Random acts of kindness

[Xenavire]

I just had an experience that made me think.

I rarely let myself pass by someone that genuinely needs my help without stopping and helping. On the flip side, I can't remember the last time someone else has stopped to help me (not that I need help very often.)

That's why I was wondering what other people's experiences were, either being the helper or the helped. After all, hidden disability or not, we are part of a group that is more prone to needing various types of help.

I'll start: I have a side job delivering newspapers to people's doors. I've lost count of thw number of times I have spotted a key left in the lock, so every time I will ring or knock until someone comes to collect their key.

As for why I made this thread, I came across three young kinds (the oldest couldn't have been much older than 8) that had lost a ball up a tree. They had then managed to get a second ball stuck trying to dislodge the first ball. It took quite a bit of doing, but I managed to get both balls free (the youngest of the three was over the moon, his grandmother had apparently bought it for him.) I'd been in those kids shoes before, so I just couldn't ignore them.

Does anyone have any stories about giving or receiving help from total strangers?

[Tom fod]

A while back, some months ago now iirc, I was heading to work and on crossing a fairly fast main road. I stepped out but quickly realised this was a bad idea and stepped back again, falling over but back onto the pavement
A nurse was kind enough to cross over the road nd ask /check I was ok.

To be fair I was a bit shaken, but more wounded pride.

[Niamh]

Last week, my friend and I took a train to the airport to return to the UK from Japan. A Japanese woman with good English overheard us talking about our journey, and let us know she wasn't sure if this particular train would stop at the airport, then she asked other passengers for advice in Japanese. One person knew the line well and told us via our new translator we had the correct line and direction, but wrong train type so we would have to change trains. Another looked it up on her phone to find out what station to get off at to catch the express, and what time the train would be. To have a whole team of kindly women doing their best to make sure we got home safely was really lovely! Also in Japan, we gave up many a seat to older people and picked up accidentally dropped toys for pram-pushing mothers a couple of times - so hopefully we earned the kindness.

[Xenavire]

Those are some great stories. And Tom, don't let that get you down, because I have it trumped on epic level of screw up. It was, in fact, the last act of kindness I can clearly remember receiving, and it was a good fourteen or so years ago (although I should point out I have issues with my memory, so I'm probably forgetting more recent ones). I was in the same situation as Tom, more or less.

The only differences were that I was about to cross a very empty road, and somehow missed the one oncoming car, which hit me. Luckily I was completely unharmed, but within seconds I was surrounded by people asking if I was okay or needed help. Truth be told, I was more out of breath telling them I was fine than anything, I barely even lost skin off my palms from landing back on the street.

(What is even more embarrassing is that it wasn't even the first car I'd been hit by, several years earlier I was hit while biking to school - again, it was totally my fault, it was a new bike, the first I'd ever owned with only hand brakes and no pedal brakes, and I'd gone through either a give way or a stop sign because I was around fifteen minutes late. Definitely not my finest moment.)

So look at the positive side Tom - you fell the right way, and didn't make the mistake of a repeat performance of "Hit, by a car!"

(Honestly though, I was extremely lucky both times to walk away without injury, and I am grateful that people were concerned enough to check up on me.)

[Tom fod]

I've not ended up in casualty that many times as a result of Dyspraxidents. Been a couple of closer calls resulting in irate/shocked motorists

I once put front wheel of my bike into a drain grating some years ago and smacked my chin into the road. I would have headed off home but was convinced by old lady to go into nearby health centre and get it stitched up.

[Xenavire]

Ouch, that must have hurt. I've never really liked those drain gratings, but I've never fallen afoul of them.

[pixiewithdocs]

Biggest kindness I think I was ever shown was when living in Ghana. My purse got pickpocketed, which could happen anywhere, but the response was genuinely overwhelming.
The coach driver had assured me we weren't going to Kejetiya station (biggest outdoor market in West Africa and across the city from my house and I had 2 big bags/cases) so when I realised what had happened and people cottoned on, I was surrounded by market traders apologising and begging me to forgive their country as this was 'Not Ghana truly people' and pressing one and two cedi notes on me to make sure I could get a taxi home. Someone tracked down a driver and convinced him to drop me home without the full fare. My bags were put in the boot for me.
Considering these women make between $0.50-2.00 a day this was the kindest and most generous thing I've experienced.

[Xenavire]

That's truly staggering, a wonderful group of people. I guess the saying has truth to it, about people that would give the clothes off their backs. I'm so glad they helped you, that situation would have been truly awful otherwise.

[pixiewithdocs]

@xenavire you're absolutely right.

I remembered after posing that the wonderful RAKtivisim have a calendar of Daily Acts of Kindness which is FAB

If anyone's interested the link to the calendar is here
https://assets.randomactsofkindness.org ... endars.pdf

Pay it Forward!

(But don't think about the film, or you'll cry)