Stimulus

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same room in a hospital.

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 room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The two men developed a friendship and spent their time talking for hours together. They spoke of their family, their home, job, involvement in the military service, favorite holiday spot and so on.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window would sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate about all the things that he could see outside the window.

The man on the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color 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 a midst flowers of every color 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 passed by….

One morning, the nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window. He had passed away peacefully in his sleep. She called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse had no objections 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 of the window beside the bed.

To his amusement it faced a blank wall. The Man talked to the nurse and found that the wall had always been there. He asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate to describe such a wonderful world outside the window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

The man closed his eyes. Tears rolled of his eyes. He thanked his friend for all those happy moments…. those happy afternoon hours….

Emotions are the outcome of our response to the stimuli from the environment. He realized that if we are responsible for the creation of the world around us, then we are in command of our response to the stimuli affecting us. Emotions are just a state of mind. That includes Happiness too. If the mind resides within us….why run in all directions chasing this Happiness.