"THE WINDOW"
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'S ONLY WINDOW. THE OTHER MAN HAD TO SPEND ALL OF HIS TIME FLAT ON HIS BACK IN THE BED.
THE MEN TALKED FOR HOURS ON END. THEY SPOKE OF THEIR WIVES AND FAMILIES, THEIR HOMES, THEIR JOBS, THEIR INVOLVEMENTS IN MILITARY SERVICE, WHERE THEY HAD BEEN ON VACATION. AND EVERY AFTERNOON, WHEN THE MAN IN THE BED NEXT TO 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 WOULD LIVE FOR THOSE ONE-HOUR PERIODS WHERE HIS WORLD WOULD BE BROADENED AND ENLIVENED BY ALL THE COLOR AND ACTIVITY OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD. THE WINDOW OVERLOOKED A PARK WITH A LOVELY LAKE, THE MAN HAD SAID. DUCKS AND SWANS PLAYED ON THE WATER WHILE CHILDREN SAILED THEIR MODEL BOATS. LOVERS WALKED ARM IN ARM AMID 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 COULD NOT HEAR THE BAND, HE COULD SEE IT IN HIS MIND'S EYE AS THE MAN BY THE WINDOW PORTRAYED IT WITH DESCRIPTIVE WORDS.
UNEXPECTEDLY, AN ALIEN THOUGHT ENTERED HIS HEAD : WHY SHOULD HE HAVE 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 AND MORE SIGHTS, HIS ENVY ERODED INTO RESENTMENT AND SOON TURNED HIM SOUR. HE BEGAN TO BROOD AND FOUND HIMSELF UNABLE TO SLEEP. HE SHOULD BE BY THAT WINDOW - AND 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 FLUIDS IN HIS LUNGS. THE OTHER MAN WATCHED IN THE DIMLY LIT ROOM AS THE STRUGGLING, CHOKING 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 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 ARRIVED TO BRING WATER FOR THEIR BATHS. WHEN SHE FOUND THE LIFELESS BODY OF THE MAN BY THE WINDOW, SHE WAS SADDENED. SHE CALLED FOR THE HOSPITAL ATTENDANTS TO TAKE HIM AWAY ...... NO WORKS, NO FUSS. AS SOON AS IT SEEMED APPROPRIATE, THE 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. FINALLY, HE WOULD HAVE THE JOY OF SEEING IT ALL HIMSELF. HE STRAINED TO SLOWLY TURN TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW BESIDE HIS BED.
THE WINDOW FACED A BLANK, BRICK WALL !!
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IS A MATTER OF CHOICE ........... IT IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE WE CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE TO EXPRESS. IT IS NOT A GIFT THAT GETS DELIVERED TO OUR DOORSTEP EACH MORNING, NOR DOES IT COME THROUGH THE WINDOW. AND I AM CERTAIN THAT OUR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE JUST A SMALL PART OF WHAT MAKES US JOYFUL. IF WE WAIT FOR THEM TO GET "JUST RIGHT", WE WILL NEVER FIND LASTING JOY.
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IS ALSO AN INWARD JOURNEY. OUR MINDS ARE LIKE PROGRAMS, AWAITING THE CODE THAT WILL DETERMINE BEHAVIORS; LIKE BANK VAULTS AWAITING OUR DEPOSITS. IF WE REGULARLY DEPOSIT POSITIVE, ENCOURAGING AND UPLIFTING THOUGHTS, IF WE CONTINUE TO BITE OUR LIPS JUST BEFORE WE BEGIN TO GRUMBLE AND COMPLAIN ................... IF WE SHOOT DOWN THAT SEEMINGLY HARMLESS NEGATIVE THOUGHT AS IT GERMINATES, WE WILL FIND THERE IS MUCH TO REJOICE ABOUT. BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, BECAUSE THAT WHICH OTHERS HAVE MY BE MERE ILLUSION
