While messages of hate were cast like stones this past week in Charlottesville, Va., a group in Moncton is using actual stones to send out messages of love and acceptance across the country.
“We paint rocks and we hide them somewhere in the city and hopefully someone will find them and it will make their day,” said Christel Paulin-LeBlanc, co-creator of the Facebook group called “Happiness Rocks Moncton.”
Paulin-Leblanc and her friend Tracy Roussel started the Facebook group with the hope of spreading messages of goodwill and love in the community.
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“There is so much going on in the world that is negative and we just need something happy that will make people smile,” Paulin-LeBlanc said.
The pair started the group in early July after seeing it done in other communities and the group is now more than 2,000 members strong.
Roussel said they are ramping up their efforts this week given the hate speech and bigotry they say was demonstrated in Charlottesville this past week. She said seeing news of the event made her feel “sad. And, for me painting is keeping my mind occupied,” as well as keeping them focused on good.
Paulin-Leblanc, who has battled anxiety and depression, also wants to focus on positively for her seven-year-old son Félix.
“We want to show him that things can be good in the world that there is good.”
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The process is simple, said Roussel, grab some basic paint supplies, a few stones and paint colourful images or messages of hope on rocks and hide them around the city.
“I find it fulfilling because people are happy seeing these rocks and it makes somebody’s day,” Roussel said.
Their Facebook page is printed on the back of the happiness rocks so that people can also share their finds online and she said people seem to be finding the stones when they need it the most.
“On one post there were little girls who found a rock and they were so happy they were crying,” said Roussel. “Not only that, the person that created it is seeing it on the website and it’s making their day because they made somebody else happy.
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“We have people from other provinces finding the rocks and taking them to Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, so it is really exciting to see our rocks travel.”
She said some happiness rocks have made it all the way to Nunavut, where they’ve been melting hearts there too.
Roussel hopes the idea will catch on across the country.
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