( ( ( Kindness Ripples ) ) ) is about bringing more kindness and joy to the world. There is little detail about it’s beginnings below and if you want to see the video making them, visit here.
ABOUT RIPPLE #1
In 2016 on what would have been Robins William’s 65th birthday, I celebrated his life with a special friend who flew to San Francisco from Georgia. We created spontaneous tributes. At first it was just an expression of love, but what we found was that the chalk drawing below was bringing a lot of joy to those who witnessed it.
3 years ago Robin’s daughter, Zelda, generously shared her thoughts with us after Robin’s passing:
"...Dad was, is and always will be one of the kindest, most generous, gentlest souls I've ever known, and while there are few things I know for certain right now, one of them is that not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence. We'll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again."
The time spent celebrating Robin’s life was a beautiful experience. I’m grateful for her friendship and I’m grateful for the friendship of others found through the process of grieving for one of the sweetest souls to grace this planet.
While learning about how he lived and loved, I gained helpful skills to do video tributes, websites and use social media. As he said in one of his favorite films, Dead Poet’s Society, “The longer you wait to find your voice, the harder it is to begin.”
So much truth in these words. I don’t have perfect words to do what I do and sometimes I’ve fumbled, but I just roll with my heart leading the way. Thank you to all of you that have laughed, cried and inspired myself and others in sharing the love of Robin.
May he live on forever in the hearts of millions we never met.
ABOUT RIPPLE #2
A year later, I did the second drawing for TWO other people who inspired me with their kindness, Ellen DeGeneres and “Lou, The French On The Block”
About “Lou, The French On The Block“
When I visited Los Angeles, I was biking near Warner Brothers and stopped at a shop to order a sandwich. I realized I forgot to bring my wallet. The owner, Lou surprised me by saying, “It’s ok, you can pay me later.”
I was shocked! Doing business on trust makes me very happy because I want to trust the people around me too! This rarely happens in such big cities!
I had an important meeting after lunch and if I didn’t eat, I wasn’t going be on my “A” game. Speaking of games, Lou was a former professional basketball player in France. After retiring he decided to reinvent himself and become pastry chef.
After completion of his apprenticeship, he won the green card lottery and moved with his lovely wife, Karima, to California. For the French people, coming to Lou’s shop is like coming “HOME.” Their breads are exactly like you would find in France, which is a rare treasure to find.
Burbank is blessed by their presence and I hope they find many blessings in their own life journey. They inspired me to do my second chalk drawing at this location ….to honor the vibe they create with those around them. …including Ellen DeGeneres and friends who works about 4 blocks away.
The drawing was created on May 25, 2017 at 4007 W Riverside Dr Burbank, CA 91505 at Lou’s French on the Block.
It was fun seeing the smiles and receiving kind words while creating this. Where does this ( ( ( Kindness Ripples ) ) ) idea go from here? ….I’m not sure, but it is lots of fun!
About Ellen DeGeneres
20 years ago Ellen bravely took a stand and told the world she was gay. Her sitcom was cancelled as a result because she lost advertisers. As a consequence of her standing for what she believed in, she was without work for 3 years. YES… 3 YEARS!
Hear in her words why Dory was important to her. Most people don’t know this about her, but most do know her as a very funny, sweet person that loves everyone, no matter what color they are. 😉
I think though, Ellen would rather that you read THIS and I would too. (( IT IS POWERFUL )) She made me cry and it was life affirming.
"In her mind, the biggest threat to civility is ignorance. "When you don't understand something, it becomes a battle. Fear makes people defensive, aggressive and judgmental," she says. "But if you can see that while we're all different, our basic needs are the same — we all want love, safety and understanding — then it's easy to be kind." .."Anger and aggression weaken you, because they take so much energy to hold in place," she says. "But kindness is a strength [that] makes you more serene."
Ellen has now beginning the 15th year of her network TV show that launched in 2003 and will be celebrating her 60th birthday this year. We have much to be grateful for in celebrating her. She has played with many different ideas to bring love and light to the world, but one of the things that has remained consistent is the last thing she says to us all is “Be kind to one another”
This website is my ((echo back)) to her to remind her how much she matters in inspiring others. The kind of love she stands for is about respect for all life, no matter how it manifests… It was never really about being gay, it was about being understood.
ABOUT RIPPLE #3
The third ripple drawing I’ve done so far was for a leather and shoe craftsman who refused to accept payment from me for his services after I told him my life story. I made a FUNNY sign for his door because he’s a true craftsman, but not an early riser. 😉
Leo’s kindness to a stranger overwhelmed me. This drawing was created on May 26, 2017 in front of Verdugo Shoe Repair at 1815 W Verdugo Ave, Burbank, CA.
AND THEN….
Then two days later I went to the Santa Barbara chalk drawing festival and shared this simple idea. Artists loved it. That’s how this website was born because I want to inspire YOU to thank others for kindness in this special way where ever you live.
Here is a video I made of the event:
ABOUT RIPPLE #4
Hasn’t been created… yet. WHO IS NEXT?! =) I’m so excited because I just know this is going to be AMAZING. Thank you for being here now!
If this is a success, we will do it again on 11/11. Subscribe for details on this and a snapshot of the art done on 9/11 through-out the US and perhaps beyond!