>
>> A story to make us think.....
> >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 sit up, he would pass the
time by describing to his roommate all the things 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
therainbow. 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 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 passing by. 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. Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered
his mind.
> > Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of
seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything?
> >It didn't seem fair.
> >At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and
he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon
turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep.
He should be by that window-that thought, and only that thought now
controlled his life.
> >Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the
window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The
other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the
window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the
room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have
brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and
choking stopped along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was
only silence-deathly silence.
The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their
baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she
was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it 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
all 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."
> > >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Epilogue. . . .
>
> >You can interpret the story in any way you like, but one moral
stands
> >out:
> >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's called the present." >
> >
>
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