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10 years ago
Two men were occupying the same ward in a hospital, both of the old boys were seriously ill. One of the men 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, and 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 the richness of the colour in 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, where the birds flew merrily by 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. It brought him hope and a reason to fight on through his debilitating ailments.
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 and full meaning.
Days and weeks passed by in this fashion.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the limp lifeless body of the man by the window, who had sadly passed away earlier that night, peacefully in his sleep.
Immediately she was saddened by what she saw and called the hospital attendants to take the old man’s body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved over towards the window with all its endless beauty beyond.
The nurse was more than happy to make the switch for him, and after making sure he was still comfortable in his bed, she left him to be alone with his thoughts for a while.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the picturesque world that lay beyond the window, he needed to see the life outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself, he thought. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.
It faced nothing more than a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described in such detail, such wonderful things outside this window?
The nurse responded that the man was blind and couldn’t even see the wall. She said, "He knew he didn’t have long to live. Perhaps he just wanted to prove, that no matter how bad things may seem, things could always be a whole lot worse”.
“Maybe he just wanted to encourage you. He wanted to give you some HOPE!”
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