oUTSIDE THE WINDOw [a moral and motivational story]

Before you read this story: Are you in a situation or condition and you feel others you're equal with are more privileged or opportuned than you? How do you react to this situation? Do you get envious? Jealous or...? Well, read this story to see why envy or jealousy is not the right answer in such situation....

Once upon a time...
Two men who were seriously ill,
occupied the same
room in a hospital. 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 his time
lying flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on
end. They spoke of their lives,
families, their homes,
jobs, their involvement in the
military service, where they had
been on vacation and many other things. 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 activity and color of the
outside world. Outside this window is
a park with a lovely
lake, the man by the window said. Ducks
and swans played on the water
while children sailed their
model boats. Lovers walked arm
in arm among 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 these
details, the man on the other side
of the room would close his
eyes and imagine the
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 gentleman by
the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.
Unexpectedly, an bad thought
entered his head: Why should
he have all the pleasure of seeing
everything while I never get to
see anything? It seems
unfair. As the thought compiled,
the man felt ashamed at first.
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 found
himself unable to sleep. "I should be by that window" was all he kept thinking day after day.
Late one night, as he lay on his back, staring
at the ceiling, the man by the
window began to cough terribly. 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
the sound of breathing. Now,
there was nothing more but 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 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
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 into the outside world. 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. It was then the man realized that his partner who just died has been describing all sort of scenes only to make him happy. It was then all his evil thoughts dawned on him, he could have pressed the emergency button and a nurse would have attended
to him, now it's too late to help. He would have to lay there all alone, lonely, sad and...



mESSAGE OF THE STORy
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.


mORALS OF THE STORy
1. No matter the condition of things, never nurture an evil thought towards anyone.
2. Render the little help you can at every time possible. Remember, the help you render today will earn you a reward tomorrow.

This story was submitted by
aDURAGBEMI VICTOr

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