If 2026 has taught us anything, it’s that life can be a lot. The headlines have been exhausting, and the world has felt especially heavy. But mixed in with all of that have been some beautiful, surprising moments that remind us there’s still plenty of good happening too. The nicest moments have a habit of sneaking up on you like that, usually when you least expect them and sometimes when you need them most.
So we wanted to give those moments the attention they deserve. From a flight attendant who helped a tired mom to runners who sacrificed their own finish times to astronauts who know the true meaning of friendship, the acts of kindness in this story will give you a little break from everything else going on—and help you remember that good people are still out there doing really good things.
Read on for the heartwarming moments that have made 2026 a little brighter.
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The tip of a lifetime
In late March, Boise pizza delivery driver Dan Simpson learned his Domino’s location had run out of the Diet Coke a customer had ordered. Rather than arrive empty-handed, the 68-year-old stopped at a convenience store and bought the drinks himself. The small gesture was caught on the customer’s Ring camera and went viral—and when people learned Simpson was preparing to retire after 14 years of delivering pizzas, they returned the kindness in a big way. More than 8,000 people contributed $170,000 to a fundraiser for his retirement, allowing “Dan the Man” to officially hang up his delivery bag in May.
A lunch break that led to friendship
During a shift in August, a Wendy’s employee named Dara approached Florida homeowner Abigail Mwaungulu with an unusual request: Could she spend her lunch break on the porch? Mwaungulu said yes, and her Ring camera captured the beginning of a new friendship. As more of Dara’s story came to light—including the fact that she walks to work every day—people watching online wanted to do something for her too. They started a fundraiser that has since brought in more than $17,000 to help with Dara’s transportation, education and whatever she may need for what comes next.
A little help at 30,000 feet
On Sept. 2, Republic Airways flight attendant Monique Harris noticed an exhausted mother nodding off with her baby on a flight from Newark to Grand Rapids, Michigan. When the baby began slipping from the mother’s lap, Harris quickly caught him and offered to hold him while Mom got some much-needed sleep. Another person on the plane snapped a photo of the tender moment, which went viral on Instagram, earning more than 200,000 likes within days.
Talk about a photo finish!
About 1,000 feet from the end of the Boston Marathon in April, American Ajay Haridasse stumbled and fell. Seeing him on the ground, two other runners, Aaron Beggs of Northern Ireland and Robson De Oliveira of Brazil, helped him up, sacrificing their own personal best times to do so. Each draped one of Haridasse’s arms over their shoulders to carry him the rest of the way and across the finish line.
Hollywood honors Catherine O’Hara
Fans of Catherine O’Hara were heartbroken when the beloved comedy icon died in January. Then in March, she posthumously won an Actor Award for her work on the sitcom The Studio. Showrunner Seth Rogen accepted on her behalf, and in his speech, Rogen said of his friend and co-star, “She really showed that you can be a genius and be kind, and one of those things does not have to come at the expense of the other.”
Not golden, but a good sport
American figure skater Ilia Malinin (aka the “Quad God”) was the heavy favorite to win the men’s singles competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina in February. But during his free skate performance, Malinin fell twice and finished well outside of medal contention. Despite his disappointment, Malinin was the first to congratulate the gold medal winner, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. His show of sportsmanship earned him the Fair Play Award, an international prize voted on by the public, after a record-breaking number of votes cast by fans worldwide.
A crater for Carroll
The world watched as the Artemis II astronauts made their 10-day trek around the moon in April. Their journey took them farther from Earth than humans had ever been, making them the first to see certain parts of the far side of the moon. This meant that they also got to propose names for two previously undiscovered craters, and for one of them, they chose to honor the late wife of their commander, Reid Wiseman.
In a video message to Mission Control, an audibly emotional Jeremy Hansen described the crater as “a bright spot on the moon” before saying, “We would like to call it Carroll.” As Hansen spoke, his fellow crew members were seen dabbing at their eyes. Then the four astronauts floated toward one another and embraced in a zero-gravity hug.
Birthday wishes for Willie
While presenting an award at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May, Shania Twain and Shaboozey asked the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to join them in wishing Willie Nelson a happy birthday. Nelson, who wasn’t in attendance that night, had just turned 93, and an arena full of country music fans wanted the legendary singer/songwriter to feel the love. So in unison, they shouted, “Happy birthday, Willie!” while Shaboozey recorded the moment on his phone to send to the star.
Comics choose respect over ratings
After a decade on the air, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert came to a close in May. Leading up to the last show, many of Colbert’s famous friends stopped by the Ed Sullivan Theater to say goodbye, including fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. The quintet appeared all together at one of Colbert’s final tapings, and both Kimmel and Fallon (whose time slots coincided with Colbert’s) aired reruns the night of his send-off so as not to compete with their friend’s farewell.
Team Japan cleans up nice
As the FIFA World Cup got underway in June, Japanese soccer fans went viral for how they helped clean up after games, filling blue garbage bags with other people’s trash on their way out of Texas Stadium in Dallas and Estadio Monterrey in Mexico. “We are honored to be here,” one fan explained to USA Today. “So we don’t want to make a mess and then leave it.”
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