The Window Of Life!!!

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day

to drain the fluids from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room'sonly window. The men talkedfor hours on end. They spokeof their wives and families,

their homes, their jobs, theirinvolvement in the military

service, where they hadbeen on vacation. 

And every afternoon whenthe man in the bed next tothe window could sit up,

he would pass the time by describing to his roommateall the things he could see

outside the window.

The man in the other bed would 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 onthe water while children sailed their model boats. 

Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old treesgraced 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. Althoughthe other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the

gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. 

Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn't

seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first.

But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his

envy eroded into resentment andsoon turned him sour. He should

be by that window and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at theceiling, the man by the window beganto cough. He was choking on the fluidin his lungs. Listening from across theroom, he never moved, never pushed

his own button which would havebrought the nurse running.

In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was

only silence-deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrivedto bring water for their baths. When she found

the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital

attendant to take it away-no words, no fuss.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he could be moved next

to the window. The nurse was happy tomake the switch and after making surehe was comfortable, she left him alone. 

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on oneelbow to take his first look.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."

Lesson # 1 : There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.Making others happy is one of the best ways to have a great day yourself. It can brighten the world around you. When you make others happy, you own an important skill. You can open doors to success. Just the act of making people happy is rewarding.

Lesson # 2 : Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.Sharing happiness is a great way to spread joy.  Nevertheless little your heart is, it offers quite a few great and sweet moments when shared with others. Sharing happiness with others can be assimple as a smile. You know you have had tough days and when someone smiles at you or says "hello" to you it really brings a sense of happiness to you as well.

Lesson # 3 : If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.Be extremely grateful for all you have now, especially the things that you didn'thave to pay for. You will begin to become rich in everything you do, go after, and want in life.

Lesson # 4 : “Today is a gift, that’s why it is called the present.”Run your life, take chances, and you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Yesterday happened already so just do today and today is a gift. Take each day as it comes, for what it is. Use today to its fullest, there will be no other chance to do so.

Try to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you mayhave made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened

a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.- Sydney Smith

Thank You Very MuchSompong Yusoontorn