• Stories of Kindness

    Hello!I have submitted a couple of the same story, because the download on my computer hasn’t been going through. Hopefully this time it goes through :)I am currently in my paternal village in India and have been finding acts of kindness everywhere I go. From the individuals who work my family’s farm to the stray puppies who come to our front door step. I know the process is to do an act of kindness, but I thought I would share one that has happened in the past rather than the one I did today. There was a man who lived in my father’s village long ago. He was closed to…

  • Stories of Kindness in Ahmedabad, India

    Hello! I submitted this kindness story beforehand, but the link became expired, so am trying to resubmit. On a cold night in Ahmedabad on Christmas, we decided to brighten up the entire flat complex with flower rangoli (designs). In addition, we brought chai to the night watchman. It was a beautiful evening of bonding and beauty.

  • Chai Walas :)

    After Christmas night with some noble friends in beautiful Ahmedabad, India, we returned to our flat and found our watchman sitting downstairs. He was lying on the swinging chair wrapped in a blanket with a hat on. We thought it would be a nice idea to give him some snacks and warm chai tea for the breezy evening. We didn’t have any milk with us so we went two floors up to see if a friend was still awake. It was 12 AM and we didn’t think she would be! She was! She gave us the little milk she had left and we went on our way back to the…

  • Crab live release

    My wife and I decided to go to Pillar Point Harbor on Black Friday this year to buy some live Dungeness Crabs so we could release them back into the ocean. We bought 9 crabs and put them in 2 five gallon buckets (you can fit about 5 crabs in a bucket). The fisherman said that they can live out of the water for about an hour. Then we drove them to a calm beach on the opposite side of the harbor so we could release them back into the sea. We recited the mantra Om Mani Padme Hung and blew on the crabs as we were setting them free.…

  • Sharing passion

    I work in my school library and saw a student looking through the stacks. I was moved by the book she was holding, it being one of my favorites and I led her to other books in a similar vein. A week or so later, I found her once again in the library and she was exctatic about the book.This may not be saving a life or anything like that but books are a huge part of my life and are extremely experiential. I gave this girl an entirely unique experience through something I am passionate about.

  • Reciting ‘Amitabha Buddha’ on my way to work

    I will recite the Buddha’s name whenever I see an accident, dead animal corpse, a truck load of chicken/cows/goats on the way to the slaughter house , ambulance passing by, hoping that by doing so I can help them plant some good seeds 🙂

  • let a child go first

    At Costco a guest Vegamitc vendor had free samples. People quickly gathered around to try, a mother and child in back late and maybe not going to get his. Giving him my spot, made my 6 year old self come to mind. As his eyes focused on the tray, waiting, I let him go. Mom smiled sincerely, and he got his cup of fresh fruit juice. Priceless? Well, it was free, meant more to him than me. I don’t compare to saving a life, but felt better in a way unexpected.

  • listening without judgement

    a customer shared with me his concerns about his daughter and her possible abusive partner. she had a black eye he said when he last visited her in the U.K. he had his doubts but did share his daughters partner was a good guy who worked hard.i listened without offering opinion but did empathise with him. i let him voice his concerns as i felt he needed to share his worries without me offering a knee jerk reaction.he left my workplace saying he would ask family members to check on his daughter and would re-assess his feelings and concerns when he next visited her.peace

  • Loneliness, a Sense of Isolation, and Desperation

    Across the street from my home lives an old woman in a small cottage home. She is almost 80 years old, she has lived a long life full of friendship, dreams, losses, travels, many jobs, many homes, she has felt a lot, experienced a LOT. She still does experience, and love, and care for the world, and suffer; and live alone in a small cottage home.Now, she is ignored by her neighbors, her family, her community, she feels alienated, isolated–alone. Her wisdom is not valued. Like so many elders in our community she is safely kept away in a distant, remote dwelling, where her feelings and perspectives will not disturb…

  • Picnic in Tilden Park

    The other weekend I was at Tilden park with my family. When we were on our way out of the park, I saw a women struggling to carry a folded table and serval boxes all at the same time, I offered her help, and carried the large table to picnic area, she then asked if I could go to her car and carry a package of bottled water to her. She was exhausted as she was setting up a picnic by herself and apparently had first set everything up in the wrong area and then had to move it. It was a pleasure to help her.