14 Aug Kindness Rocks! Beyond the Beans: Ecuador 2019
Our amazing community is a pivotal part of the Dublin story. As the community continues to expand, we are always thinking of new ways to bring our customers closer to the source of their favorite brews – linking to growers in ways that enhance and enrich lives on both sides of the world.
Before setting out to Ecuador with Stephen Levene of The Coffee Quest and Sarah Cooper of Sarah Rachael Photography, Serina took the opportunity to bring the love and creativity of the Dublin community to share with the Ecuadorian people. Our wonderful customers hand-painted 20 “kindness rocks” to leave in various places around the country.
Pour a fresh cup of your favorite Dublin blend and settle in for the full story, straight from Serina’s incredible photographer, Sarah, who recounts their mission to spread these little stones of love and inspiration… and be sure to check back soon for more updates and follow us on Facebook or Instagram!
Serina had a great idea….
She said, “What if we asked a bunch of people to paint kindness rocks that we could carry with us and leave bits of love, hope and kindness around Ecuador as we went?!?! We would promise to take photos of the rocks where we left them and tag the person that made. Then people could follow us and see where their little bit of love is being left across the world as we go on a hunt for coffee!!!”
She clapped her hands together as she was so so excited for this idea! Sarah held back a smile watching as Serina could not contain her excitement, not wanting to burst her bubble…
Sarah asked, “Who is going to be carrying all of these rocks through Ecuador, let alone through the airports???”
Serina so eagerly volunteered and Sarah went with it! Soooo 20 people painted 20 kindness rocks that we carried with us on this trip. Upon seeing the rocks, Serina admitted she hadn’t thought they would be so big – who would be carrying all these rocks??? We laughed about it and shared some of the load – it became an ongoing joke throughout the trip.
Confession, we may have been stopped once at airport security on an ‘in country flight’, where some of the rocks where almost confiscated. We politely explained that they were “love rocks”… And being that there was a bit of a language barrier, they may have thought we were nuts. Eventually airport security decided to let us keep the rocks and get on the plane. Phew ! The laughter that ensued after we made it through with our rocks was tangible and helped to get us through that airplane ride at 5 o’clock in the morning on a tiny little airplane.
As we went through Ecuador we left these little bits of kindness in places that spoke to us. It was funny how a few of the places seemed to match certain rocks exactly, like they were meant to be placed there. We had so much fun leaving them around and wondering who would find them and what it would mean to them, what would they do with it?
When going through the photos back home we were looking back at this beautiful wall filled with hand painted murals where we left a few rocks, and came across something in the photo we had no clue happened right in front of our faces at the time. We noticed that we caught someone finding one of the rocks we left, probably about an hour after we had placed it there. It was so cool to see someone discovering a piece of kindness that we left behind. Wonder what it meant to him, what he did with it, if it gave him a smile just when he needed one???
We will never know who found most of the rocks we left behind and what it meant to each person who found them – but we do know this…
“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart
Even the smallest act of kindness can leave a big smile on someone’s heart when they need it most. Thanks to all of you who painted rocks, we had so much fun leaving these smiles around Ecuador. Serina was right, she did have a great idea!
Get out and “rock this world” – spread kindness in all directions!
(The kindness rocks also opened a beautiful connection for us with some children in one of the local villages we passed through – but that will be a story for our next share!)
