17 Moments That Show How a Simple Act of Kindness Can Light Up the World

A simple compliment from a random passerby or an act of care can make the world immensely brighter and more pleasant. In this article, we put together stories about strangers who know how to lift everyone’s spirits. We hope they bring you just as many smiles as they did to the heroes of this article.

• I step out of the house thinking: “Darn, my hair looks terrible and dirty.” I get into the elevator. A woman enters a floor below and says, “Your hair looks beautiful! It really suits you!”
  I think: “Well, gosh, this is just an amazing response from the universe.” And my mood immediately lifted to the sky. © ksushavishnya
• There was once a story about photos for documents. For some reason, I always had to take photos in the cold season. And my nose turns red from the cold. So I ended up red-nosed in all the photos.
  And then one time I come in from the cold street, and there’s a female photographer drinking tea. She looks at me and says, “How about you join me? You’ll warm up, and I’ll have some company.” © Zabava / ADME
• My boss once sent me to the city on business. The factory was located in a residential area, the transport service was poor, and I didn’t have my own car at the time. I went on foot.
  And then, as luck would have it, it started to rain, and there I was in sandals and without an umbrella. Soaked through, ankle-deep in water, but undaunted, I trudged on. Then an empty bus stopped. The driver opened the doors and said, “Hop on, miss, I’ll give you a ride.”
  It turned out the bus was returning to the depot, but took me almost to my destination. I rode like a queen, all alone on the entire bus. I kept seeing him on this route afterward, he’d honk at me, and I’d wave back. Passengers would look at me through the windows and probably thought I was his girlfriend. © Zabava / ADME
• I drive into the yard of our building. Naturally, there are no spots. I see a woman in her sixties cleaning her little car with a small brush.
  I roll down my window, asking, “Good afternoon, are you by any chance leaving?” She tosses her brush into the car (having only cleaned the windshield), pulls out, and says, “Please park.”
  And continues cleaning.
  I park, take out my huge brush, clean her entire car in 3 strokes, we wish each other a good day and go on about our business. © maxkarabak

• While riding the metro to get to a job interview, I fell asleep. I woke up to find that the child sitting next to me drew all over my folder with documents using markers. I was shocked, and his mother turned red and started apologizing.
  Meanwhile, the little one scribbled something on a sheet of paper and handed it to me. I thought it was an apology, but it said in crooked block letters, “This is a plane for beautiful people. You are beautiful,” and he pointed at my folder.
  I looked, and indeed, there was something resembling a plane drawn on it. That child’s compliment warmed my heart so much that I walked into the interview feeling uplifted and got the job.
• Once my brother went to the mountains to cycle there. He decided to fly back home. Since all his stuff didn’t fit in the luggage, he put on 3 T-shirts and some other clothes.
  The crowning piece of his outfit was a helmet. Almost every passenger asked him why he was wearing a helmet. To this, he calmly replied, “Oh, didn’t you get one?” © Overheard / Ideer
• Once in a shopping center, something truly sweet happened. A very serious boy approached my 5-year-old daughter, gave her a balloon, and said sternly, “Take it, I’m already grown up. I’m in second grade. I hope you like balloons!” Of course! She loves them. © Marina Gorbacheva

• I was heading to work, and my mood was as low as a tired potato. The bus was packed, everyone was standing in silence, the atmosphere was pretty gloomy.
  At one of the stops, a guy came in with a speaker and turned on some music. Everyone glanced at him sideways, and someone whispered, “There goes another noisy kid.” But he just started singing, carefree.
  And oh, what a voice he had! Everyone froze. Within a couple of minutes, the whole bus was clapping, and some even joined in singing.
  By the end, the guy received a bunch of applause, bowed, thanked everyone, and got off. As I continued on my journey, I felt so warm inside as if I’d just returned from vacation. © Ward No.6 / VK
• Snow was falling. I came back home, parked my car by the house, when bang — it got stuck right in a snowdrift. I took out a shovel and started digging out the wheels.
  There was a car nearby with 2 guys sitting inside. I got a bit annoyed, thinking they could have offered to help instead of just sitting there watching. The wind chilled me quickly, so I decided to head back home to warm up and return later.
  After a cup of tea, I returned with new energy. And guess what? The car had already been dug out. Those very guys silently did the job and drove off. Guys, thank you so much! © Not Everyone Will Understand / VK
• Winter, and it’s −4°F outside. I was at home and suddenly heard some strange sounds coming from the balcony. I looked out the window but didn’t see anything. I figured it must be the wires and the wind.
  About 10 minutes later, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find a girl from the house across the street. She said there was a pigeon tangled in ropes on my balcony. She noticed it from her window, watched it for about 10 minutes, and when she realized it wouldn’t free itself, she rushed over to help me save the bird.
  We managed to free the pigeon. I felt so happy for the bird and for the girl’s compassion. Now she and I are friends. © Overheard / Ideer

• Decided to do some bulk shopping. Picked up 2 heavy bags of groceries and headed to the store exit. Suddenly, a few men rushed in and not one of them bothered to hold the door. Irritated, I muttered something to myself and stumbled out onto the street with my bags.
  One of them caught up with me, took the bags from my hands and said, “Let’s go!” I hurried after him to understand where he was taking my groceries. The guy loaded them into a car, seated me, and I mentally bid everyone goodbye.
  He asked for the address to take me to. He drove me home, accompanied me to the elevator, handed over the bags, and said as a goodbye, “I’m not like them.” © Caramel / VK
• I’m on the train, not many people around. Sitting there, reading a book, not bothering anyone.
  At the next stop, a group of teenagers gets on. They are chatting, laughing. One of them noticed me, shushed the others, and said to his friends, “Let’s not disturb her, she’s got a book.” Very sweet! © Palata No. 6 / VK
• Recently, I was returning home late at night. It was dark, cold, and the buses were almost done for the night. In the distance, I saw a bus and ran toward it, waving my arms to get the driver’s attention. But he just kept driving.
  Disappointed, I was ready to walk to the stop when a car pulled up next to me. The driver offered a ride, but I declined, finding it scary to get into a car with a stranger. A couple of minutes later, the same bus stopped abruptly in the middle of the road. I managed to get on.
  Once inside, I saw the same car whose driver had offered me a lift. He had blocked the road so the bus would wait for me. I stood there, amazed by this gesture. © Not Everyone Will Understand / VK
• One time, I was returning home late in the evening. A man started following me from the bus stop. I walked faster, he sped up, and eventually, I began to run. He bolted after me and yelled, “Miss, stop! Stop, I say!”
  He eventually caught up with me. I stood there, worried, and the man said, “You left your bag on the bus.” It had things in it that were dear to me. In short, we got to know each other, and he even asked me out. © Overheard / Ideer

• Picked up a whole bunch of stuff at the hypermarket, but forgot my discount card. The total came up to quite a lot. Then a handsome guy behind me handed his card to the cashier. I started smiling, thanking him, batting my eyelashes, thinking maybe he wanted to get to know me.
  But he calmly says, “Sorry, dear,” and quickly takes the roll of promotional stickers from the cashier for my purchase, saying, “My wife is 3 stickers short for a frying pan. Have a nice evening!” Well, it’s good that at least another woman got such a handy man, I’m happy for her.
• There was a time I worked as a taxi driver. Left my husband, ended up in debt. No home, no decent clothes, but at least I was free.
  I worked like crazy! At first, to pay off the debts, then to save for a place to live. Worked nights.
  One time I had an especially slow shift, and I needed to pay a loan in the morning. I saw a guy trying to hail a car on the side of the road, I pulled over and offered him a ride. He got in, started asking the usual questions, like, “Isn’t it scary to work at night?” and so on.
  I drove him to his destination, he got out and asked how much I usually make in a night. I said it varies, weekends are always busier. He handed me a large bill and said, “Promise me you’ll go home and get some sleep now.” I was shocked, but I went home.
  6 years have passed. I’m out of debt, bought an apartment, and had a daughter. I still remember that guy. © Not everyone will understand / VK
• I was heading home from work exhausted, late at night. My feet were aching from the heels. I got into the elevator — and a tough guy followed me in. The elevator started moving, and then suddenly stalled between floors. I panicked, called the dispatcher — but they didn’t answer.
  Then the guy suddenly takes off his jacket, throws it on the floor — which is quite clean in our building — and says, “Don’t worry. I’ve got water, food, and 80% battery on my phone. Sit on the jacket. Sooner or later, the elevator will move.”
  At first, I looked at him cautiously, then decided I had nothing to lose and sat down on the jacket. He plopped down next to me, turned on the flashlight on his phone, and pulled some chips and a simple board game out of his backpack.
  So we sat there for about an hour in the flashlight’s glow — eating chips, rolling dice, and chatting. Then the elevator suddenly started moving, and I was even a bit disappointed: it had been a long time since I’d relaxed so well.

If you enjoyed this collection of stories, you’ll surely appreciate this uplifting article about people who timely listened to their intuition.