“Water, water, everywhere / Nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge Lines II.121-122). These oft-repeated lines are found in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, arguably Samuel Coleridge's most famous work. As this poem opens, the reader finds the sailor, a former sailor, taking a man aside to hear about a harrowing adventure he once had while at sea. Although he initially expressed reluctance, this man, simply called the wedding guest, soon becomes fascinated by the sailor and forced to listen to his story. This sad story leaves him "[a] sadder and wiser man" (VII.624), but what exactly about this story evoked this response? Although Coleridge does not specify, the reader can speculate on such reasons by assuming that what he has gleaned from his own reading is similar to what the guest has learned. Three lessons, each carrying a touch of pain along with greater wisdom, that the wedding guest learned by listening: It is helpful to share personal mistakes from the past, that every sin has a consequence, and that all things must be shown Love. The guest learned how to convey the wisdom of personal experiences to those who are willing to listen is beneficial to both the listener and the speaker. As he listened to the Mariner, he couldn't help but see a reflection of himself in the story. Sadly, he began to see his own flaws and realized that he wasn't all that different from the Sailor. This story simply sheds light on awareness of these issues. Perhaps he too had a story that would benefit others and provide a way to reach them. Seeing that with experiences comes knowledge, he began to discern the value of those moments. He realized how much he had learned in his darkest moments, but that he had…half of the paper…de that not only affects the offender but also those around him. His last lesson taught him that love must be his vision of life, because without it his life would be an empty void. These lessons reached the wedding guest who never suspected that his life would change forever when he was stopped by an elderly gentleman, the sailor, with a powerfully moving story. Near the completion of this poem, the two parted ways, but the wedding guest left forever a changed person. Ecclesiastes 1:18 summarizes the effect of the sailor's story on this person: "For in much wisdom is much pain: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth pain." It is true that the wedding guest left "[a] sadder and wiser man" (Coleridge lines VII.624), but this helped him become a better person. For this, he is indebted to the unexpected blessings brought when stopped by the Ancient Mariner.