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 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 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.
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. . . . 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.
