Stories by rickhiker (7 matches)

I resisted being a slaggart:

I made a mental request of my Guide to direct me to help someone who badly needed it. A few days went by. Then I was caught in a massive 6-lane traffic jam at a stoplight. “Rush hour." I thought. But it was an overheated car, dead in the middle lane. With cars driving all around her I couldn’t stop anywhere without making things worse. I had to turn left in thick traffic and couldn't pull over for a couple blocks. I thought, "Maybe this is one I should let someone else take care of.” But I smacked myself down and mentally berated myself saying, "Don’t be a slaggart!" I turned around and parked on a far entrance ramp. How to even wade into this snarl of traffic and get her off the highway looked impossible. But then a miracle happened (akin to the parting of the Red Sea). Bumper to bumper ... Read Full Story >>

Brothers Keeper

Late in the day my nephew and I were returning from an arduous hike up a narrow desert canyon. We passed a Japanese family with two small children headed up this slippery water tank canyon with no trail. Their apparel was out of place, like maybe they were tourists from a big city. We pointed out they were in for a real adventure. Perhaps they didn’t know what we meant, as they smiled and hurried up the remote canyon. Back at our camper we watched for them, expecting their brief return. A couple hours went by, then the sun set. Alarmed, we grabbed a few flash lights, rope and blankets, and headed back up. It would be so sad if the children were hurt. Pressing on into the night we became more and more frantic for their safety. Finally after a couple miles we were so excited to find them walking towards us. ... Read Full Story >>

Where the Real Gold Is

We picked up a young fella just walking the interstate deep in the mountains. From the Texas coast, he spent all he had on a tiny motorized scooter board and escaped his home town to see America. A thousand miles north, in seemingly foreign land, he ran out of gas again. He hid his only possession on a back road in the forest and started walking to find a gas station. A real life "Forest Gump" character, he advised me to never work for family. He had worked for years for his uncle on the family shrimp boat for nothing, "and never got nothin' in the end either!" But he had a heart of gold, polite as could be, self reliant, and the only thing he asked was, "Where is the closest gas station?"  We filled up his little water bottle (gas can). He wouldn't take but a few cans of food, ... Read Full Story >>

Unseen Hands Guiding Us

Where the heck did they come from? There must be spirits that somehow direct rescuers to victims of tragedy deep in the wilderness. That’s the only explanation for this near impossible chance meeting. My wife and I set out across a vast wasteland of sandy desert just headed for some mountains and canyons two miles away. There were no trails and we had no destination in mind. After about 4-5 miles, deep in the canyons, we sat down for lunch. We thought we heard our conversation echoing down through the canyon, but the distant echoes didn’t match. After a few minutes, high on the canyon wall we clearly heard someone else talking in the distance. I climbed a little up and saw a man shouting to us. He seemed desperate. We climbed up a few hundred feet to where he was. He was a retired policeman from California. He and his wife ... Read Full Story >>

Persisting in the Desire to Help

I had forgotten about this small favor to an old man with a flat tire precariously parked along a mountain highway. He was ashamed to ask for help and said he would be OK when I stopped. But recently, I had mentally asked the powers that be to send me someone who could use my help. So, I figured he must be mistaken about not needing help. So I cajoled him into at least letting me help him get on the road sooner. 45 minutes later, after fixing the flat, I knew this...he was severely handicapped and couldn't even stoop down, he didn't know where his jack was or where to jack at, and the car position made it almost impossible to jack up without significant work, I was the only one with a lug wrench, etc. I had smashed a couple Christmas balls from his shopping run when I shut his ... Read Full Story >>

Powerful Truth Found in Very Small Things

Perhaps you'll think this a strange tale. It's true, though I could not believe it at first. Powerful truth is sometimes in small things. No act of kindness and understanding goes unnoticed. It will all come back to you, maybe even tenfold. Many years ago I hated mosquitoes with a passion. I reveled at crushing those little blood suckers. One day  I bragged to my wife, ahead on the trail, that I had just killed 10 of the little swarmer's with one slap. She told me that few bothered her. They regularly didn't. Puzzled about this, I asked, "Why me?" She turned to face me and said, "Because you hate them!" I laughed, "So tell me something I don't know." She explained that the little critters were simply returning my hatred in kind. That stopped me dead in my tracks. Could that be? She suggested that if I sent them loving thoughts ... Read Full Story >>

Surprises

I got thinking about how to share the Kindspring message. First the “surprise heads-up” - a dollar bill lying face up on the floor of a lonely isle in the local thrift store. Then the "message" sticky posted on the back of the dollar bill - “Yes, somebody loves U". Ok, it's only one little message in a big pond. But the little ripples go out every which way.

Then I drove several twisted streets and miles home through the city and never saw a red light – 20 green lights in a row. That never, ever happened to me! It could have been a Karmic echo of one of those ripples... I don't know how that works but I think it does.
 

Unleashed!

Comforting With Flowers

Taking Time to Care

I Delightfully Received Smile ...

My father’s Jade

I Delightfully Received Smile ...

A Helping Hand For A Brother and Sister

Vision Cards

When I First Came ...

Supported By Love

Breakfast for a Stranger In Need

An Unlikely Bond

Reborn through KindSpring

Strangers Reaching Out to Help Us

Literally Giving Away the Shirt Off of My Back

Right Place at the Right Time

There is Always Time to Paws

Accidental Kindness

No Christmas Cards

Kindness To A Homeless Man