A new national craze of kindness has reached the Historic Triangle.
If you’ve been seeing positive messages scrolled on brightly painted rocks, you have one of several local online groups to thank for it.
What started as one woman’s effort to spread “signs” of encouragement in her own local community has become a national — and international — phenomenon. Although the idea spread online, the communities it inspired are intensely active at the local, grassroots level.
Participants — who range from children to senior citizens, though they’re mostly families with younger children — hold meet-ups to collaborate and paint smoothed rocks with uplifting quotes, animals and other fun images.
“I think it’s a fantastic way to spread happiness through the community and as a mom of two boys it’s a great way to explore the outdoors and hunt for treasure,” said Amy Davies, a Williamsburg rock hunter.
Davies recently hosted a rock painting table at a Child Development Resources Fundraiser, which was hosted by David Nice Builders, a Williamsburg-based company her husband works for. She said she wrote instructions for the children and explained how rock hunting works.
“All the children were telling me that they have found rocks themselves and were excited to hide their own,” she said. Davies studied creative expressive therapies in England, so she firmly believes arts and crafts are beneficial for all ages.
Davies is part of a Facebook group named “Williamsburg VA ROCKS!” In the group, users post photos of the rocks they have hidden, sometimes including clues or showing the immediate area around the rocks’ hiding spot.
When a person finds the rock, they’ll often post a selfie holding the rock, then rehide it elsewhere.
The Williamsburg rock group had just under 1,000 members at the time of this article’s publication.
“With all the hate [and] negativity we see across the social media these days, I think [p]eople wanted to start [seeing] something more light hearted, fun, positive,” Deb Shell, a Williamsburg VA ROCKS! group member, wrote. “The Rocks are easy to come by, easy to paint, everyone can do it.”
Shell uploaded a photo of over a dozen rocks she had painted, some of which looked as if they were wearing “underwear,” while others carried inspirational messages.
“I did these and the underwear ones I did to make someone laugh and through Facebook. I saw that they did indeed,” she added. “It’s making a difference.”
In seemingly dozens of posts in these groups every week, members add pictures of rocks they’ve found, announce meet-ups and leave hints about the locations of newly hidden gems.
Although the Facebook groups are based around local areas, the rocks often have a way of finding themselves outside of their home turf.
A Facebook user from Williamsburg posted two photos Thursday of brightly-colored rocks, stating they would be hidden at two locations in the Outer Banks.
Another group member, Lillian Marsh, posted a photo of a rock Thursday that was found in Williamsburg, but re-hidden on Chincoteague Island.
“We all need hope, love and encouragement and this is a fun and easy way to do so,” Marsh wrote. “With kids involved there are art activities, learning and physical play involved in hiding and seeking rocks. Then the discovery of a hidden piece of art… Priceless! By not holding onto the rock and hiding it instead we learn to share with others. Wonderful experience all around.”
The original spark for the idea is attributed to Megan Murphy, a women’s empowerment coach in Cape Cod. She began the Kindness Rocks Project as a way to subtly encourage people that needed it. Murphy herself, is no stranger to hardship, having lost her parents at a young age.
“During difficult or stressful moments in my life, I found myself looking for “signs” on my morning walk, such as a heart shaped rock or a piece of sea glass,” she writes on the project’s website. “I perceived these small beach treasures as ‘signs’ or as a divine message and the random inspiration I needed to signify that things would be o.k.”
“Now more than ever kindness can become a connecting force for good. Many people, including myself, are feeling a sense of overwhelm, unease and restlessness due to the current events taking place in our world today, and I believe that our united strength can be cultivated through simple random acts of kindness. Each of us can make a positive difference.”
Contact Davis at sean@localvoicemedia.com.
Sarah Fearing contributed reporting.
This article was published in partnership with WYDaily’s sister publication, Southside Daily.
