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 room-mate 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 colour 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 colour 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.
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.
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.