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".

Posted via Blogaway