15+ Kindness Stories That Made Us Want to Hug the Whole World

Sometimes it seems that kindness is a rare luxury, but in fact, it is everywhere; we just don’t always notice it. We put together amazingly real-life stories, in which you may recognize your colleagues, neighbors, or just a person you met in the street.

• It was rush hour and I was on my way to work, the bus completely packed. I barely managed to get one foot onto the step when the bus started moving. I pulled my other foot up and realized my shoe had been left on the sidewalk — my foot was bare. But before the door closed, I suddenly felt my shoe back on my foot! Someone had actually run after the bus and slipped my shoe right back on. © Lyudmila Pyanikh / Dzen
• I was walking one morning and saw an old lady pulling a wheeled shopping bag behind her, and in her other hand she had a leash. It was empty. I instantly pictured myself wandering around the city the same way, walking an imaginary dog on a leash. I stood there holding back tears, and then I noticed something darting around the park. The old lady never even realized why I was standing there holding her little dog in my arms. © hey___jul
• When I was on maternity leave, I used to go to the farmers market every weekend and buy cottage cheese from the same vendor. Her cheese was delicious and she was a very kind person. One time my child got very sick and we had to spend a lot of money on treatment, so cheese was the last thing on my mind. When we finally came back, the vendor was even surprised why we hadn’t been around for so long. When she found out my child had been sick, she gave him a little jar of clotted cream as a gift. And she always gave us extra anyway. If we came around closing time, she would give us all the leftovers without asking any extra money for them, or give me a pound and a half instead of just one, saying, “Your little one looks thinner, take some more.” That farmers market has been gone for years now, but I still remember that woman with so much warmth. © Mad Squirrel / Dzen

• Going from a grocery store to my car in the rain. I’m trying to balance carrying my infant, 2 bags of groceries, keep an umbrella over everything, and open my trunk. This middle-aged, bearded, longhaired behemoth of a man comes sprinting through the rain over to us without an umbrella of his own. He opens my trunk, holds the umbrella over baby and myself, while I load the groceries. Afterwards, he handed me the umbrella back and said, “When she gets bigger, tell her an old hippie helped you!” before sprinting away again. © sauron-lorenson / Reddit
• My mood completely turned around this morning! I woke up absolutely starving, but the fridge was empty. Grumpy and annoyed, I dragged myself to the store. When I was paying, I pulled a bill out of my wallet and put it on the little tray. Then I noticed someone had drawn a tiny heart and written on the edge of the bill: “Wishing you happiness, whoever you are.” At first, I actually thought about taking it back, but then I decided, “No, let it keep traveling and giving people little moments of joy.” © Overheard / Ideer
• This happened more than 10 years ago. I ran onto a train just 2 minutes before it left. I didn’t have any food with me, and my wallet was empty. Everyone else was having dinner, while I just sat there with my nose in a book. Then a guy said, “Would you like some tea?” I said I wouldn’t mind. And with the tea came some cookies. I took a couple, even though I was starving. Then out came a little sandwich, and eventually even some chicken. If he had offered me chicken right away, it would’ve felt awkward. But he ended up feeding me and distracting me from my gloomy thoughts with conversation. Sam, if you’re reading this — thank you!

• It was dark, wintertime. I walked out of the store with a bag of groceries, the bag tore, and everything spilled out. What was I supposed to do? I’d already walked away from the store, the groceries were in the snow, I was trying to scoop them up in my arms, and everything kept falling. I was ready to cry. Some guy ran over like he was going to help, but then he suddenly ran off. Great. But then I saw him coming back from the store with extra bags. It may seem like a small thing, but I still remember it. Thank you, guy! © Galina S. / Dzen
• A man came into my office with a little dog. He wanted to buy some fasteners for a net. While I was filling out the order, he told me that he had adopted this dog from a shelter. Nobody else wanted to take her because she was already old. I handed him the fasteners and said, “They’re free. You’re a wonderful person, you did something kind, and kindness should return to you.” The fasteners cost next to nothing, so it wasn’t really a big deal. But the next day he came back with ice cream for me and my coworker. He spent more than the fasteners were worth. I turned red as a beet. I even cried afterwards. © juli.moonli
• My mother-in-law is amazing. After my divorce, when I hit rock bottom financially, she gave me half the money I needed for a decent 2-bedroom apartment. Not really for me, of course, but for her grandson — my son. She never lectured me, never criticized me, never tried to defend her son. She looked at the situation objectively. I wish I had that much wisdom in life. Later my husband and I got back together and things worked out, but I’ll always be grateful to her for being there when my whole world was falling apart. © Overheard / Ideer

• I was riding a bus home when it broke down just as we were leaving the city, and it was already getting dark. What could we do? Another girl and I started desperately trying to hitch a ride. The problem was, there was a traffic jam, so all the drivers could see our situation perfectly, but for a long time no one stopped. I was already imagining myself spending the night on the highway in the forest. But we got lucky! A man picked us up — he was driving with his daughter to visit some relatives. He told us he grew up in a village and used to walk to school with his friends, and sometimes drivers would give them a lift. This was his way of paying them back. On the way, we also gave a ride to some old man heading to the village. Honestly, the world needs more people like him. Thank you!
• When I was 19 and broke I worked at a gas station in the next town over from mine, about 15 miles away. My manager was awesome! He gave me the grocery products that had to be pulled on their best by date, when company policy said he couldn’t. He’d run fake pump tests to front me gas before payday so I could get home and back whenever he’d find me sleeping in my car behind the station, he gave me extra uniform shirts for free so I didn’t have to go to the laundromat as often. He was great. Jim at SuperAmerica, thank you and I miss you! © SallyHeap / Reddit
• My husband left me for his mistress and took everything from the apartment — he even had the stretch ceilings taken down. For the first month we slept on mattresses and ate on the floor. He would call and ask, “So, how’s life without my money?” But then, almost overnight, it felt like a miracle happened — within a year I was earning more than the 2 of us ever made together! Neighbors brought over an old couch, my coworkers pitched in for a fridge, a friend gave me a wardrobe, and complete strangers from the Internet helped with the renovation. And then a cat showed up in our home. © game_of_mylife / Threads
• This was back in 1984. I was pregnant with our first son (my husband and I married when we were still college students). He had just graduated, and I was in my third year. We borrowed a little money from a neighbor, bought some bread, milk, a few vegetables, and had only a bit of change left. That evening we went for a walk before bed, passed by a movie theater, and decided to watch a movie. We were just a tiny bit short on the tickets, though we didn’t realize it until we handed the money to the cashier. She loudly announced we didn’t have enough, and I burst into tears — I wanted to see the movie so badly. Then she said, “Go on in. I’ll cover it, and may this be the biggest sorrow of your life!” I still remember that woman with gratitude to this day. © Mila Tsvetkova / Dzen

• I had lost my job and was crying upstairs in my thin-walled apartment. I hear a knock on my door and it’s my downstairs neighbor who is a much older lady. Without saying a word, when I open the door, she just hugs me. And I continued to cry. I still very much so appreciate receiving that hug in my time of stress and am grateful she came upstairs to be kind to me. I really needed that hug. © stressandscreaming / Reddit
• I was about 10 years old when my mom and I went to the market to buy groceries — fruits and vegetables and all that. We came across a stall with books, and I really wanted her to buy me something to read, but we didn’t have much money left. I walked away disappointed, and then the woman from the stall ran up to us and said, “Here you go, kid, take the book for free.” I don’t even remember what book it was, but that moment was unforgettable. © Denis S / Dzen
• My husband lost his phone. We kept calling and finally a girl picked up. She said she’d found it in the park. When I came to get it, she was there with her mom, and the first thing I noticed were their worn-out sneakers. I wanted to give them money, but they refused. So I couldn’t think of anything better than to leave the money behind and run off. © Mamdarinka / VK
• I was coming back from a trip late at night and left my bag with my documents, money, and phone in a taxi. I was standing on the dark square in front of the station, crying, when a man came up, asked what had happened, and invited me into his car to help chase the taxi. He had been at the taxi stand and remembered the license plate. We caught up to it! Alex, if you’re reading this, I think about you often and I’m so grateful. © Tatiana S. / Dzen

And here are more stories that remind us to be kind even when it’s not easy.