I was in line waiting to pay. In line there were two people before me. A little boy was buying some rather strange clothes. He chatted with anyone who was interested in the clothes and soon we learnt that he was going to a kindergarten party.

I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change. It seemed that he had broken his pig bank (猪形储蓄罐) to do this shopping. However, the cashier (收银员) told him he was￥8.00 short after counting his money. The boy thought for a moment and said, “Please keep the T-shirt and I will come back with more money.”

It was clear that the boy had already used all the money. The lady in front of me said, “Well, I could pay half of that.” I told the boy that I could pay the other half. We dug into our handbags. However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills (纸币) and we need the cashier to get the change for us. Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change. It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react (反应) with the same mind. All wanted to be of help. Within minutes the cashier said, “I have too much money.” The cashier didn’t need our ten-dollar bills. Then the lady in front of me said, “Wait! I didn’t even get a chance (机会) to give anything!”

I smiled at her and said, “You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this.” The little boy smiled and thanked us. We wished him the best and he left. I left with a good feeling. I saw the love and goodness of others all around me. The woman in front of me smiled and said, “It feels good to give, doesn’t it?” I smiled back and said, “Yes!”

Spring Festival is coming. You will buy new clothes and a lot of food. There are always some old clothes you don’t want. And there is always some food you can’t eat. What can you do? Send them to the two places.

Wall of Kindness (友善之墙)

You can see Wall of Kindness in many cities now, like Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen and Qingdao. People hang (悬挂) their old clothes on the wall. Poor people can take them away. You can always see jackets, sweaters, trousers and coats on the wall.

Share Fridge (共享冰箱)

China has its first Share Fridge. It’s in Shanghai. There is a lot of food in it, like cakes. The food is from some restaurants and stores. People don’t need to buy the food because it’s free. They can take it home.

I was inspired by a video of a young Pakistani man. He celebrated his 22nd birthday with 22 random acts of kindness. I mentioned to my daughter Tamara that I'd like to copy the young man's idea for my upcoming 55th birthday in December. She agreed and so we decided to make it happen the next day.

We wore clumsy reindeer antlers (鹿角) to make people smile, placed cheerful stickers on the shirts of children, cleaned up a park, and passed out delicious Mexican hot chocolate to those in the park-many of whom appeared homeless.

At the end of the day, we passed out carnation flowers (康乃馨) in a retirement home after their dinner. At first, I found myself questioning my motivation and how it would be received. It turned out that the local Unity Church had a large group there at the same time singing to the people living in the home.

At first, I was surprised how almost every man enjoyed receiving a flower, not only from Tamara, but also from such an old man as me. Then, I found myself giving the women longer caring hugs. One commented that she had not been hugged like that for years. Then my heart was permanently touched when another woman told me that she had not been hugged like that by a man for five decades!

I didn't count the number of kind acts we did that day, and neither do I count that birthday as one of the good ones. Without doubt, I KNOW it was my best!