18 Stories That Show Treating Others With Kindness Is Always the Best Decision

The world is full of wonderful people, and there’s always someone to turn to when you’re feeling down or need help. It’s not always visible to us, busy people, but once we’re shown random acts of kindness, we realize that they’ve been around us all along. Next time we see someone in need, we can also pay it forward and help the world be a better place.

Bright Side found 18 stories that prove we’re never alone in this big world.

1.

A toddler is melting down in the library. The mom is mortified. A stern old lady approaches & I hold my breath. “It’s okay,” she tells the mom. “I’ve been there. You’re doing great.” And then to the toddler, “You’re doing great, too. You’re doing your best.”
JMCwrites / Twitter

2.

Ran into a guy I played football with in high school today. As he’s introducing me to his girlfriend, he says, “This is John, he was the only popular kid in high school who didn’t bully me. He was actually my friend.” Just a reminder that people never forget how you make them feel.
j_ryz / Twitter

3.

I was driving in the country and saw a guy on the side of the road with a motorcycle, and he looked to be in some sort of a situation. This road was 10+ miles from the nearest gas station, so I whipped around and pulled up next to him. Turns out, his gas meter had failed, and he ran out of gas. I gave him a lift to the gas station, and he filled up my tank too! Gave him a ride back to his bike, and we parted ways. Good times.
cinapeguh / Reddit

4.

About 17 years ago, we lived across from a young mom and her 2-year-old daughter, who had moved in with her dad due to hard times. I saw her outside crying one day and asked what was wrong. It was her daughter’s birthday, and she had no money to buy a gift. I went home, and after she went inside her house, I went to Target, bought a couple of toys, went home, made and decorated cupcakes, wrapped the gifts, and then left them on their porch. The young mom came to the door to return the plate, and I told her it wasn’t my plate.
ilovedrpepper / Reddit

5.

My 5-year-old lost her new bracelet and my 7-year-old says, “That’s ok. Someone else will find it, and you’ll make their whole day.” Seriously, you guys, that’s the attitude we all need.
Lhlodder / Twitter

6.

I was walking in the rain, and a gentleman drove by and slowed down next to me, hands me an umbrella. I tell him thank you so much, and he says, “No problem, just pass it on,” then drives off. Not sure if he meant kindness or the umbrella, so I did both.
askredditisonlyok / Reddit

7.

Neighbors asked to borrow my truck, and I told them I couldn’t trust my truck because the tires were bad. The next day, the neighbor called me and said he was getting new tires for his suburban and that I could have his old ones. He told me to just show up at this certain tire shop, and they would put them on.
I get to the tire shop, and they put on brand-new Goodyear tires. I asked what happened to the old tires I was supposed to receive. The shop owner said the “old tires” was just a story to get me in the shop. The neighbor bought me a full set of new tires instead of the old tires he said I could have.
jorcam / Reddit

8.

I broke my foot and was trying to limp my way across campus with crutches in the pouring rain. Someone ran over with their umbrella and walked across campus with me, so I wouldn’t get rained on.
Mads_83 / Reddit

9.

An elderly lady had shaky hands and couldn’t open her plastic bag to put grocery items in. I watched people pass her as she looked shamefully, knowing she needed help. I too hate asking for help. I took her bag, opened it for her, and put her groceries in. She looked at me warmly, smiled, and said, “Oh, thank you.”
Jsuke06 / Reddit

10.

After my dad passed away, my depression kicked into overdrive. I went to the doctor and got a prescription for anti-depressants. While I was picking up my prescription, I started crying. When I apologized to the pharmacist for crying like a child, the pharmacist said, “You don’t have to apologize. You recognize you have a problem and you are trying to fix it. That is a brave thing.” It changed my perspective on treating my mental illness.
cranberryboggle / Reddit

11.

I was 9 years old and waiting for the school bus in winter. I had a thin coat, and no hat or gloves. A woman driving past saw me and stopped to give me a blanket from the back of her car. It was a long, skinny one, so she wrapped it around my head and shoulders like a big scarf. I remember thanking her, but being confused.
I told her I didn’t know how I would give it back when I was done borrowing it. She hugged me and said not to worry. I still have that blanket.
saintdelft / Reddit

12.

Once, I was on a highway and my car broke down. Had no battery on my phone. This was 10:30 p.m., the nearest town was around 20 minutes by car. After a lot of failed attempts to get someone to stop and let me call anyone, a lady stopped suspiciously, hoping this wasn’t a con or something.
Turned out to help me call my parents to pick me up, and before running off she said, “Next time you see someone in your situation, give them the benefit of the doubt.”
restreitinho / Reddit

13.

I took my sister, who’s in a wheelchair, to a movie for the first time on my own. Toward the end, I realized I couldn’t undo the brakes on her wheelchair and was blocking everyone. I felt like crying because I thought everyone was pissed at me, but some nice lady helped me, then took me and my sister out. She said she once had a son who needed a wheelchair.
This was a long time ago, but I’ll never forget it.
Zedfourkay / Reddit

14.

I found a wallet in a taxi on the way home from a night out. Went out of my way to get in contact with the guy and get his wallet back to him the next day. Turned out he was a big football star and gave me the money that was in the wallet as a “Thank You”!
SarahBell101 / Reddit

15.

I recorded a homemade album with my garage band in high school and handed out a few CDs. A few weeks later, my English teacher approached me with 5 pages of notes on what he liked and what I could improve on. He apparently got the CD from someone and listened to it all the way through (it was over an hour long). He didn’t know I was the singer and guitar player until he asked the person who gave him the CD.
He said that if I ever got a shot in a studio, I would create something amazing.
SuperSmokeyBear / Reddit

16.

I was giving out Starbursts and high-fives at a rave. Some dude took out his phone like he wanted a picture with his group, and I couldn’t hear him at first over the loud music, but I offered to help him take the photo. He shook his head and said he wanted a picture with me because he loved my spirit. Got the goofiest smile on my face, and that was an awesome feeling to receive from a stranger.
tozy92 / Reddit

17.

I used to be so introverted onto myself that I hated it. A girl in my history class just walked up to me one day and was super kind to me. My social skills that I thought I had lost to bullying in middle school returned quite naturally, and we became good friends. That’s when I was all like, “Hey, this ain’t so hard.” She inspired me to become more social, and life’s good. One act of kindness can change your whole view on life.
Axeman1721 / Reddit

18.

I used to work at a Tim Hortons, and it was really common for people to come through and pay for the people’s coffee behind them in the drive-through. Sometimes there would be strings of it where people just kept paying for the people behind them. It was so Canadian of them.
anonomous_toaster / Reddit

Have you experienced kindness from strangers? Have you ever helped anyone?