The Power of Attitude

My neighbor, David Hunt died unexpectedly last week. He and my husband were home teaching companions for the past several years. Last year he completed a book with a story that illustrates the power of attitude. This is what he wrote, "Two ladies in a hospital were sharing the room. One was near the window, her name was Sarah, and the other was across the room away from the window, her name was Mary. These two women met in the hospital when they were assigned to the same room. As these two women shared the room for months, they became very good friends. Sarah, the lady near the window would often describe what she could see outside. It was very uplifting for Mary to hear about what was going on as reported by Sarah, but Mary could not see through the window. Both of these ladies were bedridden and could not move around the room. One day Sarah described the spring scene that she saw. She told her friend Mary that she could see the children at the school playing ball. They were running and kicking the ball across the grass. She could see the birds in the nearby tree, and they were busy building a nest for the young birds. She noticed the children riding their bikes along the sidewalk. She described the beautiful clouds moving in the wind. She described how beautiful the flowers were and that they were in full bloom. Because the window was facing the east, she often would describe how beautiful the sunrise would appear in the morning. Each day Sarah described in great detail how beautiful the view appeared out the window. The description of the outside world had a positive influence on Mary, who so much appreciated the report. She looked forward to each day, as Sarah would report the outside view. One day Sarah got very sick and did not describe the great scenes she could see. Her family came to visit her and the family nearly filled the room. The Doctor talked to them and said, Sarah is very sick and she is dying. Several days later Sarah passed away. Mary felt a tremendous loss when her dear friend passed away. Sarah was always so cheerful and had such a great attitude about life. As things changed and Sarah was taken from the hospital, Mary asked the head nurse if she could move to Sarah's bed near the window. Her wish was granted and Mary moved to the bed. She was thrilled about the move, she would be able to see the activities that were going on outside. However, when she looked out the window, the only thing that she could see was a red brick wall about twenty feet away, which was the side of the building next to the hospital."