We
all want to enjoy life so we need happiness.
But we just don’t get happiness by simply wishing to have it because
happiness is not about what we have but what we are. In my childhood I had once read an
interesting story. I wish I remembered
the name of the author but it was titled “The Window”. Let me share that story with you.
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 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 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. 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 gentleman by the window
portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought
entered his head: Why should he have all 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 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 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 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 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. 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.
Moral 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.
The pursuit of happiness is 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 that
there is much to rejoice about.
Kasta Dip
