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 the 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. |