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How will the miracle happen today?

kk.org

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Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#201

Post by throw4432w56 »

gostsamo wrote: post #2

> I am not sure I would invite a casual tourist I met to take over my apartment, and cook for him, as many have done for me. leaves a bad taste. I've helped and been helped in all kinds of situations. The sense of entitlement in this guy and the way he proudly explains how he is using people is just awful. Help is to give when you know that the gesture will have an disproportional effect for the other person and will…

He sounds like a “begpacker.”

Reading this makes me think badly about the author. Taking from those less fortunate is horrible.

If you are rich enough to travel to a poor country, please don’t exploit the people by taking more from them.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#202

Post by throw4432w56 »

gcanyon wrote: post #193

I see others expressing this point, but I'll add my two cents: this essay really bothered me. 1. The writer describes hitchhiking to work every day, presumably for months or years. He doesn't describe in any way how he paid back that kindness, either to the people he rode with directly, or just by paying it forward. 2. The writer describes traveling in Asia for 8 years, and many of the instances of kindness he descri…

He basically thinks he’s the main character, and other people around him are NPCs.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#203

Post by hliyan »

I'm from Sri Lanka. One incident I always remember is how the front wheels of my car went into a ditch and got completely stuck while trying to pull out of a shopfront parking lot. I was fairly new to driving and was at a complete loss as to what to do next. Within seconds, a crowd of men gathered, some from the bus stop nearby, others from the restaurant in front of the parking spot. "Get back in and reverse when we tell you", said one person. Then a group of about 5 men literally lifted the front of my car and placed the wheels back on terra firma. I reversed out of the ditch, parked the car and got out to thank them, but they had dispersed as rapidly as they had assembled. I always thought my people a bit brusque in social interactions -- we don't greet shopkeepers or supermarket cashiers; we don't smile randomly at each other; we don't often say thank you. But I suppose when it matters, people are more willing to get involved and roll up their sleeves to help.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#204

Post by throw4432w56 »

roughly wrote: post #146

What's interesting about this post is that it would be completely unsurprising to most people in most parts of the world, as well as most people here 100 years ago. The discomfort so many people in this thread feel with receiving kindness and the devaluing of the gift of companionship, gratitude, and a good story is a testament to how far off human norms our society is these days. I struggle with this a lot myself -…

Is that really true? Would a black man be able to receive this type of kindness 100 years ago?

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#205

Post by throw4432w56 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #91
JKCalhoun wrote: post #57

I did the hitchhiking thing in my 20's. Up to Alaska and back. I know what he describes. I wish everyone could have some experience like this. Because, like Kevin, I also have a positive view about strangers, about my fellow humans. And I have met a lot of people (friends, coworkers) where I recognize in them a fearfulness of the world. And I used to be like that too. It really is a different and a wonderful world I…

From what I have heard, women in their 20s have a materially higher probability of experiencing the opposite.

And people of color.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#206

Post by throw4432w56 »

cal_dent wrote: post #177

More so about this thread than the post, but I think it's a shame that so many immediately go to the edge cases of safety concerns (parricularly for women) or strangers with difficult mental illnesses. I don't want to belittle or dismiss those concerns, as they do exist, but letting that limit potential possibilities feels like a unnecessarily limited life. Granted I'm lucky enough that in my travels and general life…

Except it’s not an edge case. As a person of color, I can tell you that my everyday life experiences are gonna be vastly different.

These are not edge cases, but our every day, real life experiences.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#207

Post by awesome_dude »

I kind of struggled reading this, gratitude for the kindness offered to the author was genuinely good reading, but I also had the overwhelming feeling of, I don't know the bane of the emotion, but.. taking advantage of their kindness felt rude.

I know that there was an exchange, the author's company in return for the accommodation, and that may be true, just, I don't know, it was hard to reconcile.

FTR I personally am the same generation as the author, and also silent time hitchhiking, and "paying it forward" by proving rides and accommodation to others.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#208

Post by hliyan »

bpt3 wrote: post #18

If the world was filled with people with KK's attitude, humanity would have died off a very long time ago.

Only if it's not reciprocal. There was another comment here about how someone who helped KK emailed him much later for some help, and he immediately remembered and invited him over to talk. Gratitude leads to reciprocation.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#209

Post by hahahahhaah »

ericmcer wrote: post #140

Really nice article, but it sort of flies in the face of all our biological imperatives. Being a good "kindee" means forgoing security, control and some safety. Constant Gratitude for just the miracle of life means forgoing the driving dissatisfaction that will push you ahead. This is the classic battle between our ancient biological impulses and the reality of modern society. Many religions try to square these: Budd…

It is survival of the fittest gene

A cooperating human race has been excellent for our survival.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#210

Post by [deleted] »

arjie wrote: post #183

Before I quit riding my motorcycle, I recalled one important thing: all the way from the Oakland Hills to downtown San Francisco, many (I dare say 'most') drivers would step their cars to the edges of their lanes to make room for me to lane-split. I know there are lots of people who use their phones will driving, but this was clearly intentional, and a large number of people would do it. I was riding a Ducati but in…

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