On this particular morning, I ran through the city to the Hudson River where I stopped to stretch by the waterside. There I recalled the true story of the “Miracle on the Hudson,” in which a pilot saved 155 passengers by gliding his plane safely onto the water after the power was lost. While envisioning this heroic event, I couldn’t help noticing an elderly man who was clearly homeless trying his best to sleep on a park bench with the morning sun rising. What caught my attention most was how fragile and exposed he looked, lying under a cardboard box that covered everything from his neck to his ankles.  I paused to take a closer look.  I noticed his shoes were so very worn and battered and it struck me that his path in life was probably a lot like those shoes.

I decided to try to make a small difference in his life, having no idea that my own life was about to change. I approached the man and asked a simple question, “Sir, what size shoe do you wear?” He looked at me skeptically and asked me to repeat myself, and I did. Only this time, I looked him in the eyes, smiled, and added, “I believe in acts of kindness and daily miracles” to reassure him of my truest intention. He responded “I can wear sizes 8, 9, 10 and 11”. I told him I was a size 10 and asked if he would be willing to trade shoes.

He looked stunned as he watched me unlace my brand new sneakers and take them off my feet to give to him. In seconds, he had put on mine and I his.  His smile widened now, as he realized my gift was genuine. We both took a few steps and exchanged compliments: me saying, “These are nicely broken in and very comfortable;” him saying “I feel like a new man”.  I looked at him at that very moment and realized this truly is what it feels like to walk in another man’s shoes (both figuratively and literally).

I commented on what a beautiful day it was and how thankful I was just to be outside enjoying it. Feeling like I should get going, I pointed to my gut and said, “I need to get back to my run to work this off”.  With this, the stranger gently suggested that I should be thankful for not being hungry (versus dissatisfied with being overweight) and could choose to be grateful for the ability and health to walk and run. “Gratitude is an attitude!” the man exclaimed, a wise reminder of an important lesson worth much more to me than a new pair of shoes.  I have since heard gratitude and attitude 100 times, but it never resonates with me like the time I first heard it: from a man who was grateful for shoes, when he did not have a home. I asked the gentleman’s name and he said, “Bill”. “Really good to meet you, Bill” I said, and I meant it. As we parted, he said, “God bless” with a giant smile. And indeed, I felt blessed by our encounter.

As I resumed my run, I reflected on what an extraordinary experience I just had.  It was so uplifting that with every step and stride I felt better about myself, knowing that I had just helped someone today, and had received the unexpected gift of perspective and inspiration. As I headed back to my hotel passing thousands of faces filling the streets of the city, I wondered: what if every one of these faces shared one authentic act of kindness today? And, what if those acts inspired others to do the same? How many daily miracles could we create together?

When I returned to the hotel room, I threw away the worn-out shoes. But, the memory of my experience and valuable lessons learned will remain with me forever. Seeing this opportunity, and choosing to act benefited both Bill and me.  My hope is that Daily Miracles will help people to see these types of opportunities, and that you will choose to help.  Through your authentic acts of kindness you too will enjoy real connections and experience the magic of giving and receiving.  And, that you will share your story as I am now, so we may together inspire others to do more good in the world.

Believe in Daily Miracles.  Live One. Give One.

Barry Stamos, Founder of Daily Miracles

Miracles are everywhere, but don’t just take our word for it.

Everyone from Einstein to Bon Jovi knows it, and their sayings inspire us.

Here’s a handful of some of our favorite miracle quotes.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
- Albert Einstein

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”
- Buddha

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”
- Mother Teresa

“Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.”
- Jon Bon Jovi

“One of the great undiscovered joys of life comes from doing everything one attempts to the best of one’s ability. There is a special sense of satisfaction, a pride in surveying such a work, a work which is rounded, full, exact, complete in its parts, which the superficial person who leaves his or her work in a slovenly, slipsho.”
- Jon Bon Jovi

“A miracle is an event which creates faith. That is the purpose and nature of miracles. Frauds deceive. An event which creates faith does not deceive: therefore it is not a fraud, but a miracle.”
-George Bernard Shaw

“This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Have any miracle sayings to share? What is your miracle?

You don’t have to be famous to have a great aphorism.

Share your comments below. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be quoted one day.

- Buddha

“The best portion of a good man’s life – his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” – William Wordsworth

Sorry, Wordsworth. You got it wrong. Yes, kindness makes up the best parts of our lives. But acts of kindness aren’t unremembered. It’s actually quite the opposite.

Kindness spreads like wildfire and in many cases takes on a life of its own. It’s a simple truth we’ve known for eons, and a fact that’s even scientifically proven. (Last year, researchers from University of California, San Diego and Harvard published laboratory evidence in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that shows cooperative behavior is contagious and that it spreads from person to person to person).

Armed with that information, why wouldn’t we practice acts of kindness? Especially in the places we spend most of our time, starting with the workplace. Spreading contagious kindness is easier than you think. Here are 5 ideas to start with:

1.) Say “thank you.”

These two simple words are among the most powerful in the English language. Feelings of unappreciation, loneliness or resentment can be extinguished by this little expression of gratitude. So tomorrow, thank someone for always brewing the pot of coffee, for backing up your ideas in that boardroom, or for simply having a great attitude. A simple act of acknowledgment can change the entire course of someone’s day.

2.) Celebrate birthdays.

Get a list of everyone’s birthdays, and make a habit of celebrating it. Whether it’s singing Happy Birthday, getting everyone in the office to sign a card or chipping in on a cake, it’s a simple way to make someone feel cared for and special – a feeling that will only multiply.

3.) Start a food drive.

Kindness isn’t bound by the walls of your office. Take it upon yourself to get the whole office to spread a little kindness within the community and start a food, clothing or toy drive.

4.) Bring your coworker a coffee.

You know that Sara in marketing takes her coffee black with 2 sugars. So why not pick up a second cup next time you hit up the Starbucks? It’s a small gesture that will likely be paid forward.

5.) Help someone.

Offer to brainstorm with your coworker for his next presentation. Review a proposal that someone has been agonizing over. Change the paper in the printer. By taking just a moment out of your busy day to help someone else can make a big difference—and free up their time to help someone else. Wildfire, I tell you.

How do you practice kindness in your workplace? Please share below.

Above photo is of Michael Lapsley, S.S.M., Director of The Institute for the Healing of Memories in Cape Town, South Africa. He is joined by colleague Tiro (left) and Californian Ron Hermanson (right).

Surviving a terminal illness.  Finding a new pair of shoes when you have none. Gliding to safety when a plane’s engine cuts out:  A miracle typically involves happiness or health.  But the miraculous work of Michael Lapsley began when his hands were blown off by a letter bomb sent to kill him.

Michael Lapsley had long opposed South Africa’s apartheid regime.  He was an ANC member and chaplain, and was in exile in Zimbabwe when he received the bomb from apartheid security forces. It blew off his hands, destroyed one of his eyes and an eardrum, and left him badly burnt.

Rather than seek revenge or allow himself to be consumed by anger and resentment, Michael Lapsley decided to dedicate his life’s work to healing others.  Twenty years after the bomb exploded in his face, Michael — using hooks instead of hands — traverses the globe to foster interfaith, interculture, and interracial understanding and reconciliation. His organization, the Institute for Healing of Memories, acknowledges that time alone will not heal wounds.  People who have been wronged in a serious way need an acknowledgment of the wrongs, and an opportunity for forgiveness and healing.  In this way, Fr. Lapsley creates accord among enemies, fosters forgiveness for unspeakable wrongs, and allows victims to be victorious over their own futures.

Is there a story you need to tell to free yourself from its power?  What is your dream for humankind and our planet? What is your dream for yourself? Are you willing to take action today to further those dreams?

In Lapsley’s own words: I pray that in a small way, I too, am a sign that stronger than evil and hatred and death are love, faith and hope. May all of us be, and increasingly become, signs of hope.

What can you do today to become a sign of hope?