My Journey of Kindness
1946 onwards
Throughout my life I have been lucky enough to experience kindness in many different ways, especially during my 17-year vow of silence. During that time I met many amazing people on my travels. Here are just a few moments of kindness and compassion that led me on my journey to writing this book for you.
My parents taught me to take care of the squirrels and birds that lived around our home. They also taught me to be kind to other people and expect kindness in return.
1976
1975
On another walk in Oregon, a kind family fed me when I had no food. In return I stayed to help them build a new house. I learned that kindness creates kindness: because the family helped me, I wanted to help them too.
As I crossed the wilderness in southern Oregon, two gold miners gave me shelter and dinner in their log cabin. They told me that for them, it was not gold that had the greatest value. Instead, living in nature and treating each other with kindness was most important to them.
1987
Walking east across America, I stopped at the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, where the local people sheltered and fed me. Each day someone from the tribe walked with me to keep me company.
1984
I walked for two years to get to the University of Montana, but I had no money for tuition. The director gave me money to register for environmental studies classes. In 1987 I received a similar kindness at the University of Wisconsin, where my tuition and living costs were paid for as I studied. I will be forever grateful for these incredible gestures. 14
Around 1952
While traveling on a bus to visit family in the American south, I felt sad because Black people like me had to sit at the back of the bus. A woman saw I was upset and gave me a candy to cheer me up.
1950s
My mother and her friend took gift baskets of fruit and candies to residents of nursing homes. I would go with them to be part of their act of kindness.
1972 1973
I decided to stop speaking and continued my Planetwalker journey in silence.
I made the decision to stop using oil and soon become known as the Planetwalker.
1971
I witnessed two oil tankers collide in the San Francisco Bay. The sight of the oil infecting the water and harming the wildlife there changed my life forever.
2008
1990
After seventeen years spent walking across America, listening to others and studying the environment, I realized that I had something to say, so I started speaking again. I chose the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day— April 22, 1990—to break my silence. This was to remind myself to always speak up for the environment and other people.
I was invited to speak at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in California. I was given a platform to talk about my journey of silence and learning and to spread my message of respect for our planet.
Today
I now live in New Jersey, with my own family. We look after each other as well as the birds that fall from trees and the baby bunnies whose burrows are often flooded by spring rains. I try to teach my children, as my parents taught me, to spread kindness by example. 15
Kind Inventions
Humans are great at coming up with new inventions. Often the purpose of an invention is to make our lives easier or better in some way. Some inventions were born out of kindness, with the spark of creativity coming from seeing someone else in need and wanting to make something to help. Here are just a few incredible inventions that make life easier, safer, or healthier for humans, animals, or the planet. Perhaps they might give you a spark of inspiration to make something that could help others!
Blobs, an invention to help the environment
A company in the UK has created edible packaging that can hold liquid and be used instead of a plastic bottle. The aim is to reduce harm to our environment from plastic waste. The ball-shaped edible blob is made from seaweed extract and can be filled with water or another liquid. So far it has been used during marathons and music festivals, but it could be used to get clean water to disaster zones, too.
FrogLog, an invention that's kind to frogs Swimming pools are a danger for small creatures such as frogs, lizards, squirrels, and mice. If they fall in, they can’t get out because of the steep sides. The FrogLog is an invention that provides creatures with a ramp out of the pool to dry land. 34
Stair-climbing chair, an invention for wheelchair users
After creating a robot that could climb stairs, Bernhard Winter and his university friends saw a new potential for the invention. The team added a seat and adapted the robot to become a wheelchair. In 2017 the team founded their company Scewo, and launched a ground-breaking, stair-climbing electric wheelchair.
Polyglu, an invention that gives people clean drinking water
In 2002, a Japanese company invented a special powder made from soybeans called Polyglu. When mixed into dirty water, the powder sticks to the dirt, which sinks to the bottom, leaving clean water above. After filtering, the water is then safe to drink. Polyglu could save lives in very poor or disaster-hit places, where there is no clean running water.
Seabin, an invention to help the oceans
A project called Seabin, developed in Australia, is cleaning up the oceans one piece of litter at a time. Each Seabin sits in a harbor, sucks in water and, with it, waste. Volunteers help empty the seabin and scientists monitor the waste to find out exactly what items are polluting the water. Each bin collects 1.5 tons of trash every year. 35
Peaceful protests
Protesting is when a person or group of people does something to publicly signify their opinion or feelings about something they think is unjust. For example, my way of protesting the bad treatment of the planet was to stop using oil. There are many different ways of taking a stand, and sometimes it helps if other people join in, too. This can make governments take notice, and encourage them to make positive changes.
Mahatma Gandhi leads the Salt March
Between 1858 and 1947, India was ruled by the British. During this time, Indian people were treated badly. For example, it was illegal for them to produce or sell salt, which was an important part of their diet. In protest, Indian lawyer and activist Mahatma Gandhi came up with a peaceful way to defy the British. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi and a group of his followers set off on a 24-day march to symbolically collect salt from the beach. Lots of people joined, and the movement spread around the country. Eventually India gained freedom from British rule.
The Singing Revolution
Estonia struggled for many years under the rule of other conquering nations. When Estonia became part of the Soviet Union in 1944, many Estonian traditions started to die out due to the high number of Russian people who moved to the area. One of these traditions was choral singing, so the Estonian people decided to use it as part of a peaceful protest. From 1987 onwards large crowds of Estonians gathered in public to join hands and sing their national songs as an act of defiance. In 1988, 100,000 Estonians spent five nights singing protest songs together, an event which helped Estonia achieve independence finally in 1991. 40
Black Lives Matter
African Americans still suffer harassment, violent treatment, and even death at the hands of the police. In 2013, activists Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi decided they had had enough. They started the Black Lives Matter movement to stand up for Black people’s rights to dignity and safety. They aimed to work peacefully with all people in the spirit of kindness and humanity. In 2020, the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis sparked grief, outrage and protest all over the globe, and millions of people united behind the movement.
Rosa Parks sits tight
In 1955, much of the southern United States lived under segregation, which meant that, among other kinds of discrimination, Black people had to sit in a special section at the back of buses, away from white people. Activist Rosa Parks was taking a bus home one day when the bus driver told her to give up her seat for a white passenger because the front section was full. Rosa refused to budge, and she was arrested and put in jail. This helped to spark a big movement with many Black people boycotting, or refusing to use, public buses. The outpouring of support led to this unfair rule eventually being changed.
Women 's March
In 2017 around 5 million people worldwide took part in demonstrations calling for change on a variety of issues, including equality for girls and women, LGBTQ+ and civil rights, and environmental causes. They were driven by a feeling that discrimination towards women and other groups of people was on the rise, so they joined forces to speak out against it and show that it would not be tolerated.
Human Kindness Author: John Francis Illustrator: Josy Bloggs Ages: 8–12 Price: $19.99 USD | $26.99 CAD Format: Hardback Extent: 64 pages Trim size: 10.2 x 11 inches Pub date: September 6, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-9129203-2-7 Join the Planetwalker, John Francis, on an exploration of kindness, great and small. From the kindness John has experienced in his own life to the history of how kindness has helped to shape our laws, morals, and communities, read many inspirational stories from around the world. Over the whole history of humankind, kindness has been key to the survival of our species and to making our world a better place. Learn about Harriet Tubman, who risked her life to help others escape from slavery, the Nomads Clinic, which sends doctors trekking into the Himalayas to tend to patients, The Linda Lindas, a group of young musicians who use their talent to speak up for the rights of others, Joshua Coombes, a hairdresser who gives free haircuts to the homeless, and many others. The joyous and aweinspiring stories in this book will encourage young readers to be kind to others. And being kind, even in small ways, turns out to be healthy for you, yet another reason to practice kindness every day. It’s our planet to share together—let’s be kind.
Author John Francis is a activist, public speaker, and educator who advocates for our planet. He spreads the message that our environment includes the other humans in the world and that we must treat both the Earth and other people with kindness. After witnessing an oil spill and the devastation it caused in San Francisco Bay in 1971, he stopped using motorized transport for 22 years and stopped talking for 17 years in protest. Since then, John has founded the environmental awareness organization Planetwalk, given a TED talk (he started talking again in 1990), and published two adult books about his journey. Illustrator Josy Bloggs began her career as a graphic designer. After graduating from the University of Huddersfield, UK, in 2009, she went on to work as an interior designer for commercial clients. Josy now works as a freelance designer and illustrator and is based in Yorkshire, UK. Selling points • Written by environmentalist, public speaker, and educator John Francis, founder of the environmental awareness organization Planetwalk, and author of Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence, and an advocate for kindness in all aspects of human relationships. • Inspires children to practice kindness in their everyday lives, by being mindful of and kind to themselves and others. • Makes cross-curricular connections across social justice, history, geography, and social-emotional development.
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