Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty

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.