The secret of happiness

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn
about the secret of happiness from the
wisest man in the world. The lad wandered
through the desert for 40 days, and finally
came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a
mountain. It was there that the wise man
lived.
Rather than finding a saintly man, though,
our hero, on entering the main room of the
castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen
came and went, people were conversing in
the corners, a small orchestra was playing
soft music, and there was a table covered
with platters of the most delicious food in
that part of the world. The wise man
conversed with everyone, and the boy had to
wait for two hours before it was his turn to
be given the man’s attention.
The wise man listened attentively to the
boy’s explanation of why he had come, but
told him that he didn’t have time just then
to explain the secret of happiness. He
suggested that the boy look around the
palace and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do
something”, said the wise man, handing the
boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil.
“As you wander around, carry this spoon
with you without allowing the oil to spill”.
The boy began climbing and descending the
many stairways of the palace, keeping his
eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he
returned to the room where the wise man
was.
“Well”, asked the wise man, “Did you see the
Persian tapestries that are hanging in my
dining hall? Did you see the garden that it
took the master gardener ten years to
create? Did you notice the beautiful
parchments in my library?”
The boy was embarrassed, and confessed
that he had observed nothing. His only
concern had been not to spill the oil that
the wise man had entrusted to him.
“Then go back and observe the marvels of
my world”, said the wise man. “You cannot
trust a man if you don’t know his house”.
Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and
returned to his exploration of the palace,
this time observing all of the works of art on
the ceilings and the walls. He saw the
gardens, the mountains all around him, the
beauty of the flowers, and the taste with
which everything had been selected. Upon
returning to the wise man, he related in
detail everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted
to you?” asked the wise man. Looking down
at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the
oil was gone.
“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can
give you”, said the wisest of wise men. “The
secret of happiness is to see all the marvels
of the world and never to forget the drops of
oil on the spoon”.
Author: Paul Coelho in “The Alchemist”
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