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.
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 life 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 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.
"SOMETIMES TO FACE YOUR FUTURE YOU HAVE TO LET GO OF YOUR PAST."
