The shopkeeper’s son

The shopkeeper sent his son on a mission – to find the secret of happiness. The young man travelled far and wide, across desert and forest, land and sea, until he came upon a castle high atop a mountain. He entered the castle expecting to find a wise man. Instead, he stumbled into the chaos and cacophony of a marketplace. There, in front of him were goods and tradespeople of all descriptions. But, in the very midst of them all, was the wise man that the son had been in search of.   

He approached the man and told him his mission. The wise man said,  

Before I can tell you the secret of happiness, I want you to do something. 

He handed him a spoon into which he poured several drops of oil. 

I’d like you to go through every part of this castle and tell me everything that you see. But, here, hold this spoon and be sure not to spill a drop of this precious oil.   

Strange thing to ask, thought the young man, but he was on a quest and what must be done must be done. So, he began and instantly realized how difficult the task was. He could barely see anything of the castle, so focused was he on not spilling a drop of the oil.   

Eventually, he returned to the wise man. 

Well, what did you see? 

I didn’t, replied the young man incredulously thinking, Did he really expect me to see anything while I had to keep an eye on the oil? 

Well, try again, said the wise man.   

The young man set out once more. This time, he paid close attention to the castle, its hallways and corridors, its walls and ceilings, its rooms and gardens, the paintings and flooring, the doors and windows, the curtains and carpets, the carvings and cornices, everything. When he returned to the wise man, he described it all to him rather pleased with himself. 

The wise man listened intently and then asked, 

Where are the drops of oil I entrusted you with?   

The young man sighed, turning his gaze downward. 

Well, I couldn’t keep an eye on the spoon while I was taking note of everything else.  

The wisest of all wise men 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. 

Dear friends, you might have recognized this story. I’ve recounted it from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. If you’re like me, you’ll probably be asking yourself – 

What are the marvels in my life and what is the oil? How have I been taking care of the oil while going through all the things in my life. But what exactly is the oil?   

These are good questions to ponder. They are necessary questions to ask ourselves. One way or another, whether it rattles noisily in the forefront of our mind or whether it rumbles indistinctly in the background, we are all going through life trying to figure out how we do this impossible thing of seeing everything while taking care of our oil.  

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