Spreading peace
The Art of Kindness
I
t was just over a year ago that
her husband had died, and the
ordinary act of grocery shopping
had made her feel the loss deeply
that day. As she was walking
back to her car, she spotted some-
thing sparkling in a tree. A strange
pull drew her to the object. “To my
surprise, it was a gift and a blessing
meant for me,” recalled the woman
in a letter. “Words cannot express
how touched I was. With a smile in
my heart, I am grateful to know that
there are people out there who care.
I call them angels.”
She had found a Kindness Charm.
Thousands of others have found
them, hanging from branches, laying
by a path, shining out of a fountain.
Each charm carries a wish: “Take me
home and spread kindness.” The wom-
en of SedonaKind have made it their
mission to take these hand-made gifts
and their message of kindness around
Sedona and the world.
The Birth of SedonaKind
The Greek playwright, Sophocles,
once said, “Kindness gives birth to
kindness.” In a way, another kindness
group inspired the birth of Sedona-
Kind. Around six years ago, a group
of Sedona hiking buddies stopped
to meditate on a ledge. Gifted with
a glorious view and precious friend-
ships, the women felt the need to do
something more for others. One of
the group had just read about Ben’s
Bells, an organization in Tucson that
spreads kindness in memory of a little
boy. That idea moved the friends to
begin a movement of their own in the
face of all the troubles in the world.
That’s all it took.
Within days, the friends were
together again, this time to create
“Kindness Charms.” Each charm is
made from carefully selected pieces
of old, broken or donated jewelry.
They all have a heart and the message
to spread kindness.
Across Sedona, the word spread
quickly. Soon the women had formed
their own version of a “kindness bee,”
I found my kindness charm outside the Secret
Garden Café. After news of the awful terrorist
attacks in Paris, the charm was a gentle reminder
that there is goodness and purity in our world.
- Kamilla 2015
By J a wn M c Kinley
gathering once a month to make hun-
dreds of charms to be hidden around
the area for people to find. Some of
the women began taking the charms
along as they traveled the world.
Today, more than 6000 charms
have been made, and carried to every
state in the US and to 43 countries
around the world. The magic is that
the people who need to find them,
who’ve had a tragedy or simply a
bad day, who are lonely and need to
feel loved, are the ones who find the
charms. To this day, the friends con-
tinue to meet, and weave into those
charms their heartfelt kindness and
compassion for those in need.
Over the years, the group ex-
panded, as did the need to spread
kindness in a world that often seems
to be spinning out of control. The
women wanted to do more, and
SedonaKind was born. Its mission is
simple: “to encourage acts of kindness,
large and small, locally and around
the world.” They built a website,
SedonaKind.org, to help get out the
message, and pursued new projects to
spread kindness.
“We have a good collection of
artistic people in SedonaKind,” said
Katie Hamilton, one of the founders.
“After the charms, they turned their
artistry to the creation of Kindness
Greeting Cards which also have made
their way around the country.”
The Kindness Cards were put
to perfect use in Sedona with the
“Operation Special Delivery” pro-
IMAGINE
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