Random Acts of Kindness is an annual event held on August 18th to commemorate the lives of Ruth, Nick, and Audrey Weaver, for their daughter, Joie, and other family members who remember their lives of kindness, as well as the innumerable random acts of kindness which touched all our lives during that very difficult time.
Through sharing this event, we seek to make meaning of this loss by paying forward the countless acts of generosity and kindness which came into our lives on a day filled with profound loss. On the first eve of the anniversary of their deaths, I felt the grief of the loss of Joie's family start to fill my heart to the point I thought it would consume me. The one glimmer of hope I could cling to through my tears was the memory of all the kindness which poured so abundantly into our lives during that time, and the idea to pay it forward was born.
It started small the first year...
And didn't grow much at all until Joie took over helping to organize this annual event on the 5th Annual Random Acts of Kindness Day. That year she made a video and a sister-in-law helped us make a facebook page, and with Joie behind this event it spread world-wide and grew to over 1,000 participants that year.
Also that year, in a family meeting where we asked our children what kind of life we want to build together as a family, Joie responded, "A meaningful life--even if it gets hard you can still find good." We love that girl. For sure a piece of Ruth and Nick remains behind in her. Our acts of kindness can keep that memory alive in her.
Read about our experiences with this annual event here.
And read here about the original act of kindness that started it all.
Like Random Acts of Kindness: Celebrating Kindness on facebook
1 comment:
I just wanted to leave you a note and tell you how wonderful I think this is to make something so good out of something so bad. You know that old saying, "When life hands you a lemon, make it lemonade?" I think your family are drinking a whole lot of lemonade. I was so impressed with the pay it forward
service, and the article in the Deseret News today, that I added the story to my blog because I am doing just about the same thing you are and that is promoting happiness. If you want to see what I wrote about you, please go to my blog at http://ifyouwant2behappy.blogspot.com , and it is the most current post. Congratulations for teaching people that good things can come out of tragedies and loss, and that we can create our own happiness by what we do. May your family be blessed, given peace and know that they are honored by paying it forward.
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