Find hidden kindness rocks and painted stones

Painted rocks are a way to share messages of hope. This rock is part of an awareness campaign for the national suicide prevention hotline 988. Kindness rocks are placed and found by people all over the world. (Paige Impink photo)

You may have noticed small, decoratively paint­ed rocks tucked into small spaces next to trees, un­der benches, on gravestones, or other unexpec­ted places. Known as kindness rocks, they’ve become a popular way to inspire kindness, share a message of hope, and evoke a smile.

Many social media groups have sprung up to encourage people to create and share the rocks. Some use the rocks as a scavenger hunt of sorts, akin to geocaching or letterboxing, and others collect the rocks to keep, or pick up and re-hide as they travel. And some groups create the rocks as artwork to donate to people in hospitals, nursing homes, or veterans facilities.

Several causes have em­braced painted rocks as a way to spread their messages of hope. The group Suicide Prevention Rocks has over 15,000 members and shares a message of awareness of the 988 Na­tional Suicide Hotline through the brightly colored painted stones. Star­ted as a way to communicate the topic of mental health awareness and suicide prevention, the campaign hopes people will take a rock, leave a rock, or share a rock with someone. The hotline number is on the un­derside of each stone.

If you are interested in painting a rock, find a smooth stone in a shape that appeals to you. In­spire Kindness, a company dedicated to spread­ing kindness through actions and clothing, re­commends cleaning rocks with soap and water, then painting a design using acrylic or other weather-tolerant paint. Words can be applied with paint pens or a permanent marker. Inspira­tional sayings such as "You Matter," "You Got This," "Spread Kindness," and "Be the Change" are some examples. Sealing the design with Mod Podge or other clear coat will keep the design from disintegrating over time.

Spreading kindness and inspiration through paint­ed rocks has even found its way to a tracking app specifically designed for finding and logging the little treasures all around the world. Called Paint­ed Rocks, the app records where decorated rocks are located and helps finders discover rocks near them. Once a rock is found, its tag is re­corded and the owner can follow it on its journey. It's a fun hobby and has been a way for art­ists to share their de­signs with a wide audience.

You may also have no­ticed small pebbles or rocks placed atop gravestones in cemeteries. The Jewish faith has a tradition of leaving stones on grave markers, known as visitation stones. It is a custom that has spread to other faiths as well, indicating that someone has visited the person at their place of rest. The tradition appears to be traced back to ancient times, though scholars disagree.

Some believe stones on a grave warned a Jewish priest not to get too close to a corpse, lest they be­come ritually impure. Others believe a stone lasts longer than flowers when marking a visit to a memorial. And some believe the stones ema­nate from the practice of creating a cairn, or stac­ked stones, before the cus­tom of headstones came into being.

So. the next time you are in a park, playground, cemetery, or other public space, keep an eye out for these little works of art and take a moment to appreciate the sentiment, and maybe share your own.

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