Rocks Full of Happiness

By now almost everyone has heard of the growing popularity of painting rocks and leaving them for others in random places to find and brighten their day.  People of all ages, and all skill levels are participating.  Some choose to keep their found treasure, others re-hide them for others to have the fun of finding. Even well known artists are sharing videos and tutorials - like this one from Mark Montano.  People are creating rocks labled with their home town and leaving them around the country when they travel.   But, the most fun of all is when you see the effect of those rocks first hand.   In our “weekend” community, Lake Royale, Beth Styers recently started a Facebook group for rock sharing called LR Rocks.  It has exploded!  So many people are sharing the rocks they create, the rocks they find left by the “Rock Fairy”, sharing photos of happy kids who have found a special rock, etc.   They are having rock painting parties.  One community member even put a large container of unpainted rocks by her home for the painters to re-stock their supplies!   

Today, as I was finishing this article, our youngest son called me to ask if I’d heard of the painted rocks trend here in the town we live in, and said he had found a "Rosewood Rock" today at work!   He said it’s the second one that had been left there.  There was a recent article in the Raleigh newspaper about the Raleigh Rocks initiative.  So I can say with certainty that here in NC, this is one positive trend that is spreading

It is truly inspiring to see how something as simple as a colorful rock can bring such joy to people of ALL ages, and bring a community together.   It’s nice to see that in a time of chaos in our world, people can still find some happiness in the little things!   

 

Ana Araujo recently shared a quick When Creativity Knocks video showing a very simple way to dot paint rocks.  You can find her video here.

My mind is whirling with places where these simple, basically free, acts of creative kindness could really bloom to their full potential and brighten the days of those who may really need it, like elderly care facilities, children's hospitals, etc.

But most of all, I encourage you to join in and just have fun with it - there is no wrong or right way to paint your rocks - just do what you like and share them to make someone smile today.  

Here are just a few examples of some of the creative rocks being shared in our community!