Two seriously ill men occupied the same hospital room. The man in the bed by the window was allowed to sit up for about an hour each day to help drain fluid from his lungs. The other was required to lay flat on his back after surgery.

During their days together, the two men became friends. They talked extensively about their families, their careers, and their past experiences. And during the hour or so that the one man was allowed to sit up, he would describe for his friend all the things that could be seen outside – through the window. One day, he described the unfolding beauty of Spring as the flowers outside the window blossomed into radiant colors. Another day, he talked about the parade that was passing by on the street below. He described the parade in such exquisite detail that his friend could almost hear the trumpets playing and the drums keeping the beat.

Though the man confined to bed could not see these things, he could at least imagine them. And they gave him a sense of comfort and hope.

Late one night, the patient by the window passed away. The other man was brokenhearted. How he would miss his friend. And how he would miss the description of the world beyond the window.

The next day, the man asked if his bed could be moved to the place by the window. The nurses agreed, and a short time later, the other hospital bed was rolled away and his was rolled into place. Then the nurses left, and he was alone.

Slowly, painfully, the patient raised himself up on one elbow to gaze outside. At last, he would get to see the world’s beauty for himself – with his own eyes. Higher and higher he lifted himself until his head raised over the window sill, and his eyes caught sight…of nothing. There was nothing there! The window faced the brick wall of another building!

The man called the nurse and asked how this could be. He told her about the parade, and about the flowers bursting into colorful life. Why would his friend make up such things?

The nurse shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know. Maybe just to cheer him up and make him feel better. But what, she said, was stranger still – was the fact that the other man… had been blind!

Blessed are those who see things the rest of us don’t see.