A Story of Inspiration and the Ripple Effect of Kindness
One Act can Create a Ripple Effect.
Two young ladies helped restore my faith in humanity. This incident happened to me last year.
Angels to my rescue
I stepped out of the house on a hot summer day to shop for my mom. My husband drove me to the market and decided to wait in the parking lot while I completed my chores.
Shopping is done; I was heading back to the car when I tripped and fell on the busy road. For a minute, I blanked out. I could not get up, as my knees, elbows and feet were bruised and bleeding.
There was a crowd, and some men tried to lift my handbag. But sensing my pain and trouble, two young girls quickly took charge of the situation. They got hold of my belongings and helped me to my feet.
They got me a bottle of water to drink, got a first aid box from a nearby pharmacy, applied first aid and then supported me as I limped back to the car.
Had these two young girls not come forward, I would have lost my handbag and mobile and found it challenging to connect with my husband.
I thanked the two ladies and offered to pay for the first aid box and medicines. They refused to accept it; instead gave me a warm hug and wished me a speedy recovery.
They taught me a lesson in kindness and compassion. Today, whenever I see someone in a similar situation, my thought immediately goes to the two young ladies who had helped me, and I instantly leap into action to pay it forward.
Goodness and kindness are contagious. When I read true stories of kindness, or even when I observe a simple act of kindness, such as someone helping a blind person cross the road, it inspires me to be more loving and compassionate.
A true heartwarming story
I have read this true story of Dr Howard Kelly so many times. But each time I read it, the moral beauty of the story touches me. Maybe you have read this before, but if you have not, you will surely feel touched by what Dr Howard Kelly did.
I read this touching true story of a boy selling from door to door to pay for his school. One day he found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.
He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.
Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly and then asked, how much do I owe you?”
You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness.”
He said … “then I thank you from my heart.”
As he left the house, he felt physically stronger, and his faith in god and man was strong. He had been ready to give up and quit.
Many year’s later, that same young woman became critically ill.
The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. A strange light filled his eyes when he heard the name of the town she came from.
Immediately he rose and went down the hospital hall to her room.
Dressed in his doctor’s gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.
He returned to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to her case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won, and Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.
He looked at it, wrote something on edge, and sent the bill to her room.
She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.
Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words …
“paid in full with one glass of milk.”
(signed) Dr Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “thank you, god, that your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands.”
Dr Howard Kelly (1858–1943) was a distinguished physician who was one of the four founding doctors of Johns Hopkins, the first medical research university in the USA.
“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.” ~ Amelia Earhart
Thankyou Ali Hall for the wonderful publication, “ Spread the Ripple”
Thankyou Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles for tagging me in your post for the prompt, ‘ Spread the Ripple’
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