Meet some of the kindest people whose stories have gone viral. Everyone needs a little kindness because let us face it…2022 has been a rough year. War broke out, natural disasters hit hard, and economic struggles affect everyone. Not to mention that COVID still lurks in the background, and the deaths of loved ones left many of us feeling a little lonely this holiday season.
At the same time, we have discovered people who are turning pain into something positive. We see acts of kindness every day in our law practice, when parents ask us to help them make sure all end-of-life decisions have been made. From creating estate plans to assisting with funeral arrangements, we provide peace of mind to families. As we prepare for the holidays, we want to share some heartwarming stories that have been trending and spreading joy around the world:
STORY #1: SCATTERING CJ: SPREADING A MESSAGE OF LOVE AND SUPPORT
Hallie Twomey wanted to honor the memory of her late son, CJ Twomey, by having his ashes scattered around the world by a few people who shared his love of travel. Little did she know hundreds would take up the task, thousands would share the story, and hundreds of thousands would learn about her labor of love in a movie about the project.
Scattering CJ: The Loss of One Becomes the Journey of Many is a documentary that tells how Hallie’s quest to honor her son became a worldwide social media phenomenon.
CJ died by suicide at age 20, plunging his family into unimaginable grief. His mother decided to find meaning in his death by celebrating his life. She also wanted to focus attention on mental health.
CJ had dreamed of traveling the world, so she posted a request on Facebook asking other travelers to scatter his ashes in places of beauty and special meaning around the world.
The response was incredible: One thousand people carried CJ’s ashes to more than 100 countries. The Facebook page went viral, liked by more than twenty-one thousand people. Scattering CJ, directed by Andrea Kalin and Spark Media, debuted in 2019 at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine.
The film tells the heartwarming story with interviews and archival footage, including hundreds of images shared by those who scattered CJ’s ashes. It is an emotionally gripping film that explores the tragic effects of suicide, the extraordinary generosity of strangers and the love of a family determined to make sense of their loss by helping others to avoid a similar heartbreak.
BEACHCOMBER HITS JACKPOT OF GOOD FEELINGS
If you found a diamond ring in the sand and discovered it was worth $40,000, how fast would you try to cash it in? Joseph Cook of St. Augustine, Florida, acted fast, all right. He immediately started searching for the owner.
He found her after diligently placing a “found ring” post on social media. The ring belonged to a woman from nearby Jacksonville, who burst into grateful tears when Cook contacted her on a video call.
Cook found the eye-popping ring in the sand at a local beach he had been scouring with his metal detector. It was the biggest he had ever seen, he said. He had it appraised by a jeweler who told him it was worth a whopping $40,000. Three weeks later, after posting a notice on various social media channels, he was contacted by the Jacksonville woman and her husband and returned the ring to them.
“It felt really good,” he told one media outlet. Cook said he had returned $60,000 worth of lost objects but nothing as valuable as the ring. In fact, it felt so good that he is looking for owners of other rings he has found in the past. “Karma is always good,” he said. “Every time I return an item, I find something better.”
CLEANING UP SOMEONE ELSES’ MESSES – FOR FREE
A Finnish woman is devoted to two passions. She loves to travel and, believe it or not, she also loves to clean. Even more surprisingly, she has combined both passions in a way that enables her to help others.
Auri Katariina, a former professional cleaner, travels the world and cleans the homes of women who need help keeping up with the demands of housekeeping. She left her job as a service manager at a cleaning company to fulfill her unusual dream.
It all started with Katariina’s online videos in which she shared cleaning tips. She was contacted by a woman whose husband had recently committed suicide. The woman was struggling to raise her three children in the wake of the family’s loss and could not keep up with the cleaning. Katariina spent a weekend cleaning the woman’s house. Touched by the family’s gratitude, Katariina decided to keep the good feelings going. She has gone as far as the U.K. and the U.S., helping people who desperately need to declutter and clean their homes. And she does it all for no charge.
She continues to share cleaning tips online – she has some 7.8 million fans on TikTok and 2.1 million followers on Instagram – and her touching mission has attracted a corporate sponsor who can support her charitable housework. “I only clean for free,” she told a media outlet. “You cannot buy my services.”
Her best tip is this: “When I go in, I always start with just taking all the rubbish out and decluttering all the surfaces. From there, I usually clean the hallways first so I can walk through, but honestly, it does not matter where you start – just start!”
Spreading kindness starts with everyday little tasks. Enjoy every moment with your loved ones this holiday. In the new year, make a resolution to contact us to start on your estate plan, such as creating a Last Will and Testament or a Trust. Knowing you have taken care of your loved ones’ future is a rewarding feeling. To get started with a free phone consultation, contact us at (954) 251-0332 or info@ocestatelawyers.com Our attorneys are fluent in English, Spanish and Russian.
