Secret of Happiness
This story is from a very popular book which had an impact on millions of people all over the world. As I am reading through the book perhaps for the 5th time in English (I have read it once in German as well, the book having been translated into 63 languages), I decided to pause and pen this story down which has a deep meaning.
The story goes like this..
A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from a wise man. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days, and finally came upon a castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived. The boy had to wait for a couple of hours to meet him and narrated his story of what he had come to seek. After listening attentively, the wise man said that he did not have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and retun in 2 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 2 hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was. Well, asked the wise man “Did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that took the the master gardener 10 years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?.
The boy was embarrased and confessed he had seen nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted him. “Then go back and observe the marvels of my world”, said the wise man. ‘You cannot trust a man if you dont know his house’.
Relieved, the boy took the spoon and returned to explore the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceiling and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains around him, the beauty of the flowers and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related everything in detail that he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil that 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 to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.
Taken from the book “ALCHEMIST” by Paulo Coelho.
