Monday, April 16, 2007

A man went to look for a wise man living up on a hill in search for the secret to happiness. He found him after a long trek, and upon seeing him, he was busy entertaining a lot of visitors around his house. The wise man told him he was busy at the moment, so he told the man to go about the house for a while but asked if he can carry a spoon filled with oil. The man then did as he was told. He went around but was careful not to spill the oil on the wise man's carpet. After a time, the wise man came back and asked him if he enjoyed seeing the beautiful landscape in his backyard, the fine sculptures filling his house, and the architecture of the house. The man said no, embarrassed, as he was busy concerning himself with what was on his hand. So the wise man told him it's a shame that he was not able to and told him to go around the house again and look. So he did, and he saw able to see all the beauty that was around him. When the wise man came back, he asked him what happened to the oil, and upon looking, the man saw that the spoon he was holding all this time is now empty. "Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you [then]," the wise man said, "The secret of happiness, is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."

In the same vein, "A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep."

---from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, paraphrased

1 Comments:

At 3:19 PM, Blogger Lady S said...

SO r u saying the secret to happiness is to take the time and enjoy life, and not just live it. While not forgetting to attend to the things one must attend to.....if so that sounds impossible. The same thing that happened to the man will happen to everyone. If you're doing all the things you must do they almost always take presedence over the things you want to do.

 

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