12 People Who Restored Our Faith in Humanity

Small acts of kindness can make a big difference. These people, in very different situations, discovered how much goodness matters.

• What I saw in the Costco parking lot after putting my phone down. I was sitting in the Costco parking lot, doom-scrolling, when I heard a loud and clear whisper. ‘Hey. ’ I looked around but no one was near the car and it was definitely a voice.
  
  I didn’t know what it was about, but I’m not a believer in coincidences. I decided to take this moment as an opportunity to pause and be in the moment. I put my phone down. I looked around. I took in the scene. I watched the sunset and smelled the fresh air.
  These are the little things I noticed...
  
  I saw a couple laughing and dancing down the middle of the road.
  I saw three men whirl around in unison as a car vrooooomed passed.
  I saw two friends bro-hug each other.
  I saw a tween pat his mom kindly and gently on the back as he passed her.
  
  Humanity is beautiful when we choose to see it that way. When we put down our phones for a minute and just... observe. © Warm-Car3621 / Reddit

• I love this. I “collect” these kinds of tiny-moment things in my head and used to even have a little jar with paper slips where my household wrote them down if feeling inspired, and then we took them out and read them occasionally.
  I still remember one from the late 1990s where a man was driving a motorcycle slowly down a street in our city with a youngish (10/11) boy on the back, wearing a motorcycle helmet and dirtbike knee and elbow pads, which was cute enough in itself, but he was holding the man’s back while also holding tight to one pink rose in his hand, and they were both laughing. I made up tons of stories in my head about who they were taking the rose to, and it just makes me happy every time I think about it. © PinkPengin / Reddit

• I’m in the hospital recovering from giving a kidney to someone that I met on Reddit. ’Pay it forward’ has always been my mantra, and I’ve always wanted to donate either a bit of liver or a kidney. It feels cool to have checked a life goal off the list, and I’ve also made a close friend out of it, which I value. I regularly donate plasma, I always try to stop and help people along the road. Life doesn’t have to be too serious when you can always find ways to be kind. It’s weird to think of myself as selfish in a way, because I love the warm fuzzies of helping people. I get too embarrassed to take praise, but I love the feeling of knowing I did the best I could to help another human. © Z*****_Wombat177 / Reddit

• Years ago, I was sitting on a bench, completely broken. Empty bank account. Empty energy. Trying to hold back tears so strangers wouldn’t notice. One man walked past me, slowed down, and said softly: “You’re stronger than you think.” That was it. Five words. Then he walked away. But those words hit me harder than anything I’d heard in months. I clung to them like a lifeline.
  They gave me just enough strength to keep going. I’ll never know his name. I’ll never see him again. But I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to change someone’s entire day — or their entire life. © shew****turns_ / Reddit

• It just so happened that I, a 20-year-old girl, had to travel by train with my younger sister. I forgot to take a formula bottle, and my 1-year-old sister cried loudly so the entire carriage could hear her. She didn’t know how to drink from a glass yet and couldn’t fall asleep without a bottle. At the night stop, a guy took a taxi, went to a 24-hour pharmacy, and brought us a bottle. He didn’t take any money. © Overheard / Ideer

• My family and I went to this small, old-school restaurant in town the other night. The whole time we were there, this old guy who owned the place just kept staring at our table, which was starting to weird me out. My daughter got up to use the restroom, and on her way back, he stopped her. I saw that he was shaking and tearing up. My mom instincts kicked in, and I was already on my feet, ready for a confrontation.
  But before I could even say a word, he just looked at my daughter and said, “You look just like her.” Turns out, her grandmother used to be his girlfriend. He pulled up a chair and sat down with us, spending the next hour telling us all these stories about her and showing us pictures on his phone from when they were kids. It was one of the strangest but also most wholesome dinners we’ve ever had.

• A couple of years ago I forgot I put my wallet on the bumper of my car and drove off into a pretty intense rainstorm. Unbeknownst to me, my wallet fell and my credit cards and license were scattered all over the street. A lady following saw stopped her car and collected all of it in the freezing rain. She used my license to find me on Facebook so she could message me and return the wallet and cards. She was such a blessing! © Sufficient_Wafer6322 / Reddit

• My son was diagnosed with cancer, and I hadn’t anticipated staying at the hospital for a week and hadn’t packed accordingly. My spouse was out of town, and I was an hour from home. I had my parents come stay with him so I could make a quick run to Target for a change of clothes/toiletries. I hadn’t been alone since getting the news. I walk into Target, and the place is packed; there are no carts available. A woman makes eye contact with me and, as she is just leaving, gives me her cart. But she can tell something is wrong. She asks me and I just break down.
  She held me, this complete stranger held me while I had full gasping sobs, and I told her my sweet, vivacious little boy has cancer with a 60% chance of survival with the best of outcomes. She was the right person at the right time. We talked for a little while, and I got myself right. I needed that cry. I can never thank her enough. I needed that genuine warmth in a sea of cold clinical days. It’s been 11 years since that day, and I have never forgotten her or her kindness. And my son is a healthy, cancer-free teen. © snickerdoodleroo / Reddit

• Once a 68-year-old lady came to me for an interview. She said that she was ready to work for any money if the work was not very hard. I asked her if she had any friends. So for the single position of a salesperson, I hired 3 old ladies. They work a 12-hour shift, 4 hours each. On the downside: they are slow, of course, and often sick. On the plus side: they replace each other, and they don’t steal at all. The sales have increased, they know all customers by sight. © Overheard / Ideer

• I was working in a store and was talking to a customer who came in maybe once a week. We didn’t know each other except for our first names but it was nice whenever he came in. He was maybe 20-30 years older than me but I would always take time for him when he went shopping. One day when I saw him and started joking around he sort of paused and looked at me and said " you know, you are such an amazing young woman and I really hope that you have friends or someone close to you that can see you for who you really are. I truly wish for you to have that connection with people who can really appreciate you for being you." I like to think that I know my own person or my worth, but the way he looked at me and the way he said it was so sincere and I still think about that feeling when I realized that he really could see me for who I am without really knowing me. © PickeldPinkyToe / Reddit

• When I turned 18 my parents made me take on financial responsibilities such as paying my share of the bills (cell phone, car insurance, etc.) and rent to them for living in their home when I wasn’t living in my college dorm. I honestly felt annoyed by it at the time because why would my parents want me to struggle financially even more than I already was being a poor college student?!
  Once I graduated undergrad and med school, they took me out to dinner and presented me with a substantial-sized check. I asked them what this was for and told them it was much too generous! My dad, beaming with pride, said how proud they were of me for graduating at the top of my class, and how I took on the financial responsibilities they asked of me even though I didn’t make much money at the time. This check was all the money I had paid to them over the past 8 years PLUS an equal match from them! They said they always intended to save this money and return it to me to help me as I prepared for my anesthesiology residency. I have always been close with my parents and even though I was annoyed about paying, I never let it be known to them or anyone. To this day I still can’t believe they did this for me, in addition to paying for my undergraduate and medical degrees. This was a very unexpected act of kindness and I appreciated it so much!
  © Alway5BCl051ng / Reddit

• My MIL lives off her retirement savings, and she’s always saying it’s not enough, so she often asks my husband for money. When she came to visit after our son was born, it was honestly overwhelming. She fussed over everything, and by the time she was leaving, I was drained. As she walked out the door, she gave me this odd little look and said, “You should check your bag.” I thought it was strange, but I brushed it off.
  Later, when I couldn’t find my passport, her words came rushing back. I was furious. I called my husband, ready to explode, and confronted her on the phone. I accused her of taking it, asked how she could even think of doing something like that. I cried when I later re-checked the bag and there was my passport tucked away, along with a tiny pair of hand-knitted socks and a check. She had saved that money just for her grandson. I felt the anger dissolve immediately and was left with this huge wave of guilt for assuming the worst.

And the heroes from these stories showed that kindness always finds a way to shine. Their actions, big or small, remind us that even in hard times, goodness survives. If these real moments of kindness touched you, you might also enjoy this article about nostalgic sibling stories that capture the magic of family.