Okay.  Time to brighten the news doom and gloom once again.  Shootings, politics, racism… I get so tired of hearing about all of it.  I even had a friend post on Facebook, “If you’re a Trump supporter, then unfriend me.  I don’t want or need you in my life.”  This year’s election is bringing out the best in people.  It’s shameful.  I cannot believe all the hatred.  I understand people are passionate, but really?  To go to that extreme just because they have different beliefs?  What ever happened to the “agree to disagree” concept?  Is it all or nothing these days?

So I’m taking a “hatred break.”  Even if it is only for 5 minutes.  Here are some super happy stories that deserve some attention and just might make you smile.

Instructors Teach Hospice Kids to Dance

The younger patients of children’s hospitals might have a hard time keeping their spirits up during treatment, but this organization is showing that all it takes is a little dancing.

Dancin’ Power is a nonprofit organization that gives free dance lessons to children in hospice care. Since their debut in 2006, instructors have been inspiring sick kids to find joy and healing through dance.The teachers are trained to customize their lessons for whatever disabilities the children may have. Whether they’re wheelchair-bound, or need to stay in sterilized environments, Dancin’ Power volunteers are ready to accommodate any hindrance.

Police Officer Sees Woman Swerve, So He Buys Her Dinner

Officer Emanuel Dotch was driving towards Florida on the Interstate 10 when he noticed an erratically driving car ahead of him. Amidst their swerving, the mysterious driver almost side swiped a truck, so Emanuel decided to pull them over.

It was a little old lady driving from Texas to Florida. When she insisted that she was fine, Emanuel offered to buy her dinner since she had apparently not eaten since lunch time.

After paying for her meal at a nearby Waffle House, the officer waited in his car for her to finish.

“She walked out and tried to offer me some money,” Emanuel wrote on Facebook, “but I told her I couldn’t accept that because it’s apart of my job to protect and serve so she asked me would I accept a hug and I told her I would do that. The moral of the story is if we would just look out for each other, this would be a better country.”

Meet The Woman Inspiring a Community of Kindness Warriers

We’ve seen examples of kind pedestrians paying good deeds forward, but Cate Cook is trying to inspire an entire community to follow in her footsteps.

Cate has been the secret orchestrator of hundreds of secret sweet gestures all over Adelaide, South Australia since January. Her Yours Kindly Facebook page documents all of her anonymous gifts – from leaving bubble wands on park benches, to leaving change taped to parking meters, to leaving flower bouquets in public spaces.

The page has over 2,800 self-identified ‘Kindness Warriors’ who have been inspired by Cook’s gestures and imitated the generosity in their own communities.

“We are a kindness community and people are often sharing kind deeds that they have done – leaving chocolates, opening doors, buying care packs for homeless people, writing inspirational notes, paying for someone’s coffee, etc.,” Cate told the Good News Network. “Recently after a TV interview, the cameraman and sound technician both said that what I am doing is inspiring and such a great thing that they were going to go and do acts of kindness too. It truly is a ripple effect.”

As further evidence of her compassionate nature, Cate celebrated her 62nd birthday in August with 62 different acts of kindness around the city.

Quick-Thinking Teen Thwarts Kidnapping in Progress

It was none of his business, maybe, but Malyk Bonnet didn’t like the way the guy at the bus stop was treating the woman he was with. And she looked scared.

He thought maybe he should intervene, but how?  Bonnet decided to keep his eye on the couple and follow his instincts.

The 17-year-old cook had just completed a shift at work in Montreal, Canada, and saw his chance to help when the man asked him for money, saying he and the woman needed bus fare to get to the town of Laval, some 25 miles (40km) away.

Thinking on his feet, Bonnet not only got the money for them, but also announced that he, too, was headed to Laval. He hopped on the same bus as the couple, and when they stood up to get off, Bonnet stood up, too, and offered to buy them dinner.

Pretending to go to the restroom, Bonnet instead borrowed a stranger’s cell phone to call police. So good was the teen’s facade that when law enforcement arrived to arrest the man and escort the woman to safety, the kidnapper had no idea it was Bonnet who had tipped them off.

“(The woman) looked at me, and she was almost crying, and I said to myself, ‘I did good,’” Bonnet told CBC News.

He did more than good, according to Laval Police Lieutenant Daniel Guérin, who told CBC that in 24 years of policing, he’s never seen anything quite like what Bonnet did.

Bonnet didn’t even know the police were already searching for the couple. The 29-year-old woman had reportedly been kidnapped a few hours earlier, and authorities were pretty sure they knew by whom—a dangerous ex-boyfriend who was under a court order to stay away from her.

The Laval cops were so impressed with Bonnet’s decision-making, which they said probably saved the woman’s life, that they took up a collection to reimburse him for the money he spent. They raised $255 for the quick-witted young hero.

Bonnet was delighted to have his cash returned, and his proud mother bought up eight newspapers as keepsakes.

These people are setting positive examples in their community, examples we can all learn from. Have you performed a random act of kindness lately?  I know I haven’t, but I think it’s high time I do.

(all stories retrieved from goodnewsnetwork.org)