Between the pandemic and a riot at the U.S. Capitol, life was looking a bit bleak in January 2021.

All the gloominess in the air left even the chronically-upbeat Mary Lynn Taylor feeling, as she remembers, “saddened and heartsick.”

Not being one to wallow in those kinds of feelings for long, though, she got busy instead.

“I felt compelled to add a bit of unexpected light and kindness to the world around me,” said Taylor, who lives in Henrico County. “I turned off the news, turned on some music, and got to work. Painting rocks became my outlet.”  

So was born Kindness Rocks, which Taylor takes both literally and figuratively. Five years later, her “outlet” has sent rocks adorned with her artistry and positive sentiments on missions both near and far, creating pockets of the kinds of light and kindness she wants to spread. 

Five years later, she has no intention of letting up.

Starting small, Taylor painted an initial batch of 18 rocks and left some scattered around her neighborhood for walkers to come across. Others went to grocery cart return spots, parking spots for veterans and people with disabilities, post offices, windowsills — you name it.

She had no way of knowing who ended up with those first 18 rocks, but said it really didn’t matter.

“It was enough just to think about someone finding one as they went about their day,” she said, “and maybe getting a smile in a time that was so fraught with negativity.”

Since the rock-bottom feelings experienced by so many during that January, Taylor estimated that she’s painted some 1,300 Kindness Rocks.

Today, they’re reaching way past her neighborhood and, in fact, some have gone global, spreading a message of kindness and hope more widely than she would ever have guessed.

So far, with the help of family and friends, Kindness Rocks have found their way into the hands of lucky folks as far and wide as in an ice cream shop in Scotland, the Roman Colosseum, Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in Iceland, a restaurant windowsill in Honduras and Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Kindness has certainly rocked domestically, too. Some of the U.S. landing spots include a Baltimore Orioles spring training game, Epcot, a park bench in Santa Fe, New Mexico, various hangouts in Pine Island, Corolla, Duck, Avon, and Emerald Isle in North Carolina, the town of Fish Creek Falls, Colorado, a wall mural in Nashville and of course sites all of Virginia.

Taylor’s rocks have also been placed so far at spots in the states of Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

You don’t have to leave town to see one, though. Here in Richmond, you may come across one just about anywhere. Just a few of the locations they’ve been spotted to date: BJ’s, Chianti, Chez Max, Silver Diner, Kroger, Partner MD, FeedMore, Ukrop’s Market Hall, The Boat House at Sunday Park, St. Mary’s Hospital, Supper Club, Mosaic, the University of Richmond, Tuckahoe YMCA, Starbucks, Richmond International Airport and Stella’s.

Knowing all that leaves Taylor “gobsmacked,” she says. “To think of someone stumbling across a Kindness Rock in Scotland is a little overwhelming, but so cool. It’s mind-boggling to think that he or she found something that started in my kitchen.”

Today, Kindness Rocks rock Instagram, too. Borrowing the enthusiasm and social media savvy of one of her daughters, Taylor launched her online presence (kindnessrocks.mlt) almost three years ago. That Instagram address now appears on the back of the rocks she produces, which has led to Taylor receiving photos from folks who find them, along with promises to pass them along.

Perhaps the best encounters, though, are the ones that happen in person. The Taylor family takes an annual beach vacation and the entourage usually includes daughters, the sons-in-law, and, perhaps most importantly, a couple young grandchildren.

“Whenever we go to the beach,” said Taylor, “I bring a batch of painted rocks. Our grandchildren love to help me hide them as well as gift them to people we pass during our ocean strolls. They delight in finding just the right spot or just the right person for one of Mimi’s rocks.”

On one of those ocean walks, Taylor’s 3-year-old granddaughter saw a woman coming toward them along the waterline and whispered to her grandmother, “That lady needs a rock.” With a little encouragement, and with Mimi standing close by, she approached the woman and offered her a rock.

The woman was speechless for a bit and then, with tears in her eyes, told Taylor, “I have been going through a really tough time lately and I was out here walking and asking God to show me a sign that things are somehow going to get better. And then this precious child gave me this rock.”

In a different episode, her grandson decided to give a rock to an older fellow who looked “a bit curmudgeonly,” according to Taylor. But, she said, when he realized what he’d been given, “His whole face morphed. He had a huge smile and told us he couldn’t wait to give it to his wife.”

Taylor and her husband, John, are big fans of Pole Green Produce in Hanover County. On one visit, while checking out with her fruits and veggies, Taylor left a rock by the cash register. Moments later, she heard a squeal and someone yelling, “Hey! That was the ROCK LADY!”

“I told John I could die now,” Taylor said with a laugh. 

Her artistic side came out early in childhood. “I was always making something out of clay, or drawing or painting pictures,” she said. “In both junior and senior high school in Martinsville, I had wonderful and encouraging arts and craft teachers, and it still makes me smile remembering that along with learning how to write a term paper, I also learned how to hand tool leather and make my own pocketbook.”

As an adult, she’s gone down just about every art avenue she’s come across, including decoupage, quilting, knitting, stained glass, calligraphy, water color, pottery, glass painting, sketching, acrylic and oil painting. 

Turning her attention to Kindness Rocks has led her into an unexpected community of fellow enthusiasts. “It’s astounding the number of fantastic rock groups [pun intended, she laughs] there are out there to follow. The people are generous and welcoming, and I’ve learned different painting techniques, received tried and true recommendations for materials to use, and gotten great design ideas from other ‘rockers’. Sometimes I paint detailed and intricate designs that are very time-consuming and sometimes it’s more about the word or words I choose to highlight.”

She lists among her favorite Kindness Rocks messages You matter, Hope, and You are enough, noting that “I hope that someone who is having a bad day or experiencing a hard time will find one of my rocks and know that someone out there cares.” 

Nowadays, she always keeps at least a couple in her car so when she sees a good spot for one of those or her many other messages, she’s ready.

Her “studio” is a kitchen counter covered in heavy duty plastic, and not long after she finishes hiding a batch of rocks, she’s busy on the next one. Her arsenal of tools includes a wide variety of brushes, acrylic paint, and paint markers, as well a water-based gloss varnish, because every rock gets three coats of protection before it’s pronounced ready for the world. A typical batch takes several days to finish and produces anywhere from 18-30 rocks.

Taylor has been industrious in finding sources for Kindness Rocks raw materials. She’s done everything from digging rocks up at a friend’s farm to finding them in hardware stores and even ordering them on Amazon. Her recent go-to source has become Ed’s Landscaping & Garden Center on Mechanicsville Turnpike, where for $5 a bucket, she can hand-select the rocks she wants to paint.

“My hope for Kindness Rocks is that there is a ripple effect, that finding a rock will bring happiness to the finder and that they, in turn, will spread that kindness to others,” she said.

She’s not asking a lot. “Everyone has the power and the choice to share kindness with others,” she said. “I think we owe it to ourselves and to each other to take the time to care about the little things.”

And those “little things,” she hopes, when taken together, can end up meaning a lot. Taylor points to one of her favorite quotes, from author C.J. Peterson: “Hearts that beat to the tune of kindness can change the rhythm of the world.” 

One rock at a time.