Always Turn to Love

This is going to be a quick post today, just to give an example of the good that can come out of great sadness and tragic circumstances, if we choose to take the direction of love.

Today marks a year since the tragic murders of two young British holiday-makers James Kouzaris, affectionately know as "Jam", and his friend James Cooper in Florida.

The anniversary of a loved one's death is never easy. But it is even harder when the trial of the teenager that killed your loved ones has only just concluded.

It has been a painful year for friends and family of Jam and Cooper, who were brutally shot on April the 16th in 2011 by Florida teenager Shawn Tyson, who was just 16 when he committed the double murder.

Before sentencing him to life in prison, Judge Rick De Furia allowed friends of the victims to make heartfelt statements to the court. Two of Jam and Cooper's friends addressed the youth who had brought such misery to their lives, telling him how his cowardly actions had taken them on a "journey to hell".

These two friends, Joe Hallett and Paul Davies, decided to turn that journey in the direction of love, and in a remarkable act of charity have set out to help young people like Tyson - before it's too late.

Recognising that although they couldn't change the past or bring their friends back, they could help other young people, and stop them going down the wrong path so other families could be saved the misery they have experienced. And in doing so, have channelled their grief into a force for good.

Last year Joe and Paul set up Always A Chance in memory of Jam and Cooper to help young people affected by violent crime, and to tackle the endemic social causes of criminal behaviour among young people, as a legacy for their late friends - a legacy they won't get to leave themselves.

A life lived is a life shared, and if shared well is honoured on the road of love. And a tattoo of the tiny fairy Tinkerbell on Jam's girlfriend, Liz Clare's tummy remains a poignant reminder of the love of her life. Jam had paid for her Tinkerbell tattoo while the couple were at university, to symbolise staying young forever. Last November, the British papers quoted her as saying:

The theme of Peter Pan was a big thing in our lives. I remember the two of us watching Michael Jackson on TV, talking about Neverland. I said I loved the thought of never growing up. The next day Jam paid for me to have a Tinkerbell tattoo. Now it's Jam who is never going to grow up. He's always going to be 24.

And now the charity's two founders Joe and Paul, both in their twenties, have admitted in interviews to local radios and papers in Northampton in England that they intend to devote their lives to the cause of the young. They wanted to dedicate the gift of changing people's lives to the friends whose lives were cut so tragically short.

Their initial plans lie in their home counties of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, but their fund-raising feat to collect donations for their charity has gained international recognition.

The money raised will go towards establishing workshops and steering groups which will allow young people to confront the issues of violence and gang culture, projects for young people not in full time education or employment and those who have recently left custodial care, and a "robust counselling network" for victims of violent crimes and their families.

Joe and Paul firmly believe that "everyone is capable of achieving amazing things", and though they might not realise it, by turning their direction towards love, they are already living up to the sentiment themselves.

In my "The Direction of Love" post I talk about random acts of kindness being the secret to success in love. I decided that my random act of kindness today on their first anniversary would be to donate to the boys' charity to support their cause to always give love a chance.

Because isn't that the point of it all? Come what may, to always turn to love.

Yours in love,