Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon
to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the
room's only window.The other man had to spend all his time flat on
his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and
families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the
military service,where they had been on vacation.
And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could
situp, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all
thethings he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world
outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and
swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the
rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of
the city skyline could be seen
in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite
detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and
imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade
passingby. Although the other man couldn't hear the band he could
see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed
it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to
bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the
man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was
saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could
be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the
switch,and after making sure he was comfortable,
she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on
one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he
would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to
slowly turn to look out the window
beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse
what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such
wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even
see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
There is tremendous happiness in making others
happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the
sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.
"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present." |
