Look, I get it; it’s difficult to look upon the world these days and not conclude the pervasiveness of pain and suffering on this planet of ours. That, however, is precisely why we all have a responsibility to place our faith in and be conduits of the goodness that this world has to offer.
And folks, there is an incomprehensible amount of that goodness to celebrate in this world, and the best part is that we’re capable of birthing even more out of the very pain and suffering we aim to combat. TikTok‘s @chloebluffcakes has found one such way to do so, and it just so happened to be a team effort with a group of creative humanists known as Eterneva.
Some of you may know Chloe for her numerous cookie recipes and baking videos that have landed her that follower count of 2.4 million, but she’s never been shy about offering a glimpse into her personal life as well. In the video above, we learn that Chloe’s mother, Jenny, passed away from brain cancer, and so she’s since taken to raising her kid sister, Charlotte. Needless to say, it’s been a difficult time for them both, but they’re hoping to transform it into something beautiful.
Chloe tells her sister (and, by extension, us) that Jenny left them her ashes, and that she’s been in contact with someone (Eterneva) who can take Jenny’s ashes and transform them into diamonds. Chloe opens the Eterneva package in front of her, revealing a touching, personalized video message that introduces them to the kit in front of them.
Chloe and Charlotte then get right to work, filling up the Eterneva container with Jenny’s ashes before filling out a small bio about their mother in the included envelope (from this, we know that Jenny loved cats, couldn’t stand yappy dogs, was a huge Tina Fey fan, and gave her daughters all the love in the world). The package has since been sent off, and the girls now await their mother’s diamondized incarnation.
That’s what Christmas is all about, folks; family, humanity, and ruining everybody’s makeup with how beautiful and heartbreaking our collective capacity for love is. But human emotion is not the only fertile soil from which beautiful things flourish; Eterneva’s service, after all, is one of scientific innovation. According to their official website, the diamond is made by placing your loved one’s ashes into a graphite crucible, after which it goes through a carbon purification process that extracts the carbon from the ashes. From there, a combination of heat, pressure, and an artisan’s steady hand gives life to a one-of-a-kind diamond.
Let this be your reminder that our planet is not the endless swirl of misery and cynicism so many politicians and corporate entities wish for us to participate in. Indeed, it’s a planet that’s actually full of indescribable beauty on account of the fact that we, ourselves, are capable of that very beauty. Pain begets compassion, grief begets community, and death begets diamonds.