In a touching viral video, one street vendor showed that it’s better to share struggle than to prosper alone.

A tough life

According to the Borgen project, over half of Mexico’s population lives in poverty, with around 25 million of them scraping by on less than $14/day.

One of the country’s poorest states is Puebla. There, workers make less than $115 pesos ($8.20 US) a day. It has an over 10% illiteracy rate, with its large indigenous population being hit hardest.

With no employable skills, many survive by selling what they can on the streets.

Recently, cameras caught one such man walking down a quiet street, carrying the food he intended to sell in a container strapped to his back.

It turns out he wasn’t alone.

A best friend in need

Trailing the vendor were two stray dogs, hungry and hopeful for a snack.

Instead of ignoring them, the man — still unidentified — reached back into his bag and shared with them what little food he had. After throwing a few pieces of food to the first dog, he tossed some more to a second dog who was hanging back to make sure both were fed.

The act of simple sacrifice quickly went viral, gathering over 4.6 million views.

“He was caught doing something unique when he thought no one was seeing him,” Expreso wrote.

Messages poured in from wet-eyed watchers.

“God bless you for such a noble gesture towards those little animals,” a top comment on the Facebook video read.

“I’m in tears.  This is the sweetest, kindest, most unselfish act I have seen in a very long time”

– Online commenter

“Kindness doesn’t ask much of us. Just a little ‘humanity,'” summed up another.

Life is empty without sharing

It’s an act that almost couldn’t be real. A dirt-poor vendor literally taking food out of his family’s mouths for a couple of stray dogs.

After all, we are conditioned to buying, saving, hoarding, harvesting, investing, and increasing every last dime for ourselves without considering other things in life.

Just maybe the vendor knows something we don’t. Maybe he knows that a life of accumulation is to miss the whole point. Maybe he knows that it’s moments of kindness – to all living things – that are the real goal of our short time here.

Just maybe he knows that while you can’t take any possessions with you when you’re gone, you can leave a lasting legacy to others by how you live.

Thanks to his one remarkable gesture, he’s left an example to millions for how to live rich.

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