Story about happiness: What can a spoon teach us about the secret to happiness?

Once there was a young man who wanted to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man on the earth. The young man  wandered through the desert, mountains, and plains to find the wisest man in the land. He finally reached to a beautiful castle in the high top of a mountain where the wisest man was said to reside.

The young man had imagined the wise man to live like a sage with modest and quiet lifestyle. But to his surprise, he was not at all like a sage. He saw lots of activities happening in the castle. Tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and finally he saw a table covered with platters of the most delicious food.

The wise man conversed with everyone, and the young man had to wait for several hours to meet him. When they finally talked the wise man listened attentively to the young man’s curiosity to know about the secret of happiness. The wise man replied that he didn’t have time to explain the secret of happiness at that moment. But, he suggested to the young man to have a look around his castle and its beauty and uniqueness and return in a couple of hours. He also assigned a task to the man. He handed over a teaspoon to the man which had two drops of oil. The wise man said to the young man ” As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”

The young man began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After a few hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.”Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian embroideries 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 the library?”

The young man was embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world, “said the wise man.”You cannot trust a man if you know nothing about him and his surroundings.”Relieved, the young man picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time more conscious about the surroundings and 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 explained in detail everything he had seen.”But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man.

Looking down the spoon he held, the young man saw that the oil was gone.”Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you, “said the wisest man.

“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”