“Kindness makes
C
ynthia Yip lay in bed,
tears streaming down
her face. It had been a
month since the 31-year-old
New Yorker had lost her mom,
Tai Hing, and every morning it
was all she could do to drag her-
self out of bed to go to work.
As a little girl, whenever
Cynthia came home crying
because she’d scraped her knee
or had her feelings hurt, her
mom had always urged, “Be
strong. I know you can.”
“I’m trying, Mom, but I don’t
know how,” Cynthia wept,
her heart full of sorrow
and uncertainty.A love lesson
Cynthia and her
mom had always
been close. Tai
Hing would often
meet her daughter
after work, and they’d
go shopping or to the mov-
ies to see the superhero flicks
that were Tai Hing’s favorite.
Fitting, Cynthia always smiled,
her mom was the strongest
woman she knew and her hero.
On their jaunts through
the city, it wasn’t unusual for
Tai Hing to dash off to help a
passerby with packages or to
give directions to a lost tourist.
“That lady didn’t ask for help,Mom. Why did you do that?”
Cynthia asked once.
“If I see someone who needs
help and I am able, I help,” Tai
Hing had replied simply.
But, sadly, when Tai Hing
developed ALS in 2017 not even
doctors could help her. In just a
few months she was gone, leav-
ing a crater in Cynthia’s heart.
Feeling herself slipping into
a depression, Cynthia began
browsing grieving websites. And
one day, she read that the best
way to heal sorrow is by sharing
a little joy with others.
That is so Mom, she
thought, practically
hearing her moth-
er’s voice as she
read the words.
“Okay, Mom, I’ll
take your advice,”
Cynthia vowed.Sharing a little joy
Not sure how she could
bring others joy, Cynthia again
searched the web for help and
came across Happiness.org, a
site filled with feel-good ideas.
One suggestion was to leave
uplifting notes for strangers in
random places. That seems easy,
I could do that, she thought.
Excited, Cynthia grabbed a
neon sticky note off her desk
and wrote, I just lost my mom,
and it’s been the hardest time of
my life. I always thought I had
time, but in the end, I didn’t, If
you have something you’re waitingPOWER
OF LOVE“It touches my
heart to know
that I have
touched others’
lives,” says
Cynthia“My^ mom^ was^ my^ best^ friend^ and^
always^ helped^ people,”^ says^ Cynthia^
(left)^ whose^ mother,^ Tai^ Hing^ (right),^
inspired^ her^ to^ help^ others^ find^ joy^a brighter place!”
10 8/5/19^ Woma n’s World
After her mom passed away, Cynthia Yip lapsed into a deep depression and didn’t think she’d ever feel
happy again. Then one day, on a self-help website, Cynthia read that the best way to heal sorrow is by
sharing a little joy. And she found a special way to do just that—and to honor her mom’s memory too!Cynthia has left hundreds of
encouraging notes (like the
one to the left) to spread hope