Two boys were shooting their football back and forth. I watched that scene from above from the balcony, down there on that square.
Suddenly there was a 2-year-old boy who was watching, longingly. And one of the bigger boys saw it and kicked the ball to the smaller kid. He did not hesitate and while he could barely run, he staggered towards the ball and gave it what he felt was a very hard kick. He looked proud at his achievement and I could tell it made him want more. Who knows, maybe his ambitions grew with unprecedented desire.
The ball was clearly not aimed at any of the other boys, but that didn’t spoil the fun. After all, he had been allowed to play with those much bigger boys and the ball kept holding his attention. For fifteen minutes.
Every now and then I sit there on that balcony adjacent to that square, and I glance at my smartphone, in between viewing this scene, and read the world news with growing desperation. It doesn’t make me happy. While I know I won’t even hear half of the news, ever, there is growing and horrific chaos in most of the world. I am sometimes amazed that this world still holds up. Can still survive. That positive things also happen, such as two boys downstairs who give a perfect stranger, that 2-year-old boy the ball for just one moment.
And then I suddenly remember that these are those beautiful moments that I should focus on. Because we don’t get those beautiful moments presented to us by the world press. Not from watching your favorite TV series. But by just looking around you, while your heart should be crying with sadness, but it doesn’t because you know that these scenes can actually make the difference.
