Coincidental actions leading to profound impacts. A note written by a boy, found by her mom after he is murdered. A note that has one short sentence full of cues to guide her actions while going through the biggest lessons of life – the immense pain of losing a loved one. One that a mother would feel responsible for the most, rendered useless at an instant where she had no control over the tragic event. One that could leave anyone broken for the rest of their life. 

That was the story of Scarlett Lewis and her 6-year-old son Jesse that was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School during a “school shooting” – a new phrase predicated into the American dictionary in the last decade. Yet, the story is not about this unimaginable loss. 

Scarlett harnesses this unthinkable grief first into hate, and then seemingly out of thin air, into “love”. What was the alchemy she used to turn pain, hate and grief into “Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion-in-Action” as she constructed the “Choose Love Movement”? A non-for-profit dedicated to regenerating the cultural layer – the same way a regenerative farmer rebuilds her soil to grow healthy plants. A soil that provides growing children with emotional intelligence, courage, compassion and resilience. Soil that provides an acute need for community, real food, integration with nature, movement and the tools to manage stress. A soil that is loved and provides love to children who all deserve this very human need to be loved and included.

Scarlett was not out there chasing political battles that appeared to never get anywhere. She was not out there looking for a top down solution from power figures that essentially created the very system that turns teenage boys into killing machines. 

I don’t know what kind of deep darkness she went through after losing her son, yet what makes me deeply interested in her story is how she got out of it with positive emotions, a mission to heal and a vision to serve the very society that killed her son. Better yet, I am deeply curious where it can go and what it can do to our society if we all support it some way or another. 

You can access the organization’s website at https://chooselovemovement.org, and get involved through various ways such as donating, becoming a member or attending workshops.

Jesse’s note written in chalk “nurturing, healing, and love”: