Description
Book Synopsis30th Anniversary Edition Coming March, 2024.
With beautifully crafted words and exuberant watercolor illustrations, Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty offers a poetic and empowering message for world peace. Recognizing "we are right on the edge of destroying ourselves," this modern allegory inspires taking joyful steps to end violence. It expands upon the idea that "we are all in the circle together," and presents a timeless parable for readers of all ages. The Haiku-like text delivers a call to "make a new earth grow beneath our feet."
In the playful style of 12th century Japanese picture scrolls, Mayumi Oda's art depicts humans as animals who lose their way when their leaders become confused and drawn to violence. It is up to each individual?the frog who plants a thriving garden, the cat who supports an elderly neighbor as they walk?to create a better world through simple acts of kindness. The message of this book is the sweet realization that each person can become an agent of goodness and beauty.
This twentieth-anniversary, full-color edition, with a new foreword by venerable peacemaker Desmond Tutu, is dedicated to Fukushima recovery in the face of world climate crises. All royalties will be donated to community resiliency across boundaries and antinuclear advocacy.
Trade Review""This exquisite book offers guidance to us all."" -- Alice Walker
""This is the real article, brought to us by streetwise bodhisattva, Anne Herbert, who authored the phrase you see on walls and bumperstickers, and Margaret Pavel, word wizard, systems thinker and global therapist, along with Dharma artist Mayumi Oda, whose wondrous frogs remind us that this time we awaken with all beings. Good things come in small packages. About as long as the Heart Sutra, it distills all we need to know right now in order to let our lives count in building a sustainable world."" -- Joanna Macy
"“Wow! This book is amazing. The message is so important and relevant! I believe that we all have the power! I love the way this book sends this message of goodness to children. Children are the future and this book conveys HOPE! It is rich in language, thought provoking and positive.”" -- Marla Conn * Common Core Curriculum Standards assessment specialist *
""We can indeed transform the world, and we are each called to take part in this sacred work. Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty offers this simple and powerful message of wisdom and hope. Wherever you are, you can create beauty. Moment by moment, you can create joy. Instant by instant, you can offer kindness."" -- Desmond Mpilo Tutu * Soweto, 2014 *
