The sky was overcast but the air was hot and sultry when we set out for our walk yesterday afternoon. Ellie was delighted. C.C. joined us and given we hiked down from the escarpment to the river’s edge, having him along was double bonus — he throws sticks much further out into the river than I do!

She gamboled in the water, racing out to fetch the stick, returning to drop it and shake at his feet. He threw. She fetched. And I scoured the pebble strewn beach for heart rocks. As part of the kick-off events for Summer of Peace Calgary 2012, we are passing along a heart rock to each peace-builder who comes to drum and share in the festivities. The invitation:  to pass the heart rock along as a symbol of peace to someone else. Our vision:  by the end of summer we will have created a groundswell of peace-building through passing along peace. We’re inviting everyone to join us by the river in late September for an evening of drumming in peace and reconciliation where we’ll also create a mandala of all the heart rocks that have returned.

Based on a story I wrote my daughters when they were small, The Heart Rock is about the power of love to create peace.

The story goes…. A young girl with a heart of gold meets a king with a heart of stone. Where ever she goes, life blossoms. In his lands, life is dark, the crops are thin and cattle are dying. Believing that with her heart of gold he will have all the wealth in the world, the king has the young girl kidnapped and brought to his castle. But his surgeon cannot cut her heart out and lets her go with the promise she will not leave the king’s lands. Wandering the countryside, where every she goes, flowers bloom, fruit ripens, life abounds. When the king meets her one day as she tends to a sick calve, his heart is also healed — and hence the moral of the story  “Even a heart of stone can be warmed in loving hands”. (The story’s much longer but you get the gist of it…)

Yesterday, as I searched amongst the rocks on the beach I found a clump of painted rocks. Someone had been at work creating colour and beauty by the river. It made me  smile and I wondered if the creators of this colourful bouquet of rocks left them in the hopes of passing along joy?

What a simple gesture. Paint some rocks with smiley faces and bright colours and leave them for others to find.

Intentional or not, that small act of creativity ignited joy in my heart. If I’d been in a 3D movie, the dark clouds would have rolled back into the heavens and peace would have rained in glittering heart-shaped confetti pieces!

It was a beautiful afternoon by the river, made even more special by the unexpected gifts of a stranger.

It’s easy to make a difference in the world — just leave unexpected gifts of beauty behind where ever you go!