i have sort of told this in the Q&A section but it is great and has stayed with me.

i was in jamaica. i go with a group every summer to do work at an orphanage. on our last day, we de-compress in a resort town. there is a man there, a street singer. he has one leg. he has long dreads, some of them white. he has a lean, lined face and some of his teeth are gone. he hops around all day with his guitar in one hand and a crutch in the other. he sings for people. the tourists have their pictures taken beside him. it has to be a difficult life.

anyway, he sang for us, bob marley's 'one love'--the love that unites us all!--and everyone else in our group ignored him. maybe they were all compassioned-out, i don't know, but i was embarrassed for them, for their rudeness to him. they should have known better, they should have seen his common humanity.

to look in this man's eyes. what i see there!

anyway, when he finished, i walked up to him and took his hand and gave him some cash, and i looked into his eyes and i told him how beautifully he sang, and i thanked him. and he replied, "You are very welcome, my lady."

i looked for him again last year. his hair was whiter and his face gaunter. he and i finally caught up with each other. last year he sang this song about dancing, that when you dance you are free, wont you dance with me (kind of ironic from a man with one leg, and i did wish i could dance with him). it was so wonderful to re-connect with him again.

and if i am blessed to go to jamaica again this summer, i will look for him again, and hopefully he will have been blessed to live another year. and to sing.

Thank you for sharing and joining the group, please update when you get back from Jamaica...please. Beautiful experience.

As I posted before, I am a natural observer of humanity. Fascinated with my own and others. So I witness consciously ALOT of "things"

Some random acts of kindness I have witnessed recently and or done:

smiling and walking with kindness in stride

collecting used cell phones for the homeless and survival s. w's

accepting kindness

listening without judgment or personal projection

children sharing an apple while ice skating and huddling together with hot chocolate

serving up chilli, handing out coats, blankets, mits and scarves

aboriginal elders passing on there wisdom to the youth and the youth wanting to listen with respect!

A kiss on the cheek from a toddler (just because)

opening a door for a man at the grocery store with no extra hands! LOL

admitting to a friend I needed them(to me this is a random act of kindness for her to be there)*hug*

Also, an act of kindness for myself that I was open to admit that I needed them! *wink*

Allowing diversity

I could go on and on and that is wonderful isn't it?!

Along with so much pain in this world there is so much kindness, love, support and beauty.

Arms wide open breeeeeeeeath!

Thank you for this thread!

Stages,

I agree, so many times we forget that with all that the news and other places share news, we still have good, really good things happening. I hope your comment inspires us all to be a little kinder to others and ourselves. Thanks.

peace,

Eve

Many times kindness acts may seem so small and trivial to you, but to the receiver the kindness might as well be a pot of gold.

This fall I was in Glacier International Airport and while waiting in line overheard 2 beautiful young foreign girls speaking Russian. I also live and travel to countries where the language is spoke so I started conversing with them. They were from Romania and had been working in Glacier Park for the season earning money to take back home. They were giggly and excited about the few presents they bought to take back to family members.

As we went through the usually horrific process of airport control and monitoring the contents of our carryon bags, the one girl was being harrassed for having a small bottle of perfume and it was not in the standard ziplock bag. The TSA agent was giving her a hard time and said he was confiscating it. The girl started crying. I knew I had an additional bag with me and quickly ran up there and gave it to her and instructed her to put the perfume in the bag and she could carry it on. This infuriated the agent but there wasn't anything he could do about it as she was legal to do so. The look on the girl's face was priceless and her joy of keeping her little gift said it all.

I really hate flying but seeing those girls on the plane, laughing and giggling and going home happy, made my trip very enjoyable.

A 2 cent meaningless plastic bag caused someone great joy... Go figure!

It's one of those days tunzie. Your post gave me warm fuzzies all over and ::::::::::tears in my eyes of compassion::::::

Thank you

I think Mother Teresa said it best..."not how great the deed, but how great the love with which you do it..."

Thank you all for your support of this thread, lets keep it going...Peace all.