I was sent this story as a PowerPoint presentation today by a friend. I thought that it was wonderful and I needed to share it with all of you. .

Two men both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man 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 rooms 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 involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roomate all the things he could see outside of 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 folwers 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 details, 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 minds eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months 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.

As son 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 and look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a brick wall.

The man asked the nurse what would have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the 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 things you have that money cant buy. Today is a gift that is why it is called The Present

There are so many points for you to take from this story:

We are all so busy trying to make it in life that we often miss how grateful we should be for the smaller things in life, like, having someone to talk to or someone to share our day with.
What a wonderful thing it is to make someone elses day a little brighter, no matter what is going on in yours. If you take on this attitude then you will attract more of the same into your life. It really is a win-win situation.
The power of visualisation to change our lives completely. You can take yourself to a different place, where life may be as you want it. You can take yourself to a place where you are feeling different emotions. It shows that through visualisation you have the power to create a different life for yourself. If you want something different in your life and you want it immediately then visualise yourself having it.
Today is a gift that is why it is called The Present. You want to be visualising your future goals, but dont forget to live in the present, in the moment. Be grateful for all you have and enjoy the time you have right now. It is said that a year in the future is closer to you than 10 minutes ago because you can never go back to that time, only forward.
Grasp life with both hands. Be grateful for everything you have right now, big or small. Use visualisations to picture what your future will be.

I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did.