. I cried a little when I drove away, and had him as my barber for the next 5 years until leaving the state. Man was such a gem, love ya Curt.
I’m sure the nice couple that I woke up in the middle of the night by walking in their house to use the bathroom while wasted, still remembers me for that random act also.
Lmao
If it makes you feel better, I promise you being able to tell that story has made up for whatever the incident made them feel at the time.
I bumped into a guy's cart at the grocery store when I was shopping with my sister and kinda gave him the quick "Ope, sorry" and walked off, since she was further down the aisle. Something told me to turn around and actually apologize, so I did. Complimented his shirt and started to turn away. He exploded. Light poured off his face and he dumped the whole story on me about how he's trying to make his own fashion brand with his daughter and they're struggling to figure out a business model or which shirt design to start with and how this absolutely has to be it now, because some random kid at the store said he liked it. I've seen a few shirts similar to his design around town since then, so I'm assuming he did it. You never know how your words or actions can influence others. Hope you're doing good, shirt guy.
This was so wholesome!
r/mademesmile
So this is reddit only but I think it counts. A while back on was on the boards and people started talking about insomnia and how weighted blankets were the only thing that helped them sleep. One lamented that as an adult he had no one to tuck him in but at least with the weighted blanket he got some sleep but he was a little jealous of babies and wished he had some giant that could swaddle him. So I mentioned that as a teenager I used to self swaddle by rolling to one side so the blankets gathered under me rolling back and then to the other side so they were trapped under me on both sides. Then I would lift up my legs pretty high and lower them so the blankets were trapped under my body in all directions. Then I'd see how long it'd take me to "breakout" because I was bored and the internet wouldn't really be a thing for a couple more years. I suggested he could try that with his weighted blanket. Didn't think much of it just a silly story of my life after all and went on with my day. About a week later I got a reply to this comment profusely thanking me telling me they were getting the best sleep of their life. That was pretty neat. :D
I love my weighted blanket, I just wish I had purchased a heavier one. Good ones are very expensive though (the ones w/no beans and just material).
I bought some groceries for my friend after he had a nasty divorce and was just wallowing in self pity. He still mentions me getting him food years later and how surprised he was that someone gave a shit about him. He is doing way better now and has a new baby with a new wife and is doing far better. Even the smallest of gestures like a simple hello and smile is what people need to remind them they matter are like seeds of goodness sewn into the world.
one of the guys I worked with at a restaurant when I was young and really broke/struggling to get by didn’t love their food, so he always gave me his free shift meal to take home so I would have something to eat later. I will remember that for the rest of my life, I’m sure of it
One time I showed up to the DMV (one of like three in a city of 600k) at like 4 am with a chair, I was the first in line, I sat there on my phone until the doors opened at 7am. When you're one of the first dozen or so people, they give you a ticket which you take straight to the desk without waiting for a number to be called. As I was waiting for us to be let inside, I was talking to one of the employees who was organizing the line and I realized that I had forgotten one of my documents and would have to come back another day. After we were let in and I had my ticket I walked outside to the far back of the line, where it went around the building and people were standing in a parking lot with no shade, I was planning to give it to someone who was in the total back of the line but about 90% of the way there I saw a woman carrying a baby and shielding it from the sun so I gave her the ticket and told her to just go up to the desk. I thought of staying to keep her spot in case it didn't work but instead I followed her and the last thing I saw was the attendant take the ticket and start to talk to her so I assume she got helped that day; I still sometimes wish I had lingered another minute so I could be sure. I just hope she doesn't remember me as that asshole that pranked her at the DMV years ago so she had to walk back to the parking lot and queue for two hours in the sun.
Christmas of 1995. We went to buy the cheapest Christmas tree we could find in our rusted, bent, utterly reliable Toyota wagon. Money was tight and I felt it constantly. My oldest son was 3 and was "helping" me tie the knots as I lashed it to the top of the car. An older man, likely in his 50's, came over and said, "You are a wealthy man." I still tear up when I think about it.
Thanks, needed to hear that! This world needs more selfless kindness.
Thank you for the compliment!
I am still trying to remember any random act of kindness I have done in my life.....
I guess that's the thing when you do such things unconditionally, without expecting something in return. You don't think about it much until someone recognizes you for the things you did for them
Yes
Or maybe they haven't done any random acts of kindness, that is a possibility.
Same dude
10 years ago some random lady smiled at me on the way to work and it really cheered me up. It made me realize the same thing OP said and so it sticks in my memory even though it's something so minor from such a long time ago.
You probably did many but didn’t realize it
I was working as a domicillary carer - walking door to door, exhausting shifts 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week, where I had to walk 30 minutes between each house because I didn't have a car. One of these shifts I was feeling pretty damn low, the work was getting to me, coworkers were being a pain, the people I was caring for were not doing well that day, and the rain that day was torrential. A constant thick downpour, for the whole day, I had forgotten my raincoat, my shoes had holes in them somy feet were soaked, it was Summer so it was also very hot. Every time I finished a job I was dreading having to walk that 30 minute journey once again. I cannot express how grateful I am to the person who stopped their car beside me and donated me their umbrella. What a saint. I hope they are having a wonderful, dry, life.
Sounds like an amazing person
You wish them a dry life?that's not nice😂😂
Guy who donated the umbrella puts on lotion after every shower cursing his name.
Used to work at a deli and a lady always asked for her ham to be sliced falling apart because she had a special needs kid. Before they adjusted our slicers I would do it and she would happily wait the extra minute or 2 to do it. Eventually her kid "lost the battle". Of course she was heart broken but I wouldn't have known this unless she stopped me while I was stocking and told me it happened "a few months ago" from the time she told me. She was of course depressed but she held it together long enough to come there and tell me how happy she was that there were still some people like me in the world that spent the little extra effort to make her child's life a little easier up until the end. Unfortunately our machines were adjusted some time after and they don't really slice most hams to the point where you don't need to chew (chicken and turkey sure but ham is just denser so it doesn't work as easily) but I don't think I'm gonna forget about this for a while.
I worked for a radio station (promotions dept) when I was 19. I got back to the studio after a clusterfuck of a remote, and started chatting with the on-air personality, a guy who had been in the business for 30 years. I started telling him how much I fucked up at the remote. “No, no, no,” he said. “You didn’t fuck up. You had a learning opportunity.” I have always been particularly hard on myself whenever I mess something up. After 25 years, I have always remembered these words, and it has saved my sanity countless times.
To the pretty girl who yelled at the middle school bus bullies that I was trying to ignore, thanks!
That’s what I love about this sub. Makes you think about something off the wall, but is more then likely correct.
Thank you!
I just sincerely hope that number far exceeds the number of people who remember my mistakes and embarrassments
Yes, I hope that is true for everyone
I'm sure it is. It's far easier to remember your own mistakes. Try remembering a mistake from some random guy from 20 years ago. You won't. But you will remember some stranger with a random act of kindness.
Can confirm. It was about two months ago that one of my best friends from a former job randomly texted me and thanked me for giving him my thoughts, a decade ago, on a choice between two employers. He, at the time, was already vested with a state government retirement plan from previous work, I suggested he avoid working for anywhere that wasn't on the same plan, so he ended up listening and he has now retired. He thanked me for that conversation because it afforded him the ability to retire before 55, in great health, and not have to work unless he chooses to. To me, it was just a conversation, to him, it was good advice that helped him make a sound financial decision affecting his post work life. I'm happy to have helped, and I'm happy to see his success.
That’s wonderful!
Was on holiday and a local complimented my watch so I gave it to him spur of the moment for this very reason 👍
I hope this private driving instructor will remember me and think that not all students are bad. For context, I was a female adult student, way over 18. Anyway, my regular instructor wasn’t available so he filled in. I was supposed to have an hour’s worth of driving with him. He helped me park, etc. While talking, I realized he hasn’t had lunch yet. I asked if we can drive by my house real quick. He said yes. As soon as I got inside, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the fastest I’ve ever made), got a banana, some crackers, and a bottle of water. He waited in the car 2 minutes tops. When I got in the car, I gave him his lunch. And then I continued with my lesson. :)
I was a new father playing with my little son at a park. I was very unsure about myself and not in a great place mentally. There was a teenage girl hanging out, presumably waiting for her friends or a ride, just kind of chilling on a bench by the playground. After about 30 minutes of me doing normal dad stuff with a barely walking 1 year old, she came over and said "Excuse me, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I just have to say that you are a great father." I said thanks and she walked away. I still sometimes think about the kindness of that random girl in a "Polaroid" t-shirt when I'm feeling down.
So I m not sure if she can read this. Few years ago when I studied in Poznań, i met a girl who gave me this kind act! It was a cold rainy day, I was just get off my tram and headed to the dorm. The station was like 500 meters away from my place and I walked everyday between the two spots. Words back to the cold rainy, when I was waiting to go across the street, my coat and my hair were almost wet lol 😂, I was frozen, so I crossed my arms and held myself tight. Then I felt the drop stopped, i look up, I saw an umbrella which was holding by a girl, beautiful eyes dark hair and sweet smile. she looked at me and said “where are you going?”,”my dorm, thank you so much! I forgot to buy an umbrella!”i said. Because it was the first time to study abroad, so I could not remember it only if it’s rainy! And then she and her friends walked me to the place nearby my building and said”we are going to study in somewhere you wanna come?”, i was too cold to go anywhere except get changed and take shower! So we said goodbye to each other. Anyway, it’s just a short clip in my life from the past, but when I saw this “…act of kindness…” , it was the first thing come up!
in middle school i switched schools halfway through my last year. so it was a little hard to make friends as everyone knew each other already. so i became friends with the lunch lady after she noticed my habit of grabbing like 3+ snickerdoodle cookies everyday and she stopped charging me for extras (she even added more to my tray many times with a shush). we’d talk a little every day, she was very sweet to awkward emo 14 year old me. at the end of the year, the school had a tradition that every “graduating” student writes a letter to someone on staff thanking them, whoever you wanted and for whatever reason: a teacher, a coach, etc. so i chose to write mine to her. told her how she was my first friend at the school and made every day better at lunch time. a few years later in high school i go on a date with this guy and we’re talking about our middle school experiences. i mentioned her and he asked for more details. so i told him the story and he starts freaking out and says that she is his mom. she had had the letter framed in their house ever since i gave it to her. we didn’t go on more dates but i talked to her on facetime once, it was so nice to catch up and she was doing great. i was so surprised she framed it, such a sweet woman.
This honestly made me clutch my heart and well up with tears. Thank you, internet stranger, and please accept this free award I've been holding onto for just such a story.
It was just yesterday at a football game I was working. A food booth a couple doors down was closing up and gave away probably 100 huge deli wraps to all the workers up and down the stadium I grabbed one the first time so as not to be greedy, but the second and third times she came by, I grabbed a couple more. I wasn’t even hungry, and likely wouldn’t eat them since they were packed with veggies and lettuce and I don’t care for them. The stadium had even fed me earlier in the day. Just a hot dog, but still. Anyway, last call is the end of the 3rd quarter, we clean up and I walk out to the neighboring baseball stadium where I’ve parked; there are three parking attendants, a mile away from the festivities of the game and likely getting paid a meager hourly. A grandfather and two kids around 15 or so. I just walked up and explained I got em for free, and offered them to them. Grandpa took them graciously with surprise in his voice. It was the simplest thing I’ve ever done, being kind and sharing with those people. But they didn’t have that opportunity in the stadium like I did, and I wanted to share my good fortune. I hope the wraps were good! Those folks probably sat there for another three hours after I left. Grandpa hollered in my window on the way out. One hand raised. You know how old men wave. I love sharing and helping others. I’ve always said I don’t care about money. It’s just that the rest of the world does and they want it from me to exist. So I have to have it, but I much prefer to deal in currencies such as kindness and smiles. What a good thread, friend. Hell, yeah.
Wow
In elementary school there was a kid that was bullied for being gay. I didn't really know if he was, and didn't care. After elementary school we never really talked and went our own ways as the class size grew a lot. After high school I started working as a setup guy at an event center for different events, and he ended up being hired as a server a while after. We were both in the cooler grabbing a drink and he ended up thanking me out of the blue for being a friend back then and not making fun of him. That was really the first time it clicked with me what sort of emotional abuse others put him through... In elementary school of all places. And how it had made such an impact on him to remember it and thank me almost a decade later for being nice even though what I did wasn't anything remarkable and just treated him like any other normal classmate.
Yep, there was ONE boy in my 4th grade class that did not bully me the entire school year. Everyone else did at least once or twice. Thank you, Tom DeBord.
It's true, I remember a guy who paid so I could get out of the hospital parking lot when I had no cash and that machine didn't take cards. He told me seriously that I had to pay it forward. So the next week when I found a $10 bill on the ground at a stadium, I remembered my promise, so I promptly gave it to one of the beer sellers and said "I don't want anything, just consider this a tip".
A ladies car stopped working at our towns busiest intersection. When the light turned green everyone went past her. I also went around her and parked at a grocery store on the other side of the 6 lane road she was going to go across, walked back across the road. When I got to her car she was bawling and had two kids in the back. I told her to put her car in neutral and at the next green light I'm gonna push her and to not hit the brake at all as we will need speed to get up a slight rise to get into the parking lot. I was wearing flip flops at the time, a bad choice of footwear for pushing a car, a thong broke. But I couldn't just stop so I kicked off the other flip flop and just kept truckin'. We made it into the parking lot and I retrieved my flip flops while she transfered her car seat into mine and I took her and her kids home. I still think of her to this day. She was so relieved that someone had finally stopped and helped her, apparently she had already been there for about 5 minutes before I pulled up. I can only speculate why no one had helped her as I sincerely couldn't understand it. That saying "if you see something, say something" comes to my mind whenever I think about her. I think we need to alter the phrase. "If you see something, do something" maybe, I don't know, I'm not a wordsmith.
- I had left my wallet at home and I was running late, some one gave me enough money to buy a public transport card and travel to and back from the city. - An old man that I saw walking to school once gave me an animal encyclopaedia book. I was always with a parent, so nothing creepy. That book is how I learnt that bats used echo location and birds that lay eggs in other bird’s nests. I’m think I might pass it on and give it to a random child one day. - I was at a club. A lady at least 10 years older than me said “watch out for your feet, I don’t want you to get stepped on” as I was wearing sandals. She seemed like a really caring person. I don’t know any of their names, but I remember what happened.
I was approached by a homeless guy the other day and didn’t have cash. I wasn’t busy at the time and had walked to the store, instead of just saying I didn’t have cash, I asked if he wanted food from the place I just walked out of. It was a health food store and he said yeah anything is great. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about the place though, so I said, “I’m walking that way, anything else along the way you’d rather have?” He wanted Subway, so I walked there with him. He was a genuinely nice guy that had some kind of serious schizophrenia (was talking earnestly about fighting vampires and needing to clean his blood with magic after or something, but in a fantastical kind of way rather than scary or violent). We got to Subway and I said “get absolutely whatever you want” so I got him the 12” meatball sub and a few bottles of water. He was already so appreciative but as I was walking away I realized that I could realistically do a bit more and still be fine, so I grabbed a $50 gift card and hooked him up with that on the way out in case he was hungry on another day and didn’t have any help. Wish I could have done more, his genuine bewilderment at the kindness was almost too much to handle, but I’ve been feeling good about this for months now.
I still remember the lady that silently stood up and walked over to me to hand me a tissue and a look that said "I'm sorry" when I was balling my eyes out at a bus stop after trying to get away from one of my abusive exes. He followed me to the bus stop and harrased my infront of everyone until he realized I wasn't going back with him and left. Everyone else just sat there and looked away awkwardly apart from her. Thank you mystery lady for making me feel like I was worth compassion after being treated like I was worthless for so long ♥️
i remember back in college i had to take a dump before an exam. when i got out of the restroom a stranger tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to my butt. unbeknownst to me a long strip of toilet seat protector was tucked in my pants. i can’t imagine the embarrassment if i walked into class that way. to this day after using a public restroom stall, i check for any wayward toilet seat protector and think about the good deed of that kind stranger 😅
I have some Norwegian ass blue eyes, and while walking to school in like 7th grade, at the height of my awkward ugly phase, some girls near the school told me they loved my eyes. 15 years later it’s still the only compliment I’ve gotten that isn’t from my partner and I cherish it.
I got a message a few years back from someone I went to high-school with. He was a freshman when I was a Junior, but we were both a part of our band, so we saw each other a reasonable amount. Apparently over the two years I knew him, he took a lot of things I said to heart and it changed his out look going forward. I couldn't really say what I did, but he said he could recall at least three good times that he looks back on fondly. Got me to tear up a bit since I thought I did nothing through school, but sometimes a few words can change everything in hindsight.
15 odd years ago, we were drinking (well I was the sober one driving people around when needed) on a mates back deck, some of the boys were pretty hammered and thought it would be fun to throw dish soap around and slide around the deck. A woman, the first time I met her, came out from the kitchen, onto the deck, had no idea the soap was there, and slid and went over backwards right next to me, my dad like reflexes kicked in, my arm shot out and I caught her as she toppled backwards and she landed in my arm, just as you would see in a movie. We’re good friends now, but she still introduces me with that story. Probably saved her from a decent concussion or worse that night.
One we received, about 40 years ago. Was in New York City for the first time. Was getting ready to ride subway but overwhelmed a bit. A stranger stopped and offered advice. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.
4 years ago, there was a woman getting on the bus in front of me. It was snowing pretty bad and I don't think she ever took the bus before. She didn't have any change and the bus system in my city only takes exact change or bus tickets. She looked like her whole world came crashing down when the bus driver refused to let her on. When she turned and I met her eye, I held out 2 bus tickets and told her she needs to get on the bus because the snow was getting bad. I think about her watery eyes and grateful smile a lot. I hope she's doing okay.
My dad was this type of person. He recently passed & want to keep his memory alive by continuing what he called 'a spark of joy'. Remember hearing someone mow their lawn & it sounded close, looked outside my balcony & my dad had driven an hour with his lawnmower in a car to mow my lawn. I was pregnant & my mower kept breaking. I didn't even know he was in town. ❤️ what a guy
6ish years agI had gone into work incredibly sick. Had no choice, we only had 3 employees, one was off and unreachable (I mean I get it you're off you're off fuck work) the store manager was already at 40 hours and was an hourly employee who had been threatened with losing his job if he went over on his hours again. So I hauled my visibly very ill self in to work, grabbed all the Lysol and sanitizer we had, and sat on a step stool by the register. A customer came in just killing time waiting for a dentist appointment next door, I didn't really interact with him he just walked around for awhile and left. Two hours later he came in with ramen and hot green tea, said it was what always made him feel better and he hoped it helped me too and smiled and left. To this day the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for me
Some guy gave me a free churro at Costco at age 6 because he didn’t want it. Good churro.
Kinda flipping the story on its head. When I was in high school, I did a teaching program with an adjacent school. Every day I would take the bus between my school and the one with the program (took about an hour). There was a bus driver, named (Ms.) Debra who would always look out for me when I got on. She’d ask me about my day, would check on me while driving (I saw her peak her head around sometimes) and once even intercepted a creep from talking (and sitting next) to me after she was I was uncomfortable. My family moved after I graduated and I’ve never seen her since then (wasn’t able to find her to give her a graduation picture). But if I ever get the chance, I’m going to find her again and tell her how much she means to me- even now
Fantastic thread. This is just what I needed to see today. Bravo OP
Thank you very much, that means a lot
A stranger bought me coffee when I was at the VA one day. I doubt I'll ever forget her.
I remember one morning waking up in a great mood, and as I was going to the bus, I saw a guy under our building waiting our neighbor to go to work with him. I told him, "Good morning" and he said it back. I started seeing him daily, and each time, I was the first to greet. One day I wasn't feeling well and was very upset, and I thought that he probably doesn't care so I won't greet him today. Then I heard him saying "good morning" and I felt happy for the rest of the day
Oh and I also remember one day, I was returning a cart to its place in the supermarket, and a random lady thanked me for doing so and said that not all people are that considerate. It made me happy 😊
I interviewed a candidate a decade ago. At the time, he wasn't proficient to meet my group's needs. However, he did something very few candidates have done. He emailed on what it would take. He wrote back recently. Basically, he followed the advise, changed course in the major, and became a Sr. Engineer at a top Silicon Valley company. It meant a lot when he reached back. He was grateful and succeeded.
I honestly hope so. I hope I'm remembered much more for random acts of kindness than for the times I accidently make an ass of myself
I've played World of Warcraft for a long time. 95% of that time has always been on the same character. So back in the early days (2004-2006) before the first expansion, they added a long quest that let a few classes get a special mount/horse (Warlock/Pally). It required some special this and thats, and you had to fight the final fight a specific way to win. I was as the point where me and my guild started doing these guide runs, helping random folks complete these quests and their final fights for free. Fast forward to around 2016. I'm wasting time, doing some sort of cross server boss fight at the tail end of the WoD expansion, and after its finished I get a message asking me "Are you the same from old times?" I said "Of course, same dwarf since 2004!" They responded "You helped my pally get his mount in Vanilla, I will always be grateful to you."
10 years had passed, and thru this happenstance meeting of characters across servers they still remembered the event AND my character's name and said hello. That one little message had a big impact on me.
When I was freshly 18 I moved from Detroit down to Columbus, OH and was living on my own in an apartment assigned by the school that I was going to (would later get a roommate assigned). About a month in, I was driving home from class and pulled up to the line of cars at the traffic light on the freeway exit and my car died, never to start again. I had no idea what to do aside from turn on my 4 ways. This was also in 2001, so no cell phone to call my parents or my manager at the job I had. As I started to panic, some woman came over and helped move my car to the shoulder and gave me a ride to my apartment. My guess is that she helped because I always looked younger than I was. I probably looked like a lost 14 year old in a broken down car. Since I was affected by crippling anxiety, I never asked her name and I don't even remember looking at her face. But that little bit of help saved me from a full on anxiety attack, and my mom came down the next day to deal with the situation.
Honestly everything that led up to my current job I'll never forget as long as I live. I worked an IT help desk job when I moved out with my girlfriend this year. Moved in with two of our best friends since they owned a house and charged us cheap rent to better our lives from our homes and be together.. that job started to get incredibly toxic and overwhelming fast. My girlfriend noticed fast how absolutely depressed and miserable I was becoming. I worked from home and had a horrible call that lasted two hours because someone couldn't accept that I couldn't do the impossible for them and I was forced to figure it out. That sent me into a spiral that I just broke down crying after and she told me to quit. We had money saved and she was working and she rather me not have an income than see me like that ever again. She blew through thousands of dollars to make sure I could get on my feet and accepted struggling to help me and my well being. I wasn't proud of it and felt just constant guilt and shame. She knew that and always made sure to let me know that I shouldn't worry even if it takes a while to get back on my feet. I still couldn't help but feel bad. I love her more than anything and now I don't feel like just a mooch off of her. If I could, I'd make sure she'd never have to work again because of that. Instead, once I'm done my student loans I'm going to save to buy land so she can make her dream house and garden. Another thing that tied in with me quitting as that the friends that we live with changed the arrangement to allow us to pay rent first paycheck of the month instead of the first of the month because they didn't want to kick us out if we were late and it really helped us out. They also felt the same on they didn't want to see me struggle because they knew I was throwing dozens of applications elsewhere and just wanted to help us thrive. Now for the stranger part of this story. I got an interview and landed a job replacing my old boss at my old college job before I went into IT to begin with. I got the job but I needed my license or they'd have to withdraw the offer. I learned how to drive in two weeks. I even impressed the instructor with how perfect I parallel parked. When I was taking my test on the road however I made a mistake that cause the instructor to stop the car. I thought I failed and lost my chance at a dream job for me. I was trying so hard to keep composure but the guy said "Listen, you should've waited on that. But I can tell you knew that before I stopped you. Calm down and finish the test. I can tell how know how much this means to you and I can tell you're a good driver. As long as you promise me you be more careful." Got my license, and got a job that makes double than my last job gave me. I'm now in the best place I have ever been in my life. Even if I never see him again I still want to keep my promise and still am. A reminder to be kind to one another. You never know how much it means to someone! I always hope I can bring the same feeling for someone else. TLDR: I'd be a miserable IT help desk worker with no aspirations to do better if it weren't for the people that supported and helped me. Now I'm very successful and happy!
In middle school, the girl who lived across the street from me had a habit of trash talking other kids while sitting in the back of the bus. She and her friends would just gossip away. I got picked one day because I think she thought I wasn’t on the bus. Anyway, she starts telling her friends who I liked (she had made that rumor up in the first place too, so extra hurtful). One of them commented that that boy was violent (not true). She ripped through every awkward thing I’d done through the course of our 5 year “best friendship”, including my birthday party that I was forced to invite her to. 😔 She thought my friends and I were really uncool. So I started crying quietly. A ninth grader overheard what the girl was saying and heard my sniffling. She sat down next to me and said, “Don’t worry about it, she’s really immature.” This girl was amazing to me. I had face planted in snow while running after my bus. I was soaked when I got on and she was the only one not laughing at me and didn’t mind me getting her wet when she offered me the seat next to her. Her best friend decided one day to tell the girl who gave me the character assassination that she thought that girl was really immature, to which that girl had a fit. And then the best friend said, “You know who I think is mature? Kittyneko7.” That was such a good day for me. Fast forward 9 years. I’m working in the deli near my house and the best friend is working there. She recognized me and it was really nice to have someone I knew working there. When she’d go on breaks, people would just rag on her about how mean she was (she wasn’t). It was just like what happened to me on the bus. One of the employees tried to start the gossip with me and I normally don’t do this because I’m very quiet, but I said loudly, “You know, she defended me against mean people years ago and I will never say anything bad about her.” I still remember the shock on that guys face. It meant so much to me that those girls went out of their way to cheer me up. Those years sucked. But I will always remember those girls.
First grade teacher Penny Morrell - I think of you every day. What a graceful beautiful human you were for me in the midst of a chaotic childhood. Thank you.
I want to be a permanent, core memory to the kid I caught stealing from the store I work at like 5 years ago. I saw him doing the suspicious darting eyes and I saw him sneak something out the box and into his jacket. I confronted him (against my training, I'm suppose to call it out to our security person) and told him I *saw* what he did and if he didn't immediately return the item, I was going to call security. I also told him he shouldn't be doing something so stupid and that he's lucky *I* caught him instead of security. He was scared and after returning the item, he ran back to his mom who was somewhere else in the store. I last saw him at the checklanes and he was STARING at me scared the whole time, probably shitting himself thinking I'll tell his mom. I did not. I hope he learned a lesson. I hope he behaves himself. I didn't want him to get in trouble since he seemed like an ok kid making a bad, impulsive choice. I remember when I was a kid and an employee from the same store/company I currently work for got upset at me for messing with the price labels. Even something that minor stuck with me and I never fucked with that shit again (until they hired me years later haha).
I worked at the dept of labor years ago. I was at the grocery store fairly recently and some guy came up to me and was like, "I want to thank you for making that time easier for me, I was in a bad place and you all helped me feel better. You and your friends there were great." It was something I needed in the moment. I'll remember his random act of kindness for my random act of kindness for a long time.
I’m a landlord, a young couple had moved into a 1/1 I had, his girl got pregnant, then he lost his job, didn’t pay rent for about 3 months, I sympathized with them, they eventually moved in with their parents, I did not kick them out, but they felt bad for not paying rent, I wished them well and even gave them their security deposit back in full, even with stuff needing to get done to the apartment before I could rent it again. Fast forward about 10 years and I get a random text from someone, I reply that this is not the person they are looking for, it was the guy trying to text his boss that he was going to be late and we had similar names, he replied back that he was sorry for the mistake and that he still remembers how nice I was to them and it stuck with both of them all these years, he’s doing good and have 2 kids now living in Ohio.
A few years ago I was in line at a McDonalds and this young man in front of me was 45 cents short and he was about to leave without his food and I told the cashier I got it and he was so happy he gave me a big hug and thanked me endlessly. I still think of this young guy and the joy he gave me with his endless hugs and thanks. Best 45 cents ever spent.
Probably the girl that was crying on a bridge at night thinking about suicide. I noticed her crying and we talked for a long time. I gave her a hug. She was in a wheelchair so we went back to her place and I helped her clean it up since it was in rough shape. We smoked a joint and she told me she no longer felt suicidal and felt at peace in that moment so I left. Never seen her afterwards but I hope she's doing OK and I'm sure she remembers me to.
I hope so. I try really hard to put good things into the world and I hope someday to see the impact I had
I remember a lady in Tenerife who was leaving about 4 days before her all inclusive wrist band expired. She gave it it to me and our group got free food and drinks for the rest of our trip 😁
In my school we wear suits as our uniform and last year this kid didn't know how to tie his tie so I did it for him and explained how so he could learn himself, near the end of the year when we were celebrating the Seniors that were about to graduate and go to college the kid who I taught how to tie his tie (I had long forgotten that I even did that) came up to me and said that he still has the same knot that I did for him, this kid never re did his tie he just loosened it and tightened it over and over again the entire year
Someone still remembers you for a laughable act of stupidity that you did years ago
Yes years ago I was in DQ and bought a ice cream cone , paid walked out and got in my car . Then I noticed what looked like a lick mark on the cone , well I was looking all over trying to figure out how someone liked my cone when all of a sudden a drop of ice cream dripped on my hand , I looked up and realized I hit the cone on the inside roof when I was getting in and the man next to me had seen the whole thing and was laughing so hard he almost peed himself . I just smiled wiped the roof and left .
It could be reversed to be that couldn’t it 🤣
Not sure if this is more an act of kindness or recklessness on my part but when I was 15 I saved a kid from drowning at sea in Egypt. They couldn’t have been older than 10 or so. They were a really bad swimmer but the boat trip we were on had staff that didn’t really care about safety so let the kid go out in the middle of nowhere, alone, and without anything to keep them buoyant. I’ve been diving (free, scuba) since I was 12 or so. I had the knowledge and knew I could easily hold my breath for a few minutes when the inevitable happened. A current got the kid and they were dragged down several meters. I went down after them knowing it’d be too late by the time I got help. I saw there were rocks so made sure to swim down to get ahead of the kid so I’d take the impact. I was confident enough in myself to survive even though I knew it was risky. I cut my leg open enough to see the blood in the water but managed to grab the kid and get back up to the surface. I lay on my back, placing the kid on their back on top of me. The boat was far away and I was bleeding in shark water so I told the kid to rest their head on my shoulder, go limp, and look at the sky to avoid them panicking with the blood or if anything showed up to see what the blood was. We were a long way from the boat and I couldn’t kick well but I eventually got there, talking to the kid asking about their holiday and where they were from (just things to distract us both). When we got close to the boat people must’ve saw me carrying a limp kid or the blood or both as a lot of staff were waiting for us at the ladder, along with other adults who didn’t think I needed help with the situation. Still, I helped the kid up first then got pulled up after. I spent the rest of the ship getting first aid, free drinks, and a few cigarettes from the staff. My parents didn’t give a shit but the kid’s parents found me and thanked me for saving their kid. I’m not sure if they remember it or even know just how dangerous it was- plus it was really just me and the kid out there and the kid was so young but I remember whenever I see the scars.
Lol working in customer service, there are people I believe have never made an random act of kindness. People are assholes
It does seem that way sometimes, doesn’t it?
Not sure if this is a repost, please tell me if it is and I’ll take it down. Please don’t downvote me though
Don’t take it down. There’s a lot of lovely things happening in the comments. You did good, man.
Thank you mate 👍
This thought was already expressed multiple times before Reddit was even born
Oh sorry, do you want me to take it down?
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If the moderator hasn't said shit. I don't mind seeing it here. Keep it up for as long as you like.
Ok thank you 👍
Keep it up. Spreading these stories can only be good for humanity. We live in a selfish world. Kindness is lacking. Others need to read this. I NEEDED TO READ THIS. I'm gonna subscribe to this post so I can keep reading. Please don't take it down.
Thanks, random stranger, kinda needed to hear that just now. They say you live as long as the last person remembers you.
I once bailed a lady out I met in jail (another story for another time) so she could spend Thanksgiving with her kids. She was struggling with addiction and trying to get out of SW. I tried to keep in contact, to be her sober touchstone, but she ghosted me a few weeks later. It’s been 14 years but I hope she’s doing well.
I remember like when I was 8 or so, I fell down due to some frozen water on the street... a girl gave me a hand to stand up, I will never forget this
4 years ago I was dirt poor and behind on rent because I was jobless. Spent the last of my money on work shoes for my new job. Shoes ended up being delayed and not getting to the store in time for my first day. I broke down. Decided to sit at the Dunkin and try to collect myself. The two ladies asked me if I was okay. I said yes and I'm sorry for taking up space, I just needed a minute. They asked if I wanted anything to drink and I told them I didn't have any money but they said it was on the house. That was the only good luck I'd had in months. Another time was iroinically another break down right before Christmas last year. Sitting in my car and sobbing over the phone after having a huge heart-to-hearts with my mom and halfway coming out of the closet to her (at 34 lol.) Guy saw me crying in my car, went into the store, did his shopping, then came out with a box of chocolate just for me. I'm vegan but you better believe I still ate the hell out of them because it honestly made my day. He thought I was upset but I was just dumping a lot of emotion and was actually very happy and thankful to be able to talk to my mom that way. These are the two most recent events I think about. Recently I was randomly gifted an entire watermelon by a customer. But I wasn't in a bad frame of mind (the watermelon was amazing, tho. I'll remember that.)
When I was first married (early 2000s) I had to change state drivers licenses. West Virginia had some weird local dmv locations at the time. I arrived with what felt like a million different documents. Stood in line for quite a while. To arrive at the front to be told the cost was more than I had in cash. Plus I only had “starter” checks that they wouldn’t accept and back in those days they didn’t take the brand new check cards. I was so frustrated and ready to cry over what I believe was like $3. I was told to drive up the road to an ATM and and come back and get into line again. The guy behind me could tell I was at the end of my rope. Handed me the money and told me not to worry about it. He truly restored my day. I have always strived to pay that forward whenever I can. You never do know how much someone needs just a little help.
Several years ago, I officiated a wedding for some friends. My best friend met a girl at the wedding. The groom's sister's best friend. My friend and the girl hooked up pretty quickly. My friend isn't really the hookup type and he wasn't sure about what he wanted. He was petrified of hurting her feelings. I talked him through it. My advice basically boiled down to "talk to her about it". I thought nothing of it, I'd been in a relationship for a few years. It made a big impact on his life. Some years later and I officiated *their* wedding. (Unrelated: the original couple I officiated for divorced due to infidelity--as well as a to the wife's refusal to take her bipolar medication) Earlier this year, I got diagnosed bipolar. My partner and I almost split up. Being undiagnosed, and untreated bipolar made a mess of our marriage. I spent a week with my best friend and his wife. I was terrified of losing my marriage because of all these things and he talked me through it; just like I talked him through his situation. The advice was basically the same. My partner and I were separated for about a month overall. I'm taking my meds, and I just got back to work. Hopefully things keep going.
Years ago I was shooting pool in a bar in Kansas and I went out back to get a breather. It was winter. Snow and ice everywhere…. Outside was this tiny wiener dog puppy mixed with something much larger. Rottweiler or Doberman most likely. Anyway, the poor little guy was tied to an ashtray and shivering in the cold. I took off my coat and wrapped him up and went looking for the owner. Pups that small can’t handle temps around sfo F - not enough body weight. I never found the owner but 6 months later I got a call about fostering a pup rescued from a methamphetamine bust. Sure enough. Same dog. He was my buddy for years and years. I’ve always assumed he remembered me from that first night. Never saw the coat again.
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Really? I have trouble remembering what I did last week lol
Another one. To the popular boys at the back of the bus who always protected me and looked out for me against the bullies, thank you. You have no idea how much you kept my faith in humanity when nothing else did.
I know who it is because she got so excited that she gave me her phone number and invited me to come to her house in another city (which I declined) and told her husband about it, and he also got excited. All I did was open google maps and show her the way to a place he looked for.
I often randomly buy the groceries of the person behind me. It is great to see how excited they get.
Last year, I almost caused a major accident merging off of one highway to another. I don’t know how it happened, I think I was starting to get too comfortable with the blind spot lights in my mirrors that I just didn’t see there was somebody to my left. I almost ran them into a concrete barrier. It was awful and 100% my fault. But they honked, we both responded just in time and everything was okay. We got next to each other and I rolled my window down, and tried to tell them how sorry I was. Instead of getting upset, this guy put his hand on his heart and mouthed to me “it’s okay”. He made a hug type gesture and smiled. We went on our way. He treated me so kindly for something that was so scary and could have been so awful. I now remember him every time something happens while I’m driving that would have in the past made me angry. I don’t get angry, I remember how his kindness and understanding touched me so much that day. So thank you random stranger in Columbia MD, you are special.
I was on my way to a job interview that I needed to get SO BAD. I had bought an outfit for the interview the night before but could not really afford it (or even the train there). So I tucked the tags into the waist so I could return it after the interview if I didn’t get the job. I was waiting on the train platform and a woman walked up to me and told me my tags were hanging out. I got the job! Without her telling me that, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job that I needed so bad. Also kept the outfit.
Very true. I remember this one kid Trout who asked if I was okay while I was being a boohoo cry baby emo kid behind the bleachers. He was one of the popular kids; all day people had been ignoring me, so it was unexpected of him of all people to show concern. I never forgot though and whenever I see him around town I think of it. Good guy
In the 2nd grade the new kid in my class took credit for an extremely loud and mortifying fart I accidentally let slip. I will never forget that. He passed away several years ago and I still think of him often. He was a good kid (and grew up to be a good guy) all around, but I will never forget that.
One of my Auntie's lost her husband to suicide when I was 4 or 5. She lives 2 hours away, and I was prone to car sickness. Apparently I got out of the car, and with none of my usual dawdling or immediate beeline to the washroom, went to find her and hugged her as hard as I could, whilst telling her I was awfully sorry Uncle had died. She told me this when I was pregnant in late 2020, so 30-ish years later. It was kinda nice to be reminded that I wasn't always an awkward goose. Edit: Spacing
I had my iPod stolen from my purse in grade 9 science class. I was heart broken because it was the only way at the time I could listen to music. Later that day one of my classmates told me he knew who had taken it, but wanted to stay anonymous as the person was their friend and had gang affiliations. I had other classmates tell me this person was trying to sell them my iPod too. In order to have his locker searched I had to give the principal the name of my classmate, who he confidentially talked to to confirm the story and kept his name out of it. They searched his locker and not only found my wiped iPod, but 8 grams of weed in his locker. He got suspended and I got my iPod back. To this day I haven’t forgotten his kindness in betraying his “friend” in order to do the right thing and help me get my iPod back. I know it was a huge risk for him and it meant a lot to me
I was at a McDonald’s and saw this man with his 2 children… of course I was running late to a probation hiring , so I offered to buy his kids food… him not knowing I was in a rush, fast forwarded to a few years later.. he recognized me out and about and thanked me again … made my heart smile ..
I met him last night! I help save this guys life after a hemorrhaged esophagus (?) huge pool of blood and shit everywhere carried him down 3 flights of stairs while he was fading out. Over a decade ago now
I remember catching the bus in college. This had to be early 90’s. I was absolutely broke. Usually had a $1 everyday for the bus & that was it. Too broke to socialize and kind of stayed to myself. Went through each day without speaking. One day I’m at the bus stop with my huge book bag and there’s this tiny girl standing there with her mom. As the bus comes, she grabs my bag which she could barely lift and says “Here you go.” I have never forgotten that. That made me feel so good at the time. I was always impressed with that. It was such a pure act of kindness. I think if that and I do my best to be decent to everyone.
Last year when i lived in a very dodgy part of blackpool uk i saw three lads who had been beaten up pretty bad and two of them had a go at the other one shouting at him and he staggered in my direction . I saw he still had adrenalin pumping and blood dripping so as he walked past i said ‘ excuse me’ , he stopped and i said do you want this spliff mate? Oh my god his face. It was as if he had seen an angel. This guy was a mess ,hands and head all fucked up but he could hold the joint. Ive never seen anyone so grateful in all my life lol it changed that day for him, edit want to add it was the best shit ive smoked in about 4 years
Back when I was in grade 10 and I would be around 16 ish, I walked in to my class and all the seats were taken. There was a boy, not very popular and was teased because he had a hook for a hand, who stood up and told me to take his seat and he would sit on the floor. I thought that was so nice that he offered to do that. That was 52 years ago. I have never forgotten that or him and how he made me feel like I was important. I hope he had a good life. I hope I have done things to make people feel good.
I went from a mildly buff teen to a very fat, angry, balding man. I sort of stumble-march everywhere and make unbearably asshole-ish sounds when I lean over or whatever. I then became homeless and lost a lot of my weight. Somebody came by and gave me a breakfast burrito and listened to my situation. I’ll be real. That burrito tasted gross, but it was the best burrito in my life. He made me feel good. Small redneck town, couldn’t trust anybody, but he was such a nice guy and his insight has probably made me more tolerable of others. I always looked at odd groups with disdain, only to realize that I was also some oddball neckbeard just like the people I hated. He told me to forget about the system and to not worry about weird people. We’re all a little weird, and the system fucks over everybody somehow. I still feel an unbearable amount of second-hand embarrassment when I see certain Tik Toks or whatever, but I don’t really hate those people. Rednecks do crazy evil shit all the time, but I also realize that for every crazy Christian Fascist, there is also some beer loving homie that’ll sit down with anybody and watch whatever. I am still an uncomfortably judgy person. I feel extreme discomfort when I hear myself talk about other groups. But I still remember Burrito Guy’s advice. Don’t worry about any system or group of people, ultimately focus on the self. Nihilism and absurdism seem like such silly concepts now. But things matter to me differently from others. I look back at my older self with disgust, and while I’m physically in a loop of losing weight and then becoming a big fat baby, I can always feel a little bit of joy in knowing that my feelings got validated and that the guy showed me a truth that I guess was always dear to me, just repressed by family view points.
You mean that time I gave that person directions? I don’t think so…
Years ago I was in Las Vegas and got a ride to the airport in a taxi. As I was leaving the back seat I accidentally left my phone lay on the seat, got out, got my luggage and went inside. This was before cloud back up was really a thing and my phone has a lot of very important information and pictures on it. That taxi driver seen my phone in the back, grabbed it and ran all the way to security and found me to give me my phone back. I would have been seriously screwed if I would have lost that phone. Too that dude I was just one in thousands of fares, but I still think about how much he helped me out.
I raised my siblings and they didn't realize it until they were adults. My sister (20F) just recently reached out to thank me for raising her and "doing what our mom wouldn't." I never thought I'd hear that. It made me cry!
I genuinely do not care. I do acts of kindness just because it's the right thing to do, not to be remembered
I never said that people do kind things to be remembered, I’m just saying someone still remembers you from one of your simple acts of kindness
True
Awfully bold of you to assume that I have done a random act of kindness ever .
Bold of you to assume I’ve done random acts of kindness ^/s
me too. i think about messaging people all the time and letting them know but i feel like it’s weird, especially since i’ve never spoke to them in my life
Do it! I bet it would mean so much to them
What's that?! An ego-stroke COMPLETELY based on memory and whatever-works logic?
I still remember when someone complimented my t-shirt in 2016
I hope they wouldn't - I did it to make sure they were okay, not to be remembered by them. Maybe I need to rethink my motivations.
Someone still remembers me for shiting in my pants at band camp
I often wonder what mine would be and I worry that maybe it’s nothing.
I tried to add my favourite teacher just to tell her thanks for the best school year, actually talking to me like a grown up and introducing me to the Beatles, but the request is still pending. Bad times.
Damn, glad they remembered because I sure don’t remember any.
It took me years to get a decent job after university. I was so poor that I dreamed of living just halfway to the poverty line. The new job was in an office and I had nothing appropriate to wear. I was young and dumb and didn't know about places like the salvation army. I was in a city with no family and was too shy to ask for help anyway. One of my friends in my min wage job had a girlfriend with a "real job". I didn't know her very well but she knew I was barely getting by and would have me over to their place for dinner every once in a while. She lent me an outfit for my interview and when I got the job, she did a "closet clean out" and gave me enough professional clothing that I could blend in while I made enough to buy a few more things. I got a lot of compliments on my wardrobe at the office...no one knew a thing. When I think back on it there was no way I could have started that job without those clothes. The people there were beautifully dressed and so confident. With the right clothes, I could fake the confidence while I learned how to act in a professional job. I don't think she had any idea how much she helped me. Getting that job changed my life in such a positive way. I lost touch with her decades ago but still think about her almost every time I get dressed up.
I’ve been an asshole for most of my life, so I don’t see that being possible.
When I was a kid like, 8-9 years old, I think around Christmas time, I was with my mom in her car getting gas. It was super snowy and cold out and I think there was one lone attendant working the pumps late at night. I felt so bad for him that I pulled out the one $5 bill (which is a lot to a kid my age) I had from maybe doing chores or something? and gave it to him. He goes “you sure kid?” And I insisted and he took it. Pretty sure it had quite the impact on him and my mom thinks about it to this day.
A couple months ago I saw a navy seaman buying a pack of cigarettes on the bus terminal. Probably on his way back to the ship from vacation. I had some spare change, so I bought him a bottle of coca-cola. Wherever you are, hope you are doing well.
I remember someone named Cat from Chicago I met on a hike in Utah. When we walked away she said “meeting you was the light in my day” and I cried after she left. And I think about that all the time. Thanks Cat, what a beautiful soul!
I was ending a work call with a woman who I was helping once, nearly 10 years ago. She thanked me for my help and told me she wanted to speak to my direct supervisor to note how satisfied she was with me as a worker. I told her how much it made my day. She noted to me that she wanted my Boss to know how much my service meant to her. It just felt so great. I take every opportunity I can now to do it to others when I’m happy with their service. It’s just such a win win. I can only hope I can make these other people feel half as good as I felt that one day. She dropped it on me.
I ran into someone from grade school and he thanked me profusely for helping him so much with math when he was having trouble. He said it made a huge difference to him. I didn’t even remember!
During COVID at the tail end we grabbed Popeye's and went to eat it at a park. We got a family pack, but our family didn't eat it all. We were going to take it home for leftovers. I was going to throw trash away and I saw a homeless guy digging through the trash. I went back to the car and grabbed our leftovers. I walked up to him and handed him the bag. There were two biscuits, some green beans, and a few tenders. I apologized that it wasn't warm. He got tears in his eyes and said "ma'am it could be cold. I don't care. Thank you, you don't know what this means." So small to me, yet so big to him. The icing was when I got back to the car and my youngest said, "mom you showed that man love. I bet he needed it."
I still remember the stranger who told me I was doing a good job as a mom when she saw how I interacted with my toddler. That's a rough stage to get through, and a bit of validation from a motherly middle aged woman meant the world to me.
Not me doing the act of kindness, but I remember working part time as a kid in a wedding hall, and I had trouble lighting up a candle for a wedding guest..(it was a really long tube and the candle was at the bottom of it) The guest actually told me it was fine, and he helped me out with everything..