…as experienced by Michelle Bryant
Have you come across painted rocks in your community lately? If you’re like me, it put a smile on your face. Creative do-gooders all over the country spread a bit of happiness through small hand-painted rocks—especially for anyone going through “rocky” times (pun intended).
People all over the world are coming together to paint messages of encouragement on rocks before hiding them for others to find. Maybe you’ve even joined them! The painted rock phenomenon has grown and is forming in community groups and all across social media. These “Kindness Rocks” are becoming increasingly common.
This all started when empowerment coach Megan Murphy began placing painted rocks along a beach she walked daily. Her intention was to leave messages of hope for others to find in a time of need. Since then, the Kindness Rocks Project has become a global movement. With over 65,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram, along with multiple other spin-off groups forming, Kindness Rocks are quickly becoming the latest trend.
So, what exactly is the purpose behind these groups, and what are they hoping to accomplish? Anyone can join the mission to make someone’s day by way of a hand-painted rock with a friendly face or inspirational message. Anonymously you leave the painted stone in a public place like a park, store, parking lot, under a bush, etc. for someone to find, and hopefully they will hide them in a different location to put a smile on someone else’s face.
From children to the elderly, individuals to organizations, simple to elaborate paintings, everyone is being a little “boulder” in their creative skills and taking part in this activity of sharing and giving back.
We’ve heard of some rock groups that mentioned they have over 100,000 people. In fact, there are an estimated 500 rock painting groups formed across the United States alone!
We at Focus on Fabulous love this fun, encouraging, and exciting project and how it brings people and communities together. However, we feel the need to be educated and responsible stewards and add a few disclaimers:
Taking rocks from their environment may have a negative impact.
In your attempt to “rock on” with some happiness cheer, we want to remind our readers and creative rock artists that since smooth river rocks make the ideal surface, people often remove them from coastlines and rivers where the elimination of rocks can disrupt river flow, plant growth, and contribute to erosion.
As with most things, this may seem harmless if you’re only one person taking a couple of rocks. But changing these environments in the slightest can have a huge impact. The more people that start doing it, the bigger the problem becomes. As an alternative to disrupting nature, we found places like Home Depot and local landscape companies that offer bulk rocks for purchase at a minimal cost.
Make sure your paint is non-toxic.
It is incredible that so many people are joining in on this mission, even on an individual level. But accompanying this fact is a lack of oversight that typically means that not all participants are using paints that are necessarily safe. Remember, all paints, toxic or not, are not natural. Once exposed to the elements, these paints break down and end up in soils and waterways, impacting environments far removed from wherever they have been placed.
Check with your local community for approved designated rock gardens. Some of these gardens operate on a take-one-leave-one basis. Others have placed the rocks randomly, and people seek them out in a scavenger hunt-like search. A growing number of rocks have been found in parks, city streets, and in natural areas. While one or two may not be noticeable, many become graffiti-like and disruptive. Despite warnings on their websites that state placing rocks in National Forests and National Parks is “frowned upon,” people still place them there.
We hope you have fun this summer spreading some cheer by creating some works of art and some memories, and we’d love to see your creations.
To find out more about the kindness project or rock painting opportunities in your area visit: Facebook.com/TheKindnessRocksProject
Email pictures of your painted rocks to: fofmagazine@mail.com