Brighten Your Day

A Gift of Dandelions

2,156 views | Posted by Joseph J. Mazzella on August 2, 2025

I was a young father struggling just to earn enough to feed my family. I had gone back to college to earn a teaching degree hoping that it would help me to land a better paying job. All of the full time teaching positions were filled, however, so I found myself on the substitute list, waiting each day for the phone to ring telling me where...

Witnessed a quiet act of kindness at Winco yesterday

2,084 views | Posted by Dan on August 6, 2025

Just wanted to share something that stuck with me yesterday. I was at Winco in Kent WA, where they only accept debit cards, no credit cards or Apple Pay. A couple was having trouble paying, and it became clear they didn’t have a working payment method. They started quietly arguing, clearly stressed and overwhelmed. Then this...

A little boy and a much-needed laugh

2,002 views | Posted by A friend on August 11, 2025

I did a random act of kindness almost a decade ago and I can’t stop thinking about them. Back in 2019 I was a ride attendant at a big theme park on one of the coasters. We had to close early because of an event so we had to keep the gates to the attraction closed so no one else could get in while we cleared the line...

Our good friend Jeorge

1,976 views | Posted by Hand Pan Leann on August 13, 2025

We moved into our neighborhood 12 years ago when I was pregnant with our second son. We didn’t know anyone there but started to figure out who was who. A year and a half after my son was born he had a terrible reaction to the MMR vaccine that made him break out in a full body rash and have high fevers for a week. Shortly...

Older man made me cry in a restaurant

1,924 views | Posted by A friend on August 12, 2025

I was at a restaurant with my 3 year old son, just the two of us. An older gentleman at a table nearby finishes his meal, walks over and says “I’ve been listening to you with your son and just want you to know you’re a great dad.” I didn’t have much of a father figure growing up, and I wish I could...

A random family watched the valuables of my friends and I while we were hiking

1,867 views | Posted by A friend on August 7, 2025

My friends and I went on a hike leading down to a creek and up a waterfall today. There was a family at the mouth of the falls, that had looked like they were there for awhile and were getting ready to go. It was a steep climb up and down a rope, so for safety we decided to put our backpacks at the mouth of the falls and just come back for...

Sometimes people are just lovely and they make me glad to be alive

1,804 views | Posted by A friend on August 14, 2025

Today I went to return my Switch Lite at GameStop and had the money put back into my debit card. I wasn't sure how quickly the money would appear in my account, but wanted a soda and an ice cream cone so I went to the little shop in the food court. Well, the guy tried my card three times and it didn't go...

Growing Up Grateful

1,799 views | Posted by Joseph J. Mazzella on August 18, 2025

My new story is about the happiness that thankfulness brings us. When I was a boy growing up we didn’t have much materially. I spent most of my childhood living in my Nana’s 75 year old house with my Dad, Mom, Nana, and two brothers. It was built from two shanty cars with lots of lean-to’s, porches, and other...

A little goes a long way when you least expect it. Customer made me cry

1,715 views | Posted by A friend on August 19, 2025

Customer made me cry. I work at a large national retail store. It was crazy busy. A family waits in my line, I concentrate on 1 customer at a time, the one standing in front of me. A family of 3 are now here, they tell me the order will be 3 transactions. Sweet. Im ring 1st lady's stuff. The 2nd lady is...

Italian guys offered a homeless man a place to sleep

1,665 views | Posted by A friend on August 15, 2025

In 2017, I was homeless, sleeping on the streets of Prague. One night, I was resting on the stairs of a hostel when, around 5 AM, a group of Italian men returned from a nightclub. They woke me up and offered me to sleep in their room because they had two or three extra beds. The moment I lay down and hugged the pillow, I realized...

The quality of your attention determines the quality of your life

1,623 views | Posted by Attentioneer on August 21, 2025

I've been studying attention for several years now, and this statement ('The quality of your attention determines the quality of your life') has become my north star. My entire thesis for practicing attentioneering. Here's why I believe it's true. Your attention is a filter. Every moment, you're bombarded...

You Matter

1,565 views | Posted by Joseph J. Mazzella on August 13, 2025

When I was a boy growing up in the 1970's and 1980's, it was common to see hitchhikers walking along the side of the road as you drove along. A lot of people back then couldn’t afford cars so they either walked or hitched a ride when they had to go into town. As I got older, though, I noticed them less and less. That is until...

A story about a random lady at the Costco food court

1,554 views | Posted by A friend on August 22, 2025

I really wanted to share this with someone because it was just so amazing! For context I have a 2 month old baby. So I went towards the tables of the food court after getting my food and I notice this older lady (not like senior age but older than me), I only noticed her because she looked like one of my teachers and I brushed it...

A Tow Truck Driver Turned a Stressful Day Into a Kindness Story

1,494 views | Posted by Jennifer on August 20, 2025

My mother was involved in an incident on a motorway (in Brisbane) this afternoon. The towtruck driver who assisted her was incredibly helpful; he took photos on her phone, offered to drive her home (after dropping her car off at his holding yard), helped her into his truck, arranged and paid for an Uber when he realised he...

A random old couple helped me and my daughter get home

1,483 views | Posted by Dani on August 5, 2025

I felt like I needed to share this especially because of of the kindness I experienced as someone who seems to never get treated well. I was stranded 1.5 hours away from home, my car over-heated and I had my daughter at a therapy center. I tried to add coolant to my car which usually works but this time it didn't, every time I...

I took my grandsons to GameStop today, and we ran in to the BEST guy ever!

1,378 views | Posted by Patti on August 8, 2025

I took my grandsons to GameStop today in small town SE Georgia. They were looking for Pokemon cards. At the same time, there was a young man there that was sending his cards out to be “graded”. He asked the boys if they liked Pokemon cards, and of course they replied, "YES!" He asked them to wait...

A man paid for my pizza last week! Made my day and my week!

1,272 views | Posted by A friend on August 16, 2025

I just moved to NYC, and since I’m in grad school, I’m broke as a joke! I always eat at those $1.50 pizza spots on the corners of every street, and one day last week, my card declined cause I didn’t have the exact change for the slice. (I have groceries at home, so I’m not in as bad a position as one would...

Random Act of Kindness in the Emergency Room I’ll Never Forget

1,269 views | Posted by Maci Nicole on August 25, 2025

About 2 weeks ago I (31 year old female) fell and heard a snap in my foot. I was screaming crying with both pain and fear. There was no one to take me to the ER as it was about midnight when this happened. I don’t have insurance so I got a ride share there hobbling along until the staff got me a wheelchair. I sat alone facing a corner...

From Your First Day Until Your Last

1,025 views | Posted by Joseph J. Mazzella on August 26, 2025

Here is my new story. I hope it reminds you of just how much you can make a difference in this world. An elderly friend wrote me recently. She was discouraged about her failing health. But the thing that bothered her the most was she was no longer able to volunteer and help her community the way she used to. At the end of...

A stranger helped me get enough gas to get home and just asked that I pay it forward

869 views | Posted by A friend on August 23, 2025

This happened a few years ago when gasoline was over $4 per gallon. I was on my way home from work and I noticed my gas tank was on E. I stopped at a gas station about halfway between my work and home. When I reached over to get my purse, I realized it wasn't where it's supposed to be. I searched the whole vehicle and...