Inspiration from Paulo Coelho: Two Drops of Oil
July 5, 2009
A merchant sent his son to learn The Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.
However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.
The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.
With considerable patience, he listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.
He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.
“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handing the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil.
“While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”
The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.
“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”
Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”
Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche.
Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.
“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the sage.
Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.
“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,” said the sage of sages:
“The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”
*
What does this story mean to YOU?
No related posts.
Posted in inspirational quotes
content rss
Enjoy all that life has to offer, but don’t forget to pay attention to what’s really important.
.-= Jay Schryer´s last blog ..The Road’s Still Long =-.
Good morning, Jay! I was JUST thinking about you ’cause I’m working on an online ground school (so I can get current to take you flying!). So, what life has to offer today is the convenience of doing most of my currency training at home so I can do what is really important sooner: get you airborne!!!
Well, aren’t *you* just the sweetest person ever? I think about you every time I go by the little airport by my place. Yesterday must have been a great day for flying, cause a lot of the planes were gone.
i can’t wait!
.-= Jay Schryer´s last blog ..The Road’s Still Long =-.
You and me both, honey. Oh, it’s gonna happen… don’t you worry about that. You have become my flying muse!
And, by the way, that “little” airport is none too little. Jets fly in and out of PDK! Little was the grass strip my parents lived on in Luthersville, where you had to do a low pass before landing to scare the deer off the field.
I am still trying to interpret the story, but for now:
1 – There are things to be enjoyed and the only thing you have to do is look or give them some of your time. The things are there, they are none of your doing/creation. They may be man’s creation (skyscrapers, gardens, parties, etc), or God’s creation (people, rainbows, butterflies, laughter, etc). Well, they are all God’s creation. Pay attention to the things “out there”.
2 – There are things whose existence or probability to exist or to be enjoyed or to be enjoyed depends on us. To get to this point, I asked myself, “why the oil? why not spill the oil? what was the oil for?” Potential answers are: The oil could be expensive and you don’t want to be lost. Or the oil did not belong to the seeker, so he had no right to lose or spill it. Or the seeker had been INSTRUCTED to NOT spill, so he still has to obey the commandment while enjoying the other things. Or the oil could be used heal…. I am trying to find my “oil” and make sure I don’t spill it.
3 – Once I find my 1s and 2s, I just have to remember that they are not mutually exclusive; they can co-exist, and should co-exist.
As an afterthought… Happiness is not just about things we can enjoy, like looking at the gardens, it is also about not-so-enjoyable things, like not spilling the 2 drops of oil.
Thanks for sharing.
This is a really inspiring story! Thanks for sharing it with us. It reminds me to see the big picture AND the little things in life. Great stuff!
.-= Positively Present´s last blog ..100 ways to live in the moment =-.
My interpretation? Balance.
.-= Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Contentment =-.
BsG3dO I’m not easily impressed. . . but that’s impressing me!
s59N4Z bnyatxrmobnj
Hi chessiq, Dani and Stephen! It sounds like we are all in agreement that in order to find happiness we must be able to find a balance between the things we want to do and the things we have to do (or deal with).
One thing I have learned is that life can get quite complicated and painful, but it is still possible to find happiness by finding a healthy way to deal with the challenges. If we focus only on the challenges, or only on seeking pleasure, we won’t be maximizing our experience. It is, after all, about Balance.
Balance — for me, being careless enough to enjoy life but also careful enough to maintain priorities.
.-= Herbert´s last blog ..How to turn Weakness into Strength =-.
Hi, Herbert! Welcome to Q4B! I like your take on this… enjoying life, while maintaining priorities. Sounds like you are probably doing a great job managing this delicate balance.
Hi Lisis,
What a beautiful story. It really goes to show what we focus on determines the outcome. Thank you for sharing.
.-= Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Open Mic – Answering Blogging Questions =-.
Hi Lisis and Ali
,
How are you both doing? I was away for almost a month due to university exams.
I think it says ” Explore and enjoy the life to the fullest but don’t loose your core values in your journey”. Have a great day!
.-= vikum-Thinking Park´s last blog ..The power of focusing =-.
I remember this being in the Alchemist as well. I love Paulo Coelho. I just finished reading Warrior of the Light, which I will probably be reading again.
I agree with Barbara, it does go to show that what we focus on determines the outcome.
I think I’ll be listening to The Alchemist on the way to work this morning. Jeremy Irons does that reading and that makes it really come to life!
Hi, Barbara, Vikum and Meroko! Thanks for stopping by today… it’s great to “see” you guys here.
Wow… I didn’t realize Jeremy Irons narrates that audio book. I may just have to get that. Thanks for the tip!
NIce story. I can think of many interpretations but the one I prefer is to enjoy your life without neglect the essentials values (family, friends etc)
.-= Oscar´s last blog ..Vibram five fingers first look =-.
Beautiful, Oscar… thank you!
My take on this story is that happiness is to be found by synergising much of the beauty that exists in the world both natural and man made with our senses and attitudes. In our search for optimal happiness and inspiration we spend most of our time anticipating a destination (focusing on the oil as a means to an end)rather than appreciating and internalising the journey and all it can teach us. Whilst the power to succeed is often in our hands (the spoon of oil) we cannot obsess on our quest for happiness as a concept or destination but rather embrace it as series of experiences that culminate in a state of fulfillment and knowingness i.e. the oil represents for me, the opportunites we face to deciper and distinguish between what makes us happy and unhappy. We may recieve direction (the noble man) from others in our search for happiness but only we can define our personal happiness. Our continued happiness will always be dependent on our appetite to seek out new opportunites ( spoons of oil)and by being present in the ensuing experiences as they affect our senses. Failure in our quest may result in us seeking the objective views of the noble man yet again, success may result in us becoming the noble man.