Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room .. For one of the men was allowed to sit on the bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the window of the room. The other man was to remain always lying.
The men they know and talked for hours. They spoke of their wife, their families, their homes, their jobs, their military service and travel that they had done. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit and pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the 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 outside world. 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 and there was a beautiful view of the city in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man across the room would close his eyes and imagine the scene. One warm afternoon the man the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not see the band, he could hear her. With the eyes of his mind as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive.
passed the days and weeks.
One morning, the day nurse brought them water for the bathroom and found the lifeless body of the man by the window, who died peacefully in his sleep. The nurse was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
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 see for the first time the outside world. 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 that window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. 'Perhaps he wanted to encourage you ..' he said.
There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, even in spite of our situation. A grief shared is halved, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can not buy.
Today is a gift, and for this reason that he called the present.
0 comments:
Post a Comment