Have you heard of the painted rock movement (aka Kindness Rocks Project) or seen any painted rocks while you’re out and about in your daily life? We’ve run across quite a few of them in our walks throughout Bellevue and in fact found one randomly placed in our potted plants recently. They range from the simplicity of a quote, a whimsical drawing or something-over-the top and really artistic. Whatever they look like, the purpose is to brighten the day of the person that randomly finds one while going about their daily business.
The movement was started by a young woman in her 20’s, Megan Murphy–who had lost her parents–and took solace in walking along the beach looking for sea glass (reminded her of her Mom) and heart shaped rocks (reminded her of her Dad). It turns out that she ran across many people doing the same thing–looking for something from the Universe. One day she wrote inspirational quotes on five rocks and left them at various places along the beach. Just so happens that one of her friends found one–not knowing it was from her friend–she snapped a photo and sent it to Megan. The quote was something that Megan’s friend needed to see at the moment. When Megan realized the coincidence of her rock being found by a friend, she decided it meant that something needed to be done to spread hope and kindness–thus the Kindness Rocks Project was born.
And here’s where we need our guests to help us “paint our gardens”. Our landscaping is full of river rocks–the perfect rock for painting! We have all sizes and we want you to paint one while you’re here. Can you imagine what our gardens will look like with hundreds of these gems peeking out from spaces, under bushes, near the pond, by the bridge? I think it will look so cool!
You’ll be leaving something here to share with our other guests visiting the property. So many of you have left your two pennies here as a symbol of a celebration of a special event in your life….we have found them everywhere! And when we placed adult coloring books in the rooms, we could see that our guests were full of creativity. Now, we’re asking once again for you to share your talents.
We will provide you with paint and brushes…you just have to pick out the rock, make it yours and leave it with us to place outside. Whether you paint stripes, ladybugs, flowers or paint an inspirational quote, we want your artwork added to our gardens. And the next time you’re here you can look for it and see what everyone else has contributed. You don’t have to be an artist and your rock doesn’t have to be perfect…you just have to want to spread a little kindness and joy!
We’re looking forward to seeing your artistic abilities.
Rock on!