Sangha of Auspicious Companions

It was obvious that the young woman was getting anxious about the purchase so I offered to pay for her purchase. She was shocked that I had even offered and very humbly accepted. She thanked me and I went on my way with a smile from her.

Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes and you never know when it will be your turn. Today I found that it was indeed my turn.

I went kayaking north of the city. It was a very hot, sunny day so I brought a large container of sports drink, figuring it would be plenty to drink. I underestimated the drain the heat and humidity would have on me. Before I got back to shore, I realized that I had finished the bottle. I still had to get back, load the boat on the car, and it would be at least a 10 minute drive to somewhere to buy more to drink.

When I got back to shore and managed to drag my boat to the car and get it strapped down, I was very hot and thirsty. Seeing a water fountain, I figured my problem was solved… but it wasn’t working at all. So, I swallowed my pride and asked a family picnicking near by if they had an extra bottle of water, which they gladly gave me. That bottle of water wasn’t a big deal to them, but it made all the difference to me.

The little things that can be done for others don’t usually seem significant to the people doing them, but it can be huge to the receivers. Thank you to all the joyful givers who don’t think twice about helping others!

Add/View Comment >>

Similar Stories

Roses and Newspapers, by Tamara

Snail Mail Surprises, by brighteyes

Miracle Man’s Wedding Proposal, by Pete

Tire-It-Forward, by keymaker

You Are So Beautiful To Me, by Aurelia

Helpful Links

Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going.

Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each!

Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good.

Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness.

Unsubscribe
If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks.

Community

Video of the Week

A while back we did some random drops of envelopes filled with a dollar, Smile cards, and a note asking them to pay it forward. Today we tried a similar experiment and it was my little 6 year old’s idea.

We put a different spin on it this time. She wanted to watch people open them, as last time we loved the few we did see. So this time when we left an envelope, we watched from somewhere nearby. We made sure to only leave them when we couldn’t be caught.

The first one someone grabbed and walked off. We only followed them for a bit and then thought it best to move on to our next “victim”. The second one we sat across from and watched. It was a family who found it. The skeptical husband thought for sure it was a joke and told his wife to take it to security. She didn’t listen and we laughed as we started walking away, still paying attention to her reaction. She smiled, read the note, read the Smile cards and gave one of them to her husband.

Apparently I still have to work with little Rachel on being discrete though, as she stared the entire time. So much for a secret agent career when she gets older!

The third was our favorite. We were in the mall and left it on one of the tables in a sitting area. Then we took the escalator and watched from above. Soon a man and a woman pushing a stroller stopped to rest. She picked up the envelope, looked around trying to see who could be watching, then opened it. She didn’t see us up above and looking down. The woman’s reaction was awesome! She smiled and kept looking around trying to see if someone was watching, and we could see her reading the note to her husband. Her smile and laughter made the whole thing worthwhile.

We didn’t get to see who grabbed our last one as we had to leave to get to Rachel’s Girl Scouts event. But we had a great time and I am very proud of my little kindness kid. She wants to do it again soon and rest assured we will! Spreading kindness is so much fun!

Add/View Comment >>

Similar Stories

Thank you for your kindness!, by ieiblue

Paid In Full With One Glass of Milk, by brighteyes

Bystander No More, by Michelle

You Are So Beautiful To Me, by Aurelia

Costco Love, by earthling

Helpful Links

Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going.

Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each!

Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good.

Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness.

Unsubscribe
If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks.

Community

Chapter One:

It was Christmas Eve for most people – for me, and my longest-standing friend Lanie, it was just another Saturday night. We were going to meet for a waterside dinner on the Northern shore of Long Island before I headed onto I-95 on my way back to Providence.

I arrived about 45 minutes early and on impulse popped into the Nail Salon a few doors up from the restaurant. The owner approached me asking what services I wanted. “Manicure” I answered. “Manicure Pedicure” she chirped. “No, just manicure today – I only have 45 minutes.”

"Manicure Pedicure," she re-chirped. "Manicure Pedicure 45 minutes!"

She walked me to the back of the salon, pointed to a chair, turned to her staff and without a seconds pause, she pulled up a chair and sat by my right hand. Another woman was at my feet, and a third on a stool by my left hand. It didn’t seem that it was going to be too very relaxing, but I felt sure I’d walk out of there in 45 minutes with both a manicure and pedicure.

The owner began mumbling in Korean under her breath. I couldn’t get her to look up to me, so I asked the woman at my feet what was going on. She took an extra beat, maybe deciding whether she was going to really tell me, or not. And she said to me, "That’s Boss Lady, and it’s Christmas Eve, and everyone going home early until you come in – Manicure Pedicure 45 minutes – so now everyone has to wait for you."

Taken aback, I felt instantly stung. She could have said no, but then I guessed she couldn’t. And there she was still mumbling away, and so I turned to her, and with my sweetest voice and a big smile on my face, I said, “Boss Lady, stand up.”

She stopped her mumbling immediately, and looked at me and said, “OK OK” and continued with her emery board. “No,” I said with ever so slightly more vibrato to my voice, “Boss Lady, stand up.” And she did.

I too stood up. “Boss Lady, you sit here.” I said as I pointed to the big black leather seat. “You sit here – and Manicure Pedicure for Boss Lady. Merry Christmas for Boss Lady!”

Reluctantly she switched seats with me. I began to file her right hand, and with my insistence, the two other women started in on her other hand and feet. It took only a minute for her to realize the fun of the moment and she turned to the other workers and asked them to make some tea for us. “Yes, Boss Lady,” they chirped and in the town of Northport, on the island of Long, in the State of New York, Christmas had its official beginning at 4:45 pm.

Chapter Two

The day after Christmas I was on my way to Healthrax to swim with my "almost" grandson and his dad. I was relaying the story of Boss Lady and Oscar, just recently turned 4, began to call me Boss Lady with his big teasing smile. He wasn’t quite sure if it was okay, but when I smiled back, he decided it was, and so Boss Lady it was for the rest of the day.

During our swim time he kept calling to me: “Boss Lady, I’m swimming to you” and I noticed that others around the pool smiled whenever he did.

As I was climbing out of the pool a young boy, maybe 7 maybe 8, was sitting on the pool steps pantomiming playing the piano on the water. I stopped to ask him what he was playing. "Chopin" he said without looking up. "Can I hear it?" I asked and he began to hum a tune that sounded vaguely Chopin-esque as he continued to play the water. "Do you have a piano at home?" I asked. "I do, but C and E and D are broken – here, [he pointed to the left of the imaginary keyboard] in the middle, and at the top too." I guessed it was an electronic device because it would be too coincidental for all those notes to be broken in each octave on an old-style piano.

Suddenly, he stopped playing and looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "I asked Santa for a real piano for Christmas, but he didn’t bring it."

"Maybe it was too big for the sled?" I countered. And then, "Which lady is your mommy here?" He pointed to a woman standing on the sidelines and said to me, "Over there Boss Lady, she’s over there" as he went back to his water-Etude.

I looked over to her, she smiled sweetly, and as I neared, she said, "He’s a cutie, isn’t he?" Hard to deny. We chatted a bit — she’s a professional cellist — and I weaseled her name from her, wished her a Merry Christmas and went off to the steam room.

The next day I had my piano – the one my son had learned on over 40 years ago. The one his father had learned on over 60 years ago – moved from my house to theirs. The very next day I received an email with a photo of the piano in it’s new home.

Last week I received an invitation from Enzo to his piano concert in June. And yes, I RSVP’d — Boss Lady will be delighted to attend.

Add/View Comment >>

Similar Stories

My First Experience With Smile Cards, by Hope4lisa

The Seed Has A Sprout, by justoneheart

Smile Cards Transform Nigerian Kids!, by ADEMI

Like The Flowing River!, by bearhug

Walkathon for Orphans, by strider

Helpful Links

Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going.

Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each!

Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good.

Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness.

Unsubscribe
If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks.

Community