human kindness

Eternal Wisdom Book Series

Every day in the news we hear wonderful true stories that showcase the breadth of the human spirit, and we thought it was time to hear more of these stories. So we organized an international short story writing competition, which resulted in the publication of the Timeless Wisdom book series.

We were amazed by the diversity and richness of the hundreds of entries from around the world. Our criteria for the final selection were that the stories should reflect a variety of writing, combine humor and tragic events, and balance moments of drama with moments of quiet contemplation.

Kindness takes many forms and affects us all. As Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language the deaf hear and the blind see.” While a kind gesture can brighten someone’s day, sometimes—as the stories collected here show—it can save lives. From the woman who stopped a man from committing suicide by simply taking the time to listen, to the couple who fostered a baby they found in a trash can when no one else was around; from the students who came to the rescue of an elderly man who had fallen on black ice, to the reaction of a terrorist leader when confronted by the cries of a little girl crying for her favorite doll—these are stories of unexpected kindness that have had a lasting impact on the storyteller.