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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.. |
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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 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. 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."
Epilogue...
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.
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