Here is a short story that is extremely inspiring and motivating. I cannot say with certainty that the story is true or not, but the contents are very close to realities.
The Story
There were two men seriously sick and admitted in a room in hospital. One man was suffering from a lung disease. He was allowed to sit up in the bed for one hour daily in the afternoon so that the fluid in his lungs could be drained out. This man had his bed close to the only window in the room.
The second man was so sick that he could not get up or sit. He kept lying on his back all the time. Both the men would talk with each other for hours. They would discuss everything about their children, wives and families, their villages, homes and jobs/ adventures/ vacations in the army.
In the afternoon when the man near window would sit up in the bed, look through the window and would describe the whole details of the outside world. The other man would keep listening to what all was described to him for one hour and would engulf himself with the activities / scenes of the outer world. He would listen that a beautiful park was visible from the window with a scenic lake in the middle. In the lake there were many ducks and swans playing with water and young children were sailing in the lake in their colorful toy boats. Many young, loving couples were roaming about between the flower beds where all kinds of colorful flower were spreading their lovely fragrance. At the farther distance a clear skyline was also visible, where one could see the birds flying and casting their shadows on the white clouds in the background.
All these scenes were so lovely that the other man would close his eyes and imagine what all was being told. He would enjoy each and every detail of the outer world.
One day the man, while looking out from the window, described that a military parade was passing by. Though the other man did not see anything but he was able to imagine in his mind what all was happening out there. He could hear in mind the words of command of the officers and marching sound of the parading soldiers.
After a lapse of few months the man by the window breathed his last. The nurse who brought water for his bath in the morning found him dead, who had passed away during the sleep last night. The body was taken away by the hospital staff, who were deeply saddened by his death.
After few days the other man requested that he may be shifted near the window. The nurse shifted him and after making him comfortable, went away, leaving the man alone.
The man, while putting in his best efforts, lifted his body up with the help of his elbow and bearing lot of pain, and tried to have a look outside the window to see the real world.
He looked out of the window putting lot of stress on his body and found that the window was just facing a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse that the dead man had been describing many lively scenes from the window, whereas in reality there was nothing to be seen except the wall. He asked the nurse as to why that man was doing all that for his room-mate.
The nurse told that the dead man was blind and could not even see the wall. She opined that 'probably the man wanted to keep you in high spirits'.
The Epilogue
The moral of the story is that if you try to make other people happy despite of your own problems, this will give you tremendous happiness. If you share the grief of someone you can reduce the grief up to half. But if you share the happiness, it will be doubled.
It is fact that you cannot purchase everything with money. Just make a list of all those things that cannot be purchased with money, but you have been blessed with those things. The list may include love, sincerity, loyalty and the sort. It will make you feel that you are the richest person on earth and, of course, the happiest one also. [Read: How should the Teenagers think about Love]
