A kind cabby.

After getting my iPhone fixed at the Grove I was trying to catch a cab home to my apartment.

There was only one cab in sight. It pulled up and a flustered girl literally leaped out of the car. She turned around and with great vigor gave the cabby the middle finger. I looked around, still no other cabs in site. I was hot, I was in a rush and I thought, 'what am I about to get myself into.'

I hopped in. The starting fee instead of 2.85, was 6.95! I assumed this must have been the cause of dispute between the cabby and his past patron. I asked him if the meter was accurate, scared for what his response would be. He took a deep exhale and explained the whole situation.

The girl who had leaped from the cab, had only gotten in a few meters back. It was a Friday so the Grove was especially busy, traffic was remarkably dense on the main roads and in the parking lot of shopping center. There was no way to avoid the traffic, as there rarely is in LA. 'Flustered girl' decided the traffic was the cabbies fault and verbally abused him about it from the moment she entered the cab, to the moment she left, claiming he was purposefully placing her in traffic to run the meter. The cabby, who was clearly still fairly new to the english language, politely asked the woman to exit the cab if she was going to continue her angry accusations when he is trying his best to get her to her destination as quickly as possible. He tried to assure her that when they depart the parking lot he would do everything in his power to avoid the traffic. The woman continued to pester and yell, the cabby could only take it so long, and asked her to leave. Leaving the fee at 6.85 when I entered the cab.

I listened to his story, relived the frustration with him and responded genuinely. When we reached my apartment the cabby and my conversation went like this.

Cabby: "Thank you, it was so refreshing to go from such an unpleasant young person to such a nice, kind one. I'm sorry I talked so much"

Me: "No worries, I didn't mind at all. It sounded like it was a frustrating situation. Sometimes the best thing when you are frustrated is to simply have someone listen."

Cabby: "Forget about the fare"

Me: "What?"

Cabby: "Forget about the fare, you were so nice, you turned my day around, thats enough. Have a good day, and stay safe!"

Me: "Wow! Thank you!"

Before I left the car I managed to snap this picture of my kind cabby. Never underestimate the power of simply listening actively :)

A quick kind pic.

Kindness in the air.

I forgot all about this cute moment I saw on the airplane, mid flight on the way to LA.

We are about 2 and a half hours into the flight. In front of me is a sweet couple in their 20's.

The boyfriend has fallen asleep, his face plastered against the window drooling. His girlfriend is looking at him with delight and giggling at his silly appearance. You can tell her laughter comes from love. She stops giggling and ever so carefully attempts to place a pillow under his head without waking him :)

She failed, he woke up, but was grinning from ear to ear when he realized what she was trying to do. He accepted the pillow placed it under his head and wrapped his arm around her.

Kindness in Ecuador: Guest writer, Sandra Brooks

Thank you Sandra!

Dearest Missa,
I am seeing your progress as your traverse along your camino de kindness. This is an absolutely wonderful idea, and I am so proud of you for putting your creativity to something so GOOD!

I hope life is good with you right now, I have a feeling it is 

I also have a story pequeñita de kindness para ti!

So here in Ecuador, I've been trying to be aware of doing one random act of kindness every day, whether it's tipping my bus driver, giving up a seat on the bus for someone who needs it, sharing sweets as much as often etc.. 

So here's one act of kindness that came really spontaneously and seemingly fatefully.

One day, just after finishing my classes and on my way home, I got off my first bus and realized I didn't have a small enough change to get onto my next bus. So I decided to walk up Rio Coca, to the row of flower shops along the street to get some change. I pick a bouquet of flowers of white and yellow carnations, one orange like the sun daisy, and I'll say some rich lavender/mauve roses.

I run to the next station in the nick of time and squish my way into the standing/surfing crowd in the moving bus. In front of me is a middle-aged woman, and two men looking like Miami thugs who just came out of a music video.

Now, while my flowers are being squished by said thugs, an old woman wearing a rich lavender/mauve blouse sits in the just opened seat in front of me. She smiles at me and says in Spanish, "Let me hold your flowers, so you can have balance." I easily handed them over and felt comforted by her kindness.
Just as my stop was about to arise, I whispered to the old woman in rich lavender/mauve, "Your blouse is the same color as my roses! They match you beautifully, please have them." Then I jumped off the moving vehicle and walked home with my heart pounding and my face lit up, not because of the sweaty and pushy bus, but because of the happiness and satisfaction it gave me to imagine the old woman in rich lavender/mauve entering her home happier than she left it.

Let me know if that works for your Kindness blog,
I love you to the sun and beyond,
Sandra

A quick kind pic

Gluten free love.

My Dad has recently discovered that he is Gluten intolerant, making day to day dining much more complicated than it used to be.

 But, never fear my considerate sister is here! 

My sister Abby has been purchasing multiple Gluten free cook books so my dad can indulge in cakes, scones, bread, and so many more of his favorite treats.

 Instead of letting my dads new dietary needs become a hassle my sister saw it as a fun and rewarding challenge. 

Yay Abby!

Margaret the one woman beach cleanup.

Margaret was diagnosed with osteoporosis 3 years ago. 

She began walking on the beach to help her condition. 

As Margaret began to spend more time on the beach she also began to notice all of the man made garbage that took away from the beach's natural beauty. So, she started picking it up.

 3 years later Margaret has walked off her osteoporosis. 

However, she is still taking her daily walks for two reasons. One, she now loves to walk. And two,  it gives he great satisfaction to know that on this large earth she is able to do her part in keeping this sliver of beach clean of garbage. 

Yay for Margaret! A wonderful woman.

Teaching Lulu how to surf.

After a day of surfing in rather shitty conditions I was coming in to relax on the beach, and I saw this little girl venturing confidentially out into the water, surf board barely balanced on her head.

I later learned, she had just seen "blue crush" and was confident she had learned the skills needed to be a kick-butt surfer girl.

I couldn't resist, she was so determined, I wanted to go chat with her, and maybe give her a few tips. I ran into whom I assumed was her mother, watching her daughter at the edge of the water. She was so excited I wanted to help her daughter, and after I worked with Lulu for the afternoon, I couldn't help but want to help her more.

 Her passion was uncontainable and her curiosity to understand conditions,  the lingo, and the skills it would take to become a "surfer" was inspiring. I  fell in love with this little girls spirit and met her on the beach for lessons for the next three days.

Helping Lulu was one of my favorite parts of this summer.