Inspirational Stories / Motivational Stories

At The Top Of The Ferris Wheel

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 23, 2025 / 3,473 views

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 23, 2025 / 3,473 views

When I was a boy growing up every year the county fair would come in September and set up across the road in the 4-H camp near my home. As soon as I was old enough I would spend every night they were there riding the big rides and enjoying the thrills of them. I learned quickly too never to eat before I was done riding if I wanted that greasy fair food to stay down. After I grew up I gave up the big...

Awesome Neighbors And An Enterprising Kiddo

By A Friend on July 22, 2025 / 3,181 views

By A Friend on July 22, 2025 / 3,181 views

I caught a thing on our local town group about a kid selling slushies so he could pay for his cap and gown and got on the senior trip to Great America. My partner and I walked the 9 or so blocks to find he had an old school slushie machine and 3 different syrups. He made bank off of us, and ran up to his mom and dad on the front porch yelling “I can go now!!” We all chatted,...

Love Is Still In This World. Don't Lose Hope, Don't Give Up!

By A Friend on July 21, 2025 / 3,092 views

By A Friend on July 21, 2025 / 3,092 views

I just wanted to share an event that happened to mom and I this morning. I have been reaching out to various plumbers and electricians trying to find someone to help me figure out what circuitbreaker switch shuts power off to our water heater so I could change out its elements. We have not had hot water in almost a month. Well only one AC & Plumbing company responded to me. They sent out one of...

Till You Give It Away

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 18, 2025 / 3,495 views

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 18, 2025 / 3,495 views

I have a unique collection. Some of it is on the wall above my computer desk. Some of it is on the kitchen counter. And most of it is tacked to the walls of my bedroom. It is a collection of pictures, of the children I have sponsored overseas, through the organization Children International, for the last 40 years. Each picture shows them growing taller, healthier, stronger, and happier. Often I can see the...

Helped A Man Jump Start His Car And Gave Him My Lunch

By A Friend on July 17, 2025 / 1,637 views

By A Friend on July 17, 2025 / 1,637 views

Earlier today at work I saw someone’s car in the back parking lot. He asked for some help starting up his car so I did. While we were waiting I asked if he needed some water. He told me he was stuck there for about a day so he accepted quite thankfully. I don’t know what came over me but I asked if he also needed something to eat too and I saw him tear up a bit as he accepted...

Our Boat Ran Out Of Gas On The Water And Some Kind Strangers Saved The Day

By Chris on July 16, 2025 / 3,120 views

By Chris on July 16, 2025 / 3,120 views

Last weekend, I went on a golf trip with some friends out on the coast. One of the guys has in-laws with a place right on the water, so we had a free place to stay and access to their boat, too. It was just a simple flat-bottom fishing boat, nothing fancy, but the seven of us (all in our late 30s and early 40s) had a great time cruising around and swimming. On the way back, the boat died on us....

Moths And Fireflies

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 14, 2025 / 3,269 views

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 14, 2025 / 3,269 views

Somehow moth larvae has found its way into my home because for the last several days I have seen baby moths flying around or resting on my bathroom walls. I have had quite a time catching them one by one in the palm of my hand and putting them back outside so they wouldn’t starve to death or become a spider’s dinner. Still, it was worth it seeing them fly free each time I opened my back door and...

Being Kind Feels Wonderful. I Was Reminded That I Should Be Doing It More Often

By David on July 11, 2025 / 3,570 views

By David on July 11, 2025 / 3,570 views

Being kind feels wonderful. I was reminded that I should be doing it more often. My wife and I did something nice for someone today. The other day we were chatting to one of daughter's educators at day care who is an absolute gem. I was curious as to why she was squinting and still hadn't bought new glasses (it had been a couple of weeks since she'd broken them). She casually...

Barista Gave Me A Drink On The House When My Card Declined At Starbucks

By A Friend on July 10, 2025 / 2,983 views

By A Friend on July 10, 2025 / 2,983 views

I went to Starbucks thinking my check had already gone through to my checking account but when I tried to pay for my drink it declined. The barista told me not to worry about it and gave me the drink anyways! I was having a pretty bad day and this has honestly made me feel so much better. Thank you, Ryan the...

A Sweet Old Man And His Dog Bought Us Groceries Just Because

By A Friend on July 09, 2025 / 3,920 views

By A Friend on July 09, 2025 / 3,920 views

Six years ago, when my daughter was just a few months old, my husband and I went grocery shopping the week before Christmas. As we were walking in we noticed an older man and his dog sitting outside, watching us. We thought nothing of it, assuming he was probably just people watching, and did our holiday grocery shopping in preparation for a week full of Christmas potlucks that we really couldn't afford...

Helped A Mom With A Treat For Her Daughter And Ended Up Feeling Amazing

By A Friend on July 07, 2025 / 1,886 views

By A Friend on July 07, 2025 / 1,886 views

I'm in line for the cafe at Sam's. There's a mother in front of me with a special needs daughter. The daughter kept asking for a pretzel and the mom patiently told her soon it will be there turn. Once it was their turn order, the employee stated they had no pretzels ready and didn't know when they would. I could literally see this mom's shoulders drop in defeat. They ordered and...

Doing Good And Being Kind

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 04, 2025 / 3,602 views

By Joseph J. Mazzella on July 04, 2025 / 3,602 views

One of the most beautiful signs of Summer here in the mountains of my home isn’t the flowers, or the trees or the early morning sunrises. It is instead the return of the work camps. These are week long trips that church groups make into our area to help people to make home repairs that they couldn’t afford to do themselves. They are mostly kind-hearted teenagers giving up part of their summer...

I Have The Grill Fired Already, Want A Hot Dog? You Are A Nurse And Keep Going. Thank You!

By A Friend on July 03, 2025 / 2,748 views

By A Friend on July 03, 2025 / 2,748 views

My next door neighbor is an RN and has been pushing herself for years, 12 hour shifts and overtime to be present. Recently, she took in her sister and niece to help them get out of an abusive relationship. My partner and I do what we can to help her (ex. cleaning her gutters, mowing the lawn in summer, shoveling in winter and such). I had just fired up the grill earlier and her sister was...

Thanked A Lady For Not Giving Up On Her 3-legged Dog

By A Friend on July 01, 2025 / 3,586 views

By A Friend on July 01, 2025 / 3,586 views

Almost every day, when driving through my development, I see a young woman walking a 3-legged Golden Retriever. The dog is missing the left rear leg. You would think it would be a sad scene, but I see the inspiration in it each time I see them. Yeah, the dog is hopping along, but the dog 100% looks just as happy as any dog you've ever seen on a walk. Last week, I saw two people walking 3-legged dogs! It...

Lady In The Airport Bought Me Chocolate Because I Was Crying

By A Friend on June 30, 2025 / 3,594 views

By A Friend on June 30, 2025 / 3,594 views

Been meaning to post this for a while because I will never forget this lady and her kindness towards a complete stranger. I'm in a long-distance relationship and last August I met my girlfriend in-person for the first time. We attended a friend's wedding in Germany (neither of us live there). Her flight home was several hours before mine so I went with her to the airport to see her off and...

Karma Finally Came Around

By A Friend on June 27, 2025 / 3,568 views

By A Friend on June 27, 2025 / 3,568 views

I do my best to put good vibes out there. I donate what I can, buy food for people less fortunate, give my coworkers chocolate if they’re having a bad day, cover the bill if someone’s short for groceries or something. Years of doing my best to make someone smile. And with family and close friends, it works. But finally, after years of very little feedback (not complaining, I didn’t...

Little Bouquet Of Flowers

By Hand Pan Leann on June 26, 2025 / 3,720 views

By Hand Pan Leann on June 26, 2025 / 3,720 views

Recently I had a terrible experience at a Trader Joe’s grocery store. The cashier was remarkably rude to me.. in a place that is typically known for having great customer service. I came away from the experience first thinking “what did I do to deserve this treatment “… then after some thought I came to the realization that this person was more than likely having a bad day...