A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn the secrets of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wondered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wiseman 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 every one, 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 sugested 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 main 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 the works of art on the ceiling and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which every thing had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail every thing 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.'
- Adapted from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.
- Photo: warm enough? Courtesy of Vato Bob
