WASHINGTON DC, December 24, 2012 - Yesterday, chatting online with a friend, exchanging recipes and talking about presents we were giving or expecting, my friend sent me a link to this website and video by Emilio Aparicio Rodríguez.
I know, I know, it’s all in Spanish. However, even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can see the happiness that a random act of kindness can bring a stranger who is perhaps in an hour of great need. And how it can touch and inspire those around you.
Briefly, here is what happens: As the camera focuses on a street in Bogotá, Colombia, the videographer is carrying a Dunkin Donuts bag and approaches a seemingly homeless woman.
She obviously knows him and greets him with joy. She is even happier that this young man remembered her birthday.
As he takes out the donut and places it in a cardboard container with a birthday candle, he tries to encourage passers-by to help him sing “Happy Birthday” to her. At first people are shy but pretty soon a crowd gathers and begins to sing. The woman is clearly touched by all of this attention.
Finally, the young man hands her a balloon and tells her to release it once she has made a wish. A bit embarrassed and overtaken by emotion, she says she doesn’t know what to wish for. He tells her it’s ok to just let it go because today is her birthday and everything she does is correct.
Right before she releases it she utters her wish: “que seamos felices todos,” “may all of us be happy.”
I was truly touched by this young man’s selflessness. I immediately thought that his parents must be very proud. It is a beautiful act of kindness from one human being to another. So today, on Christmas, no matter your religious or cultural belief, I would like to echo Andrea Chaparro, a little old homeless woman in Bogotá, and wish that we may all be happy.
Happy Holidays!
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