Dose of Love

June 30, 2016

Photo Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 

It's no secret that, nearly three weeks ago, Orlando was at the epicenter of a series of horrific and tragic events. I won't dive into what happened - the media did, and continues to do, enough of that - but I will say that what followed that terrible week were long, gloomy days filled with anger, sadness, fear ... and an overwhelming abundance of love.

Whenever I get down about the state of the world, it helps to shift my focus onto more positive stories surrounding kindhearted people. As a young public relations professional, part of my daily schedule consists of skimming through the daily local newspapers and keeping a close eye on national and international news. Needless to say, it gets very depressing. (Pick up a daily paper or visit a news website and you'll see what I mean). When I first started at my job almost a year ago, I called my dad and told him how much of a damper the daily news was putting on my day to day life. Why do we place such a strong spotlight on negative news? His answer: "Would you rather live in a world where good news is considered shocking and, therefore, more news-worthy?" That put a lot into perspective, and was something I kept telling myself after two weeks of reading and hearing nothing but news surrounding the devastating Pulse shooting.

Life - though ugly, evil and dark at times - is beautiful, bright and full of love. To showcase more of that love, I'm creating a series where I'll compile heartwarming stories making national headlines. I hope these acts of kindness serve as a hopeful reminder that love will always prevail.

1.  9-year-old boy uses his allowance money to donate books to a local jail in hopes that they help turn the inmates' lives around 

2. Memphis man raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for a teenager who offered to help carry his groceries in exchange for donuts

3. The homeless man who kept relighting the vigil candles in Orlando was rewarded with some personal care from the community

4. Dad gets a scar tattoo on his bald head to support his son who's fighting cancer

5. Husband surprises his wife with the two cats they had to give away when moving into their new apartment

6. A group of firefighters in Virginia surprised a woman with flowers and a celebration for her 100th birthday