The world needs a lot of kindness in these dark days. One thing that helps keep our spirits up is realizing that even among all the darkness, hate, and violence, there is still a lot of Good (yes, capital ‘G’) in the world. Some people go out of their way to be kind to those they don’t know. And this article is a celebration of that.
Redditor u/v_rose23 started up a wholesome and heartwarming thread on r/AskReddit. She asked people to share their stories of the nicest interactions that they had with complete strangers. They came through. And their tales might just restore some of your faith in humanity, dear Pandas.
Scroll down for some soul-healing posts. Remember to upvote the ones that you enjoyed reading the most. And if you’re feeling up for it, why not pop on by the comment section to share your own experiences with kind strangers?
#1
I was searching for a parking space in the city where parking spaces are rare.
Just as I found one and set my blinker another guy coming from the other direction set his too.
We looked at each other undecided for a moment, than I signaled a rock paper scissor game through my front window. He immediately understood and we played one round. He won the game so I still had no parking space, but the interaction made my day!
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829points
#2
On weekdays when I did my daily practice, a lady I didn't know would sit in a pew knitting afghans.
She'd listen to the organ music and knit, sometimes for 2-3 hours at a time.
One day, she came up to the organ console in the church's choir loft and introduced herself, showing me her finished afghan - a truly beautiful piece of handiwork.
She said, "I knit this for you as a gift in appreciation for your music. I look forward to hearing you practice each day."
When I look at that afghan now, I still see her sweet face, smile, and genuine kindness.
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783points
#3
I was staying in a homeless shelter and I'd just cut my abusive mother out my life. I felt like absolute c**p and decided to sit in McDonalds for a few hours just to kill time. I'm sitting there and this wee girl (maybe about 5) comes up to me and asks me why I look so sad. I don't want to bum this kid out so I just say "I've had a rough few days" she says to me "wait there, I wanna ask my mum something" so she runs back up to me a moment later and hands me a balloon. I'm a bit confused and try to say "thanks but it's your balloon, I don't wanna take that away from you" but she's absolutely certain this balloon will make me happy. so I'm sitting there with this balloon she tied around my bag and invites her mum and sister over to talk to me because she thinks I need company and cheering up. it was actually really sweet. kind of reminded me no matter how s**t my parents were, there's still good parents out there. I gave them my happy meal toy and £1 each. the mum was also super nice. we sat there chatting for a bit.
it doesn't sound like much but I'll always remember that because it was something i needed and just cheered me up. I think I might still have the balloon in a box somewhere.
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736points
One thing that we learned from u/v_rose23’s thread is that Planet Earth has a lot of everyday heroes. They swoop in, completely unexpected, to spread kindness and love. And their support can mean a huge deal to someone who’s in pain or in need of a helping hand.
During a previous interview, British psychotherapist Silva Neves explained to Bored Panda that human beings are hardwired for kindness. In short, our brains reward us when we’re social and altruistic. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn't a selfish side to us.
#4
15 years ago, I was on my first solo travel trip and I was walking along the pavement of this quiet residential area in Bangkok and it started raining heavily and this man with an umbrella who must have been walking behind me was suddenly at my side and we shared his umbrella for a few blocks and neither of us said anything because we didn’t speak each other’s languages and then when we parted ways we both smiled at each other and I remember thinking that this man’s lovely, kind soul was visible both in his actions and his smile.
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669points
#5
A woman came up to me at a gas station and handed me a homemade cupcake. On the wrapper was a note that said something along the lines of “my son would have been 10 years old today. I know that he would rather me celebrate his message of kindness on his birthday instead of being sad that he is no longer here. Enjoy this cupcake!”
I got back in the car and must’ve cried for 10 minutes straight.
648points
#6
Grabbed the last train out of the city one night, damn thing broke down. It's about a 45 min train ride to my station, and a 15 min car ride to my house.
I try and get an uber - no luck. So I ask one of the ticket takers, he says it'll be an hr to get fixed. It's about 11pm so I close my eyes for a minute and bam! wake up at the last stop, probably 3am. Phone is dead, I'm 5 miles from my stop, and it's the middle of winter.
Unprompted this tiny old lady comes up to me (clearly seeing I was distressed) and says "Hi honey I'm Dawn, did you miss your stop?" Sure enough she drove me right to my car, a total stranger in the middle of the night. We spoke about her cats, said merry Christmas to one another, and I've never seen her since. That was some time ago, but every Christmas I raise a glass and think of Dawn, hoping she's happy with her cats.
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642points
According to the psychotherapist, people have two different instincts: one for kindness and one for survival. The desire to help others vies for control with our desire to protect ourselves. It’s a constant inner battle because we’re worried that by helping someone, it might somehow backfire on us.
However, there are lots of benefits to being kind, too. “Being kind is good for us because it gives us a sense of purpose, it raises our self-esteem, and it releases feel-good brain chemicals,” Silva explained to Bored Panda.
#7
I was in Denver’s International Airport and me and my dad were on standby the entire day.
First flight home we tried was early 4am. Then we tried four more throughout the day. As an 7 year old little boy, i remember feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and just exhausted because i wanted to go home so badly. My dad bought food at one of the restaurants in the airport to cheer me up but i remember crying and bawling to my dad saying “i just want to go home”.
Little did I know i would meet one of the nicest strangers that day. On the last flight to phoenix, Arizona at around 12 am, a man who was also on standby today gets called to board but he took the last 1/2 seats meaning me and my dad would have to stay overnight at the airport. But this kind generous man decided to give up his spot so that me and my dad could get on the flight. I cried again and hug him with all my heart and said “thank you”. He said that he also saw us the whole day on stand by and noticed that we were feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. His selfless act and generosity truly shaped the way I see humans and helped me be the person I am today.
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555points
#8
When I was a kid me and my family travelled around Ireland for a bit. When it came time to get the ferry back to England, our van broke down and we missed it. There wouldn't be another ferry for two weeks.
The Irish family whose house we broke down outside of took all six of us in for two weeks and never asked for anything in return.
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542points
#9
My father had a brain bleed and also has dementia. He was refusing to go to a larger hospital to have surgery to repair the damage. I had gone out of the room, found a waiting area, sat down and started sobbing.
This girl, maybe in her 20s came and gave me a hug. She had some sort of intellectual issues and had her parents or caregivers with her.
Anyway, her parents tried to stop her from coming over to me but she just stood there and hugged me then let go and walked away. That was one of the sweetest hugs I have ever recieved and at the perfect moment.
Dad had the surgery
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521points
“It [kindness] is also good for others, obviously. So kindness is actually something that we, humans, are naturally driven to be,” he said.
The psychotherapist drew attention to the fact that despite our inner desire to be kind towards others, human beings are also generally wary of strangers.
“The sense of kindness is in competition with our survival mode, so, as human beings, we tend to live in contradiction, between kindness (opening our arms) and protection (closing our arms),” Silva said.
#10
I was on a bus going to work, and I had purple lipstick on. (obviously that was before pandemic). anyway. a guy sitting next to me suddenly took out a notepad and wrote something then showed me. it said "I am mute. sorry to bother you, but I like your lipstick."
I don't know, it was just really cute and wholesome
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515points
#11
I was alone at a bar, heartbroken, crying and sobbing endlessly. Just broke up with my girlfriend. A german dude (in his early 60s) sat at the table behind me. In my outburst, i heard him order 2 pints of beer. Minutes later, i heard a glass arrive at my table, and the german dude sat infront of me on the same table.
We talked for 5 hours. Will never forget that. thank you Andreas.
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508points
#12
I walked down the toaster aisle at Wal Mart a couple of summers ago and an elderly woman was trying to make a selection. She stopped me and asked me my opinion. Until then, I hadn’t noticed that there were so many choices in toasters available nowadays. We discussed the various merits of each toaster and hit upon the type that also toasted bagels as her son’s family visited throughout the year and they enjoyed bagels for breakfast and she would love to provide that for them.
She thanked me for assisting her and wished that we could be neighbors. She said that she had lovely neighbors now but that I was so kind and would be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. That made me feel pretty good. I walked away beaming.
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486points
#13
I'm a server at a restaurant and I was talking to a lady at one of my tables and we ended up on the topic of gardening, said I'd always wanted to get into it so I could grow my own fruits and vegetables. We ended up talking for about 30 minutes in between me checking my other tables. She gave me some advice on how to start, since she was older and had been gardening for over 30 years.
The next day, she came into the restaurant again and I was about to show her to a table but she told me she wasn't there to eat, only that she had brought me something. She pulls out a cute little bag, with tissue paper and everything, and inside are 4 different types of jams she made with berries and fruits from her garden. I hugged her and couldn't say thank you enough. She said she was just happy to talk to someone for a while the day before, as she had lived alone since her husband passed. She never came back into the restaurant, I'm not sure why, but I hope that woman's garden is flourishing!
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443points
#14
I was a goth kid, I think 20 at the time. My car ran out of gas in winter, so I pulled my car over and started walking. As I'm walking, a lady stops and asks, "is that your car over there?"
"Yeah, I ran out of gas..."
"Oh... is that all? Ok, well hop in! We'll go get you some gas!"
So, I got in her car. We went to the gas station. She filled up a gas can and wouldn't take my money. She also bought me a drink and snacks. Then she took me back to my car, filled it up, and made sure I was able to drive my car before she left. Sweetest lady ever.
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433points
#15
I rear-ended a woman on my way home from work once. I was in the middle of a heated conversation with my passenger, came upon a line of cars at a red light, slammed on my brakes but just couldn't stop in time. The whole thing was my fault, nothing but stupidity and negligence. No serious damage but I hit her hard enough to make her car rock forward.
She got out, asked if I was okay, and gave me a hug before getting back in her car and going on her way.
Made me rethink how I interact with strangers and changed my perspective of people forever.
Still think of her often.
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428points
#16
In 2009 I was in the military, a friend and I didn’t have money to fly home for thanksgiving, so we decided to go camp, off-road in my new Jeep, and backpack a little for the long weekend. After hitting a few trails and exploring the jeep trails & forest roads we stopped back in town to pick up some food and beer. We stopped at a donut shop that happened to be open in the afternoon on Thanksgiving day, it was one of the few open places. The family who owned it was using the donut oven to bake a turkey and were having thanksgiving dinner in their restaurant. We chatted and said goodbye. As we got into the Jeep, the dad came out and stopped us, they invited us for thanksgiving dinner and we accepted. It was probably my most memorable holiday ever.
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403points
#17
I was driving home from work one day in my early 20’s — I was doing property management at the time, and I dressed to get dirty and drove a piece of s**t.
I drove by this woman in a red convertible — she was older and looked absolutely stunning. Had this multi-colored silk head wrap on and it was just dancing in the wind. I loved this woman’s aesthetic so much that I had to say something. So, we got to a stoplight, and I rolled down my window and exclaimed “I love your scarf!”
Without missing a beat, this woman turned over to me, without even taking me in, and yelled back “I love you!” it was something straight out of a movie. I’ll never forget that moment.
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400points
#18
when I worked food service drive thru. I guess it was more of a series of interactions but I had a regular who I didn't think anything about after she got her coffee and such.
I have since stopped workin there and about 3 weeks ago I'm sitting in a restaurant eatin my burger, mindin my business. and she comes up to me and recognizes me. Says I always helped her and that I had the best customer service.
turns out, she owned that and one other restaurant and was offering me a position in management in one of her restaurants. so that was neat
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379points
#19
I missed my train once and I was freaking out in the station because I was due at an interview. Full blown crying at the poor station staff who didn't know what to do with me other than put me in a quiet waiting room.
I was sobbing to myself in between calling my mum and then-bf when an older lady came over to see if I was OK (obviously I wasn't). She didn't ask any prying questions and instead offered me some sweets and just sat with me while I calmed down. A few minutes later another train guard came to find me and told me they could fit me onto the next train going to my destination and to just go to [this carriage] and [this seat]. Time came to board and I made my way down the platform to where I was told, only to find she'd put me in 1st class. I felt incredibly guilty the whole way (though did take advantage of a tiny bit of free breakfast).
I still made the interview AND got the job!
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372points
#20
I was at the dollar store looking at some stuff for myself and there was this toddler girl maybe 5 feet away from me looking at me the whole time. She walked over to me eventually, tapped my on my arm, handed me an envelope, and scurried off.
I opened it and it had 5 dollars and in her handwriting, "You got RACKed, Random Act of Chico Kindness". I live in a town called Chico.
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355points