15 Moments of Kindness That Prove the World Has More Compassion Than We Think

• I was unexpectedly laid off from work. I thought it would be temporary, but the job search dragged on. It got to the point where I couldn’t afford to pay rent anymore.
  I called the landlady and explained the situation. She laughed out loud and said, “Sweetheart, it’s already paid for.”
  It turned out that my friends had chipped in and paid my rent for 3 months in advance. And soon after that, I found a job almost immediately. I tried to return the money to my friends, but they flatly refused.

• My mother-in-law never gives us any gifts for holidays. I’ve never made a big deal out of it because the best gift for me is her wonderful son. I do give her gifts though.
  But when we wanted to buy a bigger place after the birth of our second daughter, my mother-in-law gave us a significant sum of money so we wouldn’t have to take out a loan!

• I was heading to the dentist on a massively overcrowded bus. I got off the bus, staggered to the side of the pavement, and... I don’t really remember.
  The next thing I remember was a nice lady talking me through breathing. She gave me some water and held my hand. After a while, I was able to tell her where I was going, and when I was a little more steady, she walked me there.
  All of that was a huge kindness, but when I was leaving the surgery, the receptionist called me over and handed me £20. The lady had left it so I could get a taxi home.

• The first time my mother ever let me hangout with my friends without any supervision. I didn’t need any money because my plan was to help my friend pick out her birthday dress and not shop myself, but she gave me her credit card just in case.
  After a day of shopping, my friend got picked up by her mom and I had plans to just walk home because I was like a 1/4 mile from home. Once she and her mom left, I realized that I had lost my mother’s credit card. I started to freakout a ton and was crying hysterically while walking down the street to find it.
  Some woman stopped and asked me what was wrong. I explained to her what happened. She gave me her cellphone to call my mom and when I was too nervous and crying to talk, she explained what happened for me. My mom wasn’t actually all that upset, but decided it would be best for her to come pick me up.
  The woman waited with me and took me into some cafe and ordered me a hot chocolate and told me all sorts funny stories of her own youthful mishaps until my mom got there to pick me up. It was such a kind thing to do and I will never forget it.

• I told my coworker I just really missed home and most of all: a home-cooked meal. I was 19 and moved away from home for the first time to a big city for a job opportunity. I’d never been away from my Mom before, or even been alone for longer than like 2 weeks.
  I could cook basically nothing and everything I did was just missing something, so mostly lived off takeout and microwave meals, which I was starting to get really, really sick of. I just wanted a nice meal made with love and fresh ingredients.
  The next day she came in with 5 homemade meals in containers for me to eat for the next week. The day before she conjured up a conversation about allergies which I didn’t even think was anything more than a usual conversation, until the next day. I
  t made me cry, and she didn’t understand why I was so overwhelmed and surprised, because it was just something she did everyday but for her own kids.

I was going to be late for my flight out of London and I couldn’t miss it. I really needed to get home. I couldn’t afford a taxi as I spent my last money on the ticket. Random young dude gave me a cab fare and $20 and said, “You remind me of my mother back home who I miss very much.”

• I was at the supermarket. There was a boy around 10 years old in front of me in the line, buying bread, milk, sausages, and something else. He was carefully packing everything into his backpack.
  When I started to pay, the cashier asked if I had a discount card. I said I forgot it, but there would be an extra 50% discount on some foods if I had it. Then this little kid, without saying a word, stopped packing his groceries and handed me his card.
  In bewilderment, I thanked him, and he just nodded and calmly walked away. Now that’s a gentleman in the making!

• A friend of mine works at a beauty salon. Her boss is considered by many to be a haughty lady, only interested in making money off the clients.
  But before the New Year, this “haughty lady” organized a free beauty day for women from crisis centers. They were able to get haircuts, manicures, styling, and at the end, everyone was given a self-care kit.
  My friend said the hardest part was convincing the women that it was all free, with no catch. But when they were leaving the salon, glowing not just externally but internally as well, it was worth all the effort.

• I’m very generous. And that’s my downside. All my life I’ve been showering men with expensive gifts. Seriously, if I love someone, I spare no expense for them.
  Sometimes I catch myself thinking that I’m going overboard and shouldn’t do this... He gives me a mug, and I give him a new phone. He gives me a bouquet of daisies, and I give him a fully paid trip to the seaside...
  My friends say that being generous and gullible like this, I can easily be taken advantage of. But I just don’t know how to be any other way.

• I collect socks. I don’t wear many of them, but the mere fact that I own these socks warms my heart. They can be of any kind: with elephants, striped, polka-dotted, and so on.
  My friend knew about this hobby of mine and gave me 100 pairs of socks as a gift! More than that, when she gave them to me, she made me promise that I would wear them all. I found out why when I put on the first pair. She hid a memory connected with me in each pair!

• I ran out of petrol on my motorcycle not long after I started riding, didn’t realize I’d go through my reserve as fast as I did. I managed to get a few more miles down the road by laying the bike on its left side to get a few more drops into the carb, but eventually it wouldn’t work any more.
  I was about to start pushing when a guy pulled up next to me and said, “No fuel?” I said yes and he told me to wait. About 10 minutes later, he came back with a Jerry can of petrol and poured it in, but before I could offer him anything he said, “Happens to the best of us” and drove off.

• My parents helped me buy an apartment. I was so happy because I’d been renting for years. They also helped me move in. We carried things, and I had a metal makeup case with many compartments.
  Dad always sighed when he saw it. He wanted one just like it for his fishing gear. So, when we were moving, Dad saw the case, sighed deeply, and I emptied all its contents and gave it to him! He was even happier with the gift than I was with the new apartment!