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Life can be unfair, the world cruel, and the news depressing. But fortunately, not always. Goodness has a way of shining through, thanks to people who choose to make a difference.
Sometimes, it takes just a few words. These Redditors experienced this firsthand and shared some of the most touching things someone has ever said to them. Together, their stories remind us how easily we can have an impact by taking a moment to show we care. While you’re reading, consider spreading some of that warmth in the comments—you might find it brightens your day, too.
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#1
“I’m not letting you do this alone. I’m coming with you.” - My girlfriend and soon to be fiancé when I had to put down my elderly cat three days before Christmas.
We went to the vet and she watched me bawl, we both cried our eyes out, and even still after that she let me grieve at home for an hour. She brought me a coffee, and everything to make sugar cookies from the store. She came back and she said she couldn’t fix it, but she didn’t want me to be alone.
So we played Christmas music, made terribly ugly cookies, and we weren’t okay; but we were together.
That’s when I saw what real, unconditional love looked like.
sturmwesen 19 hours ago (edited)
We had to put down my late dog a few days before christmas after months of vet visits, operations and sleepless nights because of walking Strolch every two hours even at night. I was miserable. At christmas it was me, my BF, my BFF and partner. I was not fun on christmas but they just let me be. No shame, just being miserable together. That's family for you.
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#2
A friend who was dying of chronic kidney failure said to me his last night alive “if there is a way to look out for you from the other side, I will” I still think about that all the time.
#3
Last year, my (56M) daughter (13F) told me that she thinks if I were her age we'd be best friends.
#4
One of my students wrote me a letter on graduation that said he was severely depressed (and I suspect suicidal though he didn’t say it), and my talk with him about why he failed my exam changed his life, because no one had ever told him he was brilliant before. We later worked on research together and he said it was the best time in his life.
We’re still in touch, he’s working on a masters and plans to get a PhD.
I’m so humbled by him, and proud of him.
Sergy Yeltsen 18 hours ago
You should also be proud of yourself. You are what educators should aspire to.
#5
I work in a homeless shelter in a very red state. I'd just got done checking in a new person I'd just met. We were talking afterward and they told me that they were trans but not out. Later, I asked what made them feel like they could tell me that since it's a very red state, at a shelter ran by evangelicals. They said "I don't know. Something about you. I just knew you were safe." That's the greatest compliment I've ever received.
Kenneth Barns 19 hours ago
... but might result in the OP no longer being safe, alas.
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Jude Laskowski 17 hours ago
During covid, I was grocery shopping when a 70-ish lady approached me and started telling me about her husband's recent death from a heart attack. She was not allowed to be with him in the hospital because of the ridiculous idea that she might give her dying husband covid. She started crying and I pulled her into my shoulder and comforted her. We were in that spot for about 30 minutes. I have not seen her since, but I was privileged to have been there for her.
S Bow 8 hours ago
You are a good person Jude, I had a similar situation happen in the grocery store with a distressed lady who had just been diagnosed with cancer. I did the same as you, just hugged her and offered comfort. Coincidentally I had just completed chemo for the same cancer. Sometimes, a kind heart and a willingness to reach out can help more than we know, even with, or sometimes especially with a complete stranger.
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Snorkeldorf 16 hours ago (edited)
That is a great compliment. It's a beautiful thing when we can make another person feel valued, accepted and safe. Please keep spreading that love. The world needs it so very much.
K. Mike 9 hours ago
I don't understand why " being from a ' very red state' " has ANYTHING to do with this. ( and I fully expect downvotes )
A dude who likes to drum 8 hours ago
I won’t downvote, but I will explain. A ‘very red state’ means very conservative or republican. OP was saying that no one would support the person and people could possibly act out aggressively against said person.
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#6
When I was a teenager, I was sent to military school. I’d always been a bit rough around the edges—kind of a troublemaker—but never a bad person at heart. I never finished high school because of some family issues, and later in life, I found out I had bipolar disorder type 2 and ADHD. I didn’t even realize it at the time, but my dad told me that my younger sister had been diagnosed with the same conditions, and he thought I should get evaluated too. He said she reminded him so much of me, and he wanted me to know because, being the old-school guy he is, he never really talked about emotions or apologized much.
Then he told me:
“Hey man, I’m sorry.
I didn’t know.
I thought you needed discipline.
You just needed my help.”
I didn’t think much of it at first, but when I was alone later, I broke down and cried for a few minutes. I didn’t even realize how much I’d been carrying all my life until that moment. It was a relief I can’t really describe, like a weight was finally lifted off my shoulders. I felt lighter, like I physically weighed less.
#7
Someone once told me, "You make people feel seen." It hit me because it’s easy to go through life unnoticed, but knowing I could make someone feel valued—it stuck with me.
#8
My father in law has had 5 surgeries in the last 2 years and it has been a long recovery and because of that I have been doing my best to help out by doing their yard work, loading up his wheel chair, etc. just stuff you do for family.
Well just one day out of the blue my mother in law texted me and just said "You're our hero." and that has stuck with me.
#9
This is stupid, but I stopped relaxing my hair like 17 years ago, at a time when you’d catch grief from all sides for doing so. Everyone is telling you that you’re only pretty/acceptable/presentable when your hair has been chemically straightened, and your job is telling you that your natural hair is “unprofessional” (I was enlisted). One day I was rocking a straight lion’s mane at this gas station in some small-town pocket of Arkansas, the kind where I could have been the only black woman within an hour of any direction. This burly, tatted up Hell’s Angel’s looking biker dude walked past me and very genuinely said, ‘damn sister, I like your hair!’ and I really appreciated it. Didn’t expect it coming from him, is all, especially since it was coming from nowhere else.
#10
I’m a Filipina and there was an elderly man in Miami with whom I struck up a conversation.
He was gazing at my face and he said: So this is what your people look like. It’s like all the world combined.
#11
One night while in the newborn trenches with my son, I was struggling and crying. Just really emotional. I can’t remember exactly what I said, something about feeling ugly, and my husband who I had been with 10 years at that point told me “I have never been more attracted to you, watching you be a mom to our son is beautiful, you are beautiful “ and it plays in my head still on hard days.
#12
I'm a mental health nurse. I was with my brother in a mall one time when an ex-patient walked up to me and greeted me warmly. We chatted about how his life was going. He seemed to be doing well. He said to me, "Hey do you remember that time when you had to restrain me and put me in seclusion? You were really gentle with me and got everyone to calm down and go easy on me". He turned to my brother and said "Your brother is one of the good ones".
#14
I worked the front desk at a yoga studio/spa for a while. I loved it; interacting with all of the people that would come in gave me life. I didn’t realize how extroverted I actually was until I started working there. I got to know all the regulars, remembering everyone’s name and trying to make them all feel warm, welcome, and special. One day, one of the older regulars came in and handed me an envelope. He had typed me a letter that brought me to absolute tears, talking about how big my light was and how truly transformative my weekly welcome to him had been, as a person who had rarely felt welcome anywhere his whole life. At the time, I was struggling with a lot of my own darkness and the fact that I had any ounce of light was genuinely news to me. My heart needed that.
#15
"I think you're going to be the reason a lot of people find hope again.".
#16
A couple of weeks ago, I was alone in a city i didn't know, and I had my heart broken in a cafe. The waiter saw that i was upset and asked if I was ok I WEPT, she sat with me and talked to me while I had my coffees and I ordered something to eat. I went to pay and found out she had paid for all of it ( cried again ) it was nice to have someone to sit with.
#17
"I want my daughter to grow up and be like you."
I was living/teaching Emirates in the UAE. My class, all men. So for a man in a patriarchal society to say that to an independent, unmarried, educated, western woman was a wow moment. I felt like I contributed to women around the world being seen, respected, and valued. 😊.
Roshan Kassan 12 hours ago
My daughter asked about my late mom. Once I was done, she said: i hope to be 1/10th like her. My daughter was 5 at the time.
#18
"Wow he's a human angel!" I fostered a puppy who was given up for adoption because she was apparently a bad dog. I took her in and just treated her like she was my own dog. She was adopted two weeks later and the pet adoption agency was shocked at her (positive) change of behavior.
#19
The boys in high school rated us girls and I was a 7/10. It's always affected me. About 6 years later it came up at my work place for whatever reason and I said I was a 7. A sweetheart of a guy instantly, without missing a beat said, "Out of 7 though right?!"
I went to the bathroom and cried. He has no idea how much he healed me with those words! 🥲 .
Kiki Likes Sweets 17 hours ago
"The guys rated the girls?" Wow, that is pretty fücked up. Though totally not surprised!
#20
It was a small thing:
I gave the lunch I had brought with me one winter weekday to a destitute man huddled near the locked front doors of a church. (I'd gone there to practice for a forthcoming organ recital.)
He simply said, "Thank you - I haven't had any food for about 3 days."
It seemed as though he was as starved for someone - anyone - to care about him as for the food itself.
#21
My grandpa, on his deathbed, whispered, 'You were my favorite'.
Polly Fukuhara 11 hours ago
After my mother died, my sister, brother and I discovered that she said that to all of us.
#22
I was out with my kids at a restaurant on some daddy day care vibe.
Wife needed a break.
Kids were 1 and 3
We were just having fun like we normally do
Im running around feeding my daughter and son is helping.
Older lady comes up to the table and says “She needed a break huh”
I laughed and said yes
She put her hand on my shoulder and said “thank you “
I said for what
She said for reminding her what happiness looks like
That f****d me up.
highwaycrossingfrog 13 hours ago
It shouldn't be normalised for men to do basic parenting because their wife "needed a break"
#23
My boyfriend once asked me to help him understand a certain topic, and it was a busy time for both of us, i had long hours of school and so did he. I could only teach him a very little portion which wasnt even countable in a span of 2 hours. I apologised to him saying i couldnt help him(he had a test on it the next day). He said "You tell what's better? A person giving the 1K out of the 1K they had to someone in need, or a person who gives 1K out of the 1Mil they have?" i said i dont know since i didnt understand what he meant. he said "it's the former since the person gave away all they had, and in the same way, you had 2 free hours which you could have used to sleep(we were sleep deprived), but you chose to help me. and that's all that matters to me" and it's the best thing i've ever heard.
#24
After a year of dating, my GF (we're both in our 50's, both lost our spouses to cancer a few years ago) said 'I love you!'. I never thought I'd hear that again.
Jude Laskowski 17 hours ago
I'm glad she said this. Some of us go through life without ever hearing someone say that, not even our parents.
#25
Someone once told me “No one else is going to live your life for you, make the choices that YOU want because only YOU are going to live with those choices.” That is now a core value in my life. It resonates so deeply I can’t explain how much those simple words touched me.
#26
I used to live with a family where one of the kids was autistic. We’ll call her Gigi.
Gigi had limited vocabulary and was truly a special need child. She wouldn’t respond if people spoke to her and just seemed lost in her own little world.
The reason why I lived with the family is because for some reason Gigi acknowledged me and it was a rare thing for her to do. The mother asked me if I would be open to living with them to help with Gigi and I accepted because I knew how difficult it was for anyone to be accepted into Gigi’s world. Perhaps it was because I was in my early twenties and she was only ten and probably entering puberty. I think she found something in me that she could relate to in her limited capacity.
Anyway, I lived with this family for a few months but eventually they found a nice house and decided to move. I wasn’t able to go with them due to the location of the house so found new living arrangement.
The day before the move, I sat Gigi down to say goodbye bc she had become very attached to me. I told her in the simplest way I could by saying, “Gigi go. Couch potato stay”. She kept insisting, “Gigi go. Couch potato go” but I had to remain adamant so she understood that I could not go with her.
Finally, after a few minutes of going back and forth, she finally realized I really wasn’t going to live with her family anymore and said, “Gigi cry. Gigi cry.” She then wandered off to watch a Disney movie.
It tore me up and was one of the most touching things I ever experienced.
#27
My good friend told me a few weeks before he succumbed to cancer that he was glad he knew me because i was "One of lifes good guys"
That was 6 years ago now and i still think about it.
#28
"How can you be Icarus when you are the sun?"
I welled up reading this when she sent it. It is the most kind and beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me, and I cherish the memory.
#29
I almost failed out a semester once but spoke with my professor about my situation. i had a very very unfortunate semester and he didn’t realize the grade given meant i couldn’t move forward.
he adjusted it and told me “i can’t wait for you to show everyone what you’re capable of” and it’s always stuck. he saw past a mentally bad semester and now shows up to all my final presentations!
Montanavanna 10 hours ago
That reminds me of something the principle of a boarding school told me when I worked there. She said, "you are too smart not to go to college". It made me feel that I was just as capable as I thought I was.
#30
"We're very proud to have you as a grandson."
I miss them both so much. Go hug your grandparents folks.
#31
"You've single handedly changed my 15 year olds son's life for the better, just by talking to him about confidence and the silly things in life once a week while football training, if it weren't for your comforting chats, he'd be a hermit, wasting his potential professional ability"
A Parent said this to me recently. I'm an assistant coach / analyst for an 'elite' youth level football (soccer) team, I make it my business to chat to every player at least once or twice a week, whether it's just joking around, serious talk about school, football or other stuff.
Kid has went from not wanting to play ball or leave the house, to being one of the hottest prospects in the area in the space of 3 months.
For some reason it brought a tear to my eye. And another one while typing this.
Jessica SpeLangm 12 hours ago
Sometimes it's just spending time with someone, nothing serious, that makes ALL the difference in the world.
#32
There were two that stuck with me quite deeply, and I think of this when I have moments of self doubt:
1. I loved drawing ever since I was young and I have always wanted to share my stories through drawing/comics. It’s been a hobby mostly, but over the past couple of years I started again as a means of journaling/reflecting. Some people at work have seen my drawings, and one of my seniors said ‘One day people will know you for your drawings,’ and that gave me hope that people do like them.
2. I work in healthcare and I am quite reserved (or can come across as shy). I remembered a patient telling me to keep chasing my dreams as we need more people like you. It made my day as I remembered how busy and overwhelming it was when this happened.
#33
I don't know if this counts, but honestly... the whole friendship I have with my best friend. She's the only person in this world who I can actually be completely vulnerable with and open up to. We've been through a lot and we've hurt each other more than once, but we always come back to each other, some how some way by putting aside our selfishness and being there for one another, all while honoring ourselves. If I could pick one thing though, it's the times when she says, "I see you. I see you in your pain."
I feel so f*****g seen and heard by her like I never have before. Rather than barking at each other and arguing, we always take a step back and come back with understanding and love in our hearts. Because at the end of the day, we know that we always want to continue being friends. And we want to fix things because we love each other. It's a lot more than anyone else has ever done in my life.
#34
"I don't need to go home, i'm already there" my gf in reference to hanging out with me.
Roshan Kassan 12 hours ago
My partner used to snuggle up and just mumble 'Im home' and pass out.
#35
A coworker once told me, "You're like everyone's best friend." I'm not sure why exactly that struck me so deep, I don't even know if it was her intention, but it made me feel really happy to hear that my personality is so inviting and friendly to other people. And now that I'm leaving that job, seeing everyone sending me quick messages about how they'll miss me has me believing that she was right about that too.
Note: this post originally had 57 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
What do you think ?
Kimberly Bailey 14 hours ago
My best compliment came from a doctor I worked with for many years said to my manager I read it on my annual performance review it was about 12 years ago but I’ll never forget it …”I never worry when Kim is in the stress lab. I know whatever happens in there she’s got it under control, her clinical instincts are better than mine and I’ve been doing this as long as she’s been alive!”
Lost Panda 18 hours ago
There are two that stick with me that are rather similar now that I think about it. 1) 17yrs old, I was driving home and a lady (50ish) was on the side of the rural road with a blown out tire. I give her a lift to the closest wrecker/salvage yard. As she got out she said, "You're mama raised a good boy." 2) 23ish yrs old. Stationed in Japan. See an elderly Japanese man struggling toward the store door. I hold the door open for him (second nature). At the time, my Japanese was still basic so all I remember is "Your mother, happy, thank you." And I got a pat on the shoulder for extra points XD
Moana Manana 15 hours ago
I am (45F) an optimistic and happy person, and I've been told that a lot. But my father never ever said something nice to me, about me. Even when others said somehting nice, he said things like "oh, there other more beautiful people", "she's only nice outside" and so on. I live with my husband and kids upstairs of my parents' house, and one day (maybe two years ago), I left them after a visit. I didn't close the door well and went back to do so when I heard my das saying to my mum: evertime she leaves, the room gets a little darker. I cried for the rest of the night. Still melts my heart when I think about it. Knowing he loves me is one thing, but saying it hits complete different. So fathers of BP, SAY it to you kids!!
Kiki Likes Sweets 17 hours ago
That was all so sweet. I needed that, after all the negativity that has infected this site of late.
Auntriarch 17 hours ago
My goddaughter was in her early 20s and we were sitting in the garden after dinner, when she said "I always knew that if Mum went completely loopy, I could come here". She was right of course, but I'm so grateful she knew it without being told in so many words.
Learner Panda 14 hours ago
In the last few years I have met a married couple with whom I have a deepening friendship. One day she needed a shoulder to cry on and I was there. A day or so later both she and her husband came to thank me and she called me sister. I don't have a blood sister, but I do have her now.
Lousha 17 hours ago
I had a very casual, fun, booty call type relationship with someone when I was in uni. He once told me totally out of the blue that I had such a face that one could die for me. There was no agenda, he was not in love with me, it was just an observation, like when you look at an unuasally colourful sunset and you say "oh, that's neat!" . Well, that. And the same guy at another occasion let me go first on the long staircase to my flat, and remarked that he would follow me to the end of the Earth to be able to look at my a** :D Fun times.
Tobias Reaper 18 hours ago
2 that come to mind when I met my person she was living with her abusive ex still I helped her get away from him and she told me I am her hero I definitely got emotional. The second was from her little one he is 4 years old and autistic and as I was going home after hanging out with them for the weekend after saying goodbye completely unprompted he said I love you I welled up big time it was the first time he ever said that to me I known him since he was born.
Chucky Cheezburger 1 hour ago
This happened yesterday In a meeting. Crew of 3 that I lead, and 4 bosses of various rank. Bosses asked how training was going and ( one crew member has been there a year, the other 2 weeks.) The 1 year guy said " I got lucky and landed with a good one." Damnit if I didn't get a tear in my eye. But the one that I'll never forget, that hit me so hard that I was dumbfounded and speechless was a text from my wife. We had been working late and in the below freezing weather, outside in it trying to fix a major failure on essential equipment. Think I texted that we were almost done and Id be home soon. Her reply: "I don't see how you do it. To keep going like that. You have a lot of inner and outer strength. It impresses me. So proud of you." She'll probably read this here, but I don't think she will ever understand the depth that her words reached and how they made me feel. I can't think of words that can express it.
Sarah Kathrin Matsoukis 10 hours ago
Both of my best friends are in prison, think what you like. But one of them is especially traumatized, has been severely betrayed and been injured as a very young soldier. When he told me he trusts me, I was so touched I cried.
Jessica SpeLangm 11 hours ago
One of my SIL (my husband's only blood sister) is the sister I always wanted and needed, but never had. She will never know that because I won't tell her. But just knowing I have a sister that cares about me the way she does (not that my blood sister is a bad person, we just have nothing in common to talk about and were never close) makes me a happier person.
Coffee_nut45? 8 hours ago
When I found out my father was terminal with cancer I decided to call him and tell him everything I had never been able to tell him. One of the things I said was that I was afraid that I had let him down and disappointed him. He said to me "As long as you do your very best you can never disappoint me." Since that day (1 month before his death 22 years ago) my life has been about not disappointing my father. I try my best in everything I do.
Kimberly Bailey 14 hours ago
My best compliment came from a doctor I worked with for many years said to my manager I read it on my annual performance review it was about 12 years ago but I’ll never forget it …”I never worry when Kim is in the stress lab. I know whatever happens in there she’s got it under control, her clinical instincts are better than mine and I’ve been doing this as long as she’s been alive!”
Lost Panda 18 hours ago
There are two that stick with me that are rather similar now that I think about it. 1) 17yrs old, I was driving home and a lady (50ish) was on the side of the rural road with a blown out tire. I give her a lift to the closest wrecker/salvage yard. As she got out she said, "You're mama raised a good boy." 2) 23ish yrs old. Stationed in Japan. See an elderly Japanese man struggling toward the store door. I hold the door open for him (second nature). At the time, my Japanese was still basic so all I remember is "Your mother, happy, thank you." And I got a pat on the shoulder for extra points XD
Moana Manana 15 hours ago
I am (45F) an optimistic and happy person, and I've been told that a lot. But my father never ever said something nice to me, about me. Even when others said somehting nice, he said things like "oh, there other more beautiful people", "she's only nice outside" and so on. I live with my husband and kids upstairs of my parents' house, and one day (maybe two years ago), I left them after a visit. I didn't close the door well and went back to do so when I heard my das saying to my mum: evertime she leaves, the room gets a little darker. I cried for the rest of the night. Still melts my heart when I think about it. Knowing he loves me is one thing, but saying it hits complete different. So fathers of BP, SAY it to you kids!!
Kiki Likes Sweets 17 hours ago
That was all so sweet. I needed that, after all the negativity that has infected this site of late.
Auntriarch 17 hours ago
My goddaughter was in her early 20s and we were sitting in the garden after dinner, when she said "I always knew that if Mum went completely loopy, I could come here". She was right of course, but I'm so grateful she knew it without being told in so many words.
Learner Panda 14 hours ago
In the last few years I have met a married couple with whom I have a deepening friendship. One day she needed a shoulder to cry on and I was there. A day or so later both she and her husband came to thank me and she called me sister. I don't have a blood sister, but I do have her now.
Lousha 17 hours ago
I had a very casual, fun, booty call type relationship with someone when I was in uni. He once told me totally out of the blue that I had such a face that one could die for me. There was no agenda, he was not in love with me, it was just an observation, like when you look at an unuasally colourful sunset and you say "oh, that's neat!" . Well, that. And the same guy at another occasion let me go first on the long staircase to my flat, and remarked that he would follow me to the end of the Earth to be able to look at my a** :D Fun times.
Tobias Reaper 18 hours ago
2 that come to mind when I met my person she was living with her abusive ex still I helped her get away from him and she told me I am her hero I definitely got emotional. The second was from her little one he is 4 years old and autistic and as I was going home after hanging out with them for the weekend after saying goodbye completely unprompted he said I love you I welled up big time it was the first time he ever said that to me I known him since he was born.
Chucky Cheezburger 1 hour ago
This happened yesterday In a meeting. Crew of 3 that I lead, and 4 bosses of various rank. Bosses asked how training was going and ( one crew member has been there a year, the other 2 weeks.) The 1 year guy said " I got lucky and landed with a good one." Damnit if I didn't get a tear in my eye. But the one that I'll never forget, that hit me so hard that I was dumbfounded and speechless was a text from my wife. We had been working late and in the below freezing weather, outside in it trying to fix a major failure on essential equipment. Think I texted that we were almost done and Id be home soon. Her reply: "I don't see how you do it. To keep going like that. You have a lot of inner and outer strength. It impresses me. So proud of you." She'll probably read this here, but I don't think she will ever understand the depth that her words reached and how they made me feel. I can't think of words that can express it.
Sarah Kathrin Matsoukis 10 hours ago
Both of my best friends are in prison, think what you like. But one of them is especially traumatized, has been severely betrayed and been injured as a very young soldier. When he told me he trusts me, I was so touched I cried.
Jessica SpeLangm 11 hours ago
One of my SIL (my husband's only blood sister) is the sister I always wanted and needed, but never had. She will never know that because I won't tell her. But just knowing I have a sister that cares about me the way she does (not that my blood sister is a bad person, we just have nothing in common to talk about and were never close) makes me a happier person.
Coffee_nut45? 8 hours ago
When I found out my father was terminal with cancer I decided to call him and tell him everything I had never been able to tell him. One of the things I said was that I was afraid that I had let him down and disappointed him. He said to me "As long as you do your very best you can never disappoint me." Since that day (1 month before his death 22 years ago) my life has been about not disappointing my father. I try my best in everything I do.
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