The Window of Happiness

The attainment of happiness expresses a choice, an attitude we consciously carry. Success of any measure is considered as source of happiness by most of us and hence we are driven towards personal ambitions. True happiness lies in the pursuit of sharing what we have and perhaps not in the race of acquiring more and more material goals. It is a matter of personal introspection whether to be content or beset by the desire for absolute happiness. Happiness in my perspective is a relative phenomena in all of its forms. Little things give so much happiness at times and sometimes even the highest accomplishments mean nothing. The relative essence of happiness is visible only when we overcome the will to control things set out by our desires.

Two men, both seriously ill were staying in the same hospital room. One man's bed was next to the room's only window. The second man had to spend all his time laying flat. The men talked for hours on end. 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. There was a beautiful lake in a park, children playing around, lovers holding hands while walking across the pathways and the groups of oldies chatting all day. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the second man would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene and he was happy. It was such an amazing sight that he fell at peace just by imagining it. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why can't he have the pleasure of seeing all that through the window? Even with his last stage illness this didn't seem fair and this thought now controlled his mind. And now because he was jealous, he could not have the same blissful experience when his roommate described the view out of the window. The thought that he will not be able to look out the window by himself before he dies, occupied his mind. And it was a matter of few weeks.

Few days later one night, the man by the window who happened to be very sick earlier that day began to cough real hard. The second man watched him struggling to call for help. Listening from across the room, he didn't do anything although he could have easily called for the attendant. Soon the coughing stopped along with his breath.The second man felt bad but he was not sure what he had done. So he gave himself the same explanation that others had assumed, "it was his time". The next day he asked and was shifted next to the window in the room. Finally, he had his last wish come true as he was going to look out at all the wonderful things out of the window. He could now see everything on his own and have the experience with his eyes open. He moved slowly to look out the window beside the bed. It faced an open barren land with nothing but dirt all around.