Gocce di Saggezza

A great note for all to read.

It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man wasallowed 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.

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 colour 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 colour 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.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their

baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully

in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

s 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 real

world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man called the nurse and asked her what could have compelled his deceased

roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded thatthe man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said,

"Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue:

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 the things you have that money can't buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

Plato

Greek author & philosopher / Athens 427 BC – 347 BC

You can discover more about a person in an

hour of play than in a year of conversation

Wise men talk because they have something to

say; fools, because they have to say something

Seneca

Dramatist, philosopher, politician / Rome 5 BC – 65 BC

Be silent as to services you have rendered,

but speak of favours you have received

Consult your friend on all things, especially

on those which respect yourself.

His counsel may then be useful where your

own self-love might impair your judgment.

Difficulties strengthen the mind,

as labour does the body.

Enjoy present pleasures in such a

way as not to injure future ones.

Socrates

Philosopher / Athens 469 BC – 399 BC

By all means marry; if you get a good wife,

you'll be happy. If you get a bad one,

you'll become a philosopher.

Think not those faithful who praise all

thy words and actions; but those

who kindly reprove thy faults.