Nurture your Perspective

  One day, according to an old story, a man with a serious illness was wheeled into a hospital room, where another patient was resting on a bed next to the window. As the two became friends, the one next to the window would look out of it and spend the next few hours delighting his companion with vivid descriptions of the world outside the window. Some days he would describe the beauty of trees and in the park, across from the hospital, and would narrate how the leaves danced in the winds. On the other days, he would tell step-by-step replays of the things people were doing, as they walked by the hospital. However, as time flew by, the bedridden man grew frustrated at his inability to observe the wonders his friend described. Eventually, he started disliking his friend and then began to hate him immensely. 

    One night, on a particularly bad coughing fit, the patient next to the window stopped breathing. Rather than pressing the button for help, the other chose to do nothing. Next morning, the patient who had given so much happiness to his bedridden friend, by recounting the beautiful insights outside, was pronounced dead. The other one, quickly asked that his bed be placed next to the window, a request that was complied with by the attending nurse. But as he looked outside the window, he discovered something that made him shake: the window faced a stark brick wall. His former roommate had conjured up the wonderful insights that he described, in his imaginations; As a loving gesture, to make the world of his friend a little bit better, during the difficult times. He acted out of selfless love and cared for his friend a lot. Now, the latter man felt horribly guilty and regretted his behavior. 

    This story never fails to create a shift in my own outlook, whenever I think of it. To live happier and more fulfilling lives, when we encounter a difficult circumstance, we should keep shifting our perspective and continually ask ourselves - 'Is there a wiser, more enlightened way of looking at this seemingly negative situation'. Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest physicists ever, is reported to have said that - we live on a minor planet of a very average star, located within the outer limits of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies. How's that for a complete shift in our perspectives. Giving this information, Are the problems that we've experienced or we're currently facing really as big as we have made them out to be??? 

    We walk this planet for a really short time. Our lives are mere blips on the canvas of eternity. So let's all stop complaining about the difficulties and let's be optimistic about each and everything. Let's enjoy the present and savor the process. Everyone completely agrees to the fact that the current situation is very critical and intolerable, that we all are helpless and many are suffering a lot. But as the above story teaches us to nurture and improve our point of view. As Aldous Hexley, on his deathbed said - ' Let's be kinder to everyone around us ' .So, what we all can do is to, have a kinder, happier helpful and thankful frame of mind. We should always share positive vibes and hope that this pandemic scenario soon gets better. One thing to never forget about is, being grateful to Almighty God and praying for the health and happiness of everyone around us and being kinder and helpful to every creature around us . This story will definitely help everyone change their perspectives and have a positive and kinder outlook in this pandemic situation, where everything that's happening seems negative and despairing . For me that's what this story teaches....